François Yu

Dr. François Yu is a Professor at the University of Montreal, affiliated with the Department of Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine. He leads the Theranostic Microbubble Laboratory at the Centre de recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), focusing on developing targeted therapies against cancer using ultrasound-activated microbubbles. His work integrates biomedical engineering, oncology, and imaging technologies to enhance drug delivery, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy efficacy.

Education: BEng in Electrical Engineering (École Polytechnique Montréal, 2001) and PhD in Biomedical Engineering (University of Montreal, 2010). Research interests include microbubble-mediated therapeutics, vascular physiology, and translational medicine. He has secured funding from agencies like the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQS), and MITACS, supporting projects in cancer therapy and imaging.

Research emphasizes theranostics combining diagnostic and therapeutic functions, with applications in oncology and cardiology. Key projects involve improving targeted drug delivery via microbubbles, enhancing immunotherapy through ultrasound activation, and optimizing radiotherapy using microbubble-sensitized tumor responses. His lab collaborates with multidisciplinary teams across CRCHUM and the Réseau de Bio-Imagerie du Québec.

Current research includes studying microbubble-induced nitric oxide release for vascular targeting, developing nanotechnology-based drug transport systems, and exploring marine-derived hemoglobin extracts for anticancer therapy. He actively recruits graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with expertise in molecular biology, biomedical engineering, or pharmaceutical sciences.