Jianjun Cheng

Jianjun Cheng is a distinguished academic serving as Vice President and Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Westlake University. Previously, he held roles as Dean of the School of Engineering (2021–2024) and was a Full Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where he received the Distinguished Promotion Award in 2015. His research focuses on bio-micro/nanotechnology and translational nanomedicine, with over 200 publications and 41 issued patents. Two of his nanomedicine systems have advanced to clinical trials.

• Education: B.S. (Chemistry, Nankai University, 1993), M.S. (Chemistry, Southern Illinois University, 1996), Ph.D. (Materials Science, UCSB, 2001).
• Research Interests: Development of biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and nanomedicine applications. His work bridges polymer chemistry and biomedical engineering to address clinical challenges.

Cheng has received prestigious awards such as the NIH Innovator Award (2010) and ACS Polymer Chemistry Fellowship (2015). He co-invented patents in biomaterials and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Biomaterials Science. His lab at Westlake collaborates widely, mentoring over 40 PhD students and postdocs who now hold academic and industry roles globally.