Denis Wirtz

Denis Wirtz is the Vice Provost for Research and Theophilus Halley Smoot Professor at Johns Hopkins University. He is affiliated with the Whiting School of Engineering, the Data Science and AI Institute, and holds joint appointments in Pathology and Oncology. His research spans mechanobiology, cancer metastasis, and 3D biomedical imaging.

• PhD, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University (1993)
• MSc, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
• BSc, Physics Engineering, Free University of Brussels (1988)

Wirtz’s research focuses on cell motility, tumor microenvironment dynamics, and AI-driven 3D tissue reconstruction. His lab developed CODA, a groundbreaking pipeline for cm-scale 3D tissue mapping, and pioneered work in mechanobiology and high-throughput cell phenotyping. Recent projects include analyzing pancreatic precancerous lesions, skin aging, and immune cell organization in tumors.

Key research trends include 3D cell migration models, machine learning applications in pathology, and mechanotransductive feedback in cancer progression. His work bridges physics, oncology, and biomedical engineering.

• NSF CAREER award (1995)
• Theophilus H. Smoot Professor (2009)
• Fellow, AIMBE (2007), AAAS (2009), APS (2010)
• Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium

Wirtz has advised numerous PhD students, including Kyu Sang Han, and mentors a lab team working on metastasis, extracellular vesicles, and immunology. His lab collaborates with the NCI-funded Physical Sciences-Oncology Center and Cellular Cancer Biology Imaging Research Center.

The Wirtz Lab, part of the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT), focuses on quantitative methods like particle-tracking microrheology and CODA for 3D tissue analysis. Recent additions include Master’s students from Instituto Superior Técnico and new PhD cohorts in 2023–2024.