LiWang’s Research into Biological Clocks Earns Protein Society Honors

Professor Andy LiWang knows what makes us tick, at least at a cellular level.

His research into the mechanisms of the oldest biological clock known to humankind has led him to understand how proteins — and hence cells — can tell time.

It has also led the UC Merced biochemist to become this year's recipient of the prestigious Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin award, sponsored by the Rigaku Corporation and given by The Protein Society (TPS).

The society called LiWang “an exceptional scientist and champion of biochemistry.” It said his “elegant and rigorous” research has “led to a near atomic-level understanding of the cyanobacterial circadian clock, the most ancient biological timekeeping system that we know of.”

The award, which he received at the society’s annual symposium in San Francisco last month, recognizes exceptional contributions in protein science that have profoundly influenced the understanding of biology.

TPS awards recognize excellence across the diverse disciplines that advance the understanding of proteins, their structure, function, design and application. The awards honor researchers who have distinguished themselves with significant achievements in protein research and those who have made outstanding contributions in leadership, teaching and service, according to the society’s website.

Joseph Ferrara, Ph.D., the senior chief science officer at Rigaku, introduced LiWang at the symposium and presented him with a $3,000 honorarium, saying LiWang is a scientist “whose work exemplifies the boldness, clarity and transformative insight that made Dorothy Hodgkin herself a legend.” Hodgkin used crystallography to decode the structures of insulin, penicillin and vitamin B12, opening frontiers in biology and medicine.

“Her legacy was not simply about solving structures but about revealing the fundamental logic by which biology operates,” Ferrara said.

“At Rigaku, where we strive to make the invisible visible — from molecular structures to semiconductor materials — we deeply resonate with Dr. LiWang’s mission,” Ferrara said. “Like Dorothy Hodgkin, he transforms complexity into clarity, giving us molecular blueprints that drive not just understanding but innovation.”

Biological clocks, or circadian rhythms, are roughly 24-hour cycles that regulate sleep-wake patterns and other bodily functions, influenced by light and darkness. 

Ferrara cited LiWang’s use of structural biology and NMR spectroscopy to reveal, at near-atomic resolution, how the KaiABC protein complex functions as a biological oscillator, and how KaiC drives the daily circadian cycle; how KaiA and KaiB modulate phosphorylation (a chemical process where a phosphate group is added to a molecule, often a protein, by enzymes called kinases) states; and, remarkably, how KaiB undergoes a metamorphic fold-switch — a molecular shape-shift — critical to the assembly of the nighttime clock complex.

The “nighttime clock complex” refers to the interplay of factors that promote sleepiness at night. Disruptions to this complex, such as those caused by shift work or jet lag, can lead to sleep problems and other health issues. 

In 2015, 2017 and 2021, LiWang and his lab members and collaborators published research articles in the journal Science revealing major breakthroughs, including how they reconstituted the full circadian oscillator in a test tube, linking it to real-time regulation of gene expression.

“These are not just structural insights; they are deep functional breakthroughs that explain how biological timekeeping is built, tuned and synchronized,” Ferrara said.

LiWang joined UC Merced in 2008, after earning his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and his doctoral degree from the University of Washington. He was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral researcher at the National Institutes of Health, a research scientist at Purdue University and held a faculty position at Texas A&M.

LiWang is a member of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, an affiliate of the Health Sciences Research Institute and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, as well as being a member of TPS.

Rigaku supports X-ray technology, semiconductors, power electronics devices, battery technologies and genetic and protein analysis.

The Protein Society focuses on structure, function, design, synthesis and use of proteins. Founded in 1985, it publishes the journal Protein Science. Members include chemists, biologists, physicists and mathematicians from academia, industry, government and nonprofits in more than 50 nations.