Paradigm shifts in biomedical field often arise from innovations in measurement methods. Our research group is interested in applying interdisciplinary approaches to develop new tools and methods to solve current challenges in life sciences, such as disease diagnostics, medical therapeutics, as well as personalized medicine. We are a diverse team of scientists and engineers with broad expertise spanning molecular biology, CRISPR technology, synthetic biology and chemistry to engineering. Our current research focuses on the integration of micro- and nanotechnology with biology and medicine, and their biomedical applications. Our research philosophy is “Interdisciplinary Integration and Innovation (I³)”.

Our laboratory works at the interface of molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and engineering (e.g., biomedical, electrical, mechanical). On the one hand, we apply advanced biochemical approaches (e.g., CRISPR technology, synthetic biology) to investigate novel bioanalytical and clinical research strategies (e.g., Xiong Ding et al., Nature Communications, 2020, 11, 4711). On the other hand, we adapt our new biomedical research findings to microfluidic technology and develop next-generation medical devices/systems for disease diagnostics and therapeutics (e.g., Kun Yin et al., Theranostics, 2019, 9, 2637-2645). Our current research focuses include:

Disease Diagnosis and Prevention using CRISPR Technology and Synthetic Biology
CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology and synthetic biology are revolutionizing the treatment, prevention and diagnosis of diseases. We are interested in the application of CRISPR technology and synthetic biology to disease diagnostics and treatment, in particular the use of CRISPR-toolbox/ synthetic biology to develop simple, rapid and sensitive diagnostic technologies. We have developed an All-in-One Dual CRISPR-Cas12a (AIOD-CRISPR) technology for rapid, ultrasensitive and visual detection of SARS-CoV-2 detection (e.g., Xiong Ding et al., Nature Communications, 2020, 11, 4711).

Microfluidic Technologies for Global Health
Rapid and sensitive diagnostics of infectious disease at the point-of-care (POC) is critical for prompt and appropriate therapeutic intervention. Microfluidic technology not only allows the miniaturization of traditional biochemical assays, but also reduces cost, sample amount and testing time. We combine microfluidics with nucleic acid detection technology (e.g., isothermal amplification) to develop simple, low-cost and easy-to-use molecular diagnostic platform for infectious disease detection (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, HIV, ZIKV) (e.g., Jinzhao Song et al., Analytical Chemistry, 2016, 88, 14, 7289-7294)

Smart Connected Diagnostic System
In the context of mobile Health (mHealth) and personalized medicine, the integration of inexpensive POC diagnostics technology with the ubiquitous smartphone will create a new paradigm shift for cost-effective, mobile, personalized, health monitoring. We investigate smart connected diagnostic systems that take advantage of smartphone/internet technology to develop next generation health care solutions (e.g., Internet of Diagnostic Things) (Song et al., Analytical chemistry, 2018, 90(7):4823-4831).

People are the engine and driving force of innovations in our research lab. We always seek highly talented researchers from different biomedical science field (e.g., molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, cell biology) to work synthetic biology, CRISPR technology, and their biomedical applications in a diverse, interdisciplinary environment. We have an immediate opening for Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows. If you are interested in applying or would like more information, please contact Changchun Liu at chaliu@uchc.edu.

Accepting Lab Rotation Students: Fall Block 2024, Spring 1 and 2 Block 2025

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