معرفی
Connie Wu, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor at the Life Sciences Institute and holds dual appointments as Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering (College of Engineering) and Pharmaceutical Sciences (College of Pharmacy) at the University of Michigan. Her lab develops transformative technologies at the intersection of materials engineering, single-molecule detection, and biomedical applications to address challenges in cancer diagnostics and RNA therapeutics.
- Education: B.S. in Chemical Engineering (Yale University, 2013), Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (MIT, 2018), Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Harvard Medical School, 2018-2022)
Wu's research focuses on
- Accelerating cancer biomarker signature discovery using ultrasensitive single-molecule assays
- Engineering multifunctional RNA therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy
- Designing rational nanomaterials with predictable in vivo behavior
- Creating high-multiplex diagnostic platforms for blood-based disease detection
Scientific awards include
- NIH NIBIB Trailblazer Award (2024)
- NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (2024)
- Department of Defense Idea Award (2024)
- NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship (2020-2022)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2014-2017)
Wu's laboratory trains students and researchers from diverse backgrounds in biomedical engineering, chemical biology, and molecular diagnostics. Current lab members include research staff, postdoctoral fellows (Evan Alexander, Chia-Wei Yang), graduate students (Ashley Haralson, Chi-Chia Wang, Yinying Yang), and alumni (Andrew Alvarez, Wenxuan Wang, Ryan Schildcrout). The lab actively recruits at all levels and emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration.
The lab's technology development spans
- Digital single-molecule detection platforms
- RNA sequence/structural design for immunotherapy
- Nanopore-based immunoassays
- Polycationic carrier systems for nucleic acid delivery
- Multi-cancer biomarker validation
- Predictive nanomaterial design tools
