Joseph Irudayaraj

Joseph Irudayaraj is the Founder Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), affiliated with the Grainger College of Engineering. He holds additional roles as Associate Director of Shared Resources at the Cancer Center at Illinois and Director of the Illinois Superfund Research Center. His research focuses on nanotechnology-driven therapies, epigenetic toxicology, and environmental contaminants' impact on health, with a strong emphasis on translating lab innovations into clinical applications.

• Education: Ph.D. Biological Engineering (Purdue University), M.S. Biosystems Engineering & M.S. Information and Computer Sciences (University of Hawaii).
• Professional Roles: Affiliate Faculty at Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Beckman Institute, and Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

Research interests include oxygen nanobubble-based drug delivery systems for treating ischemia, PFAS toxicity mechanisms in kidney/liver cancers, and host-microbe interactions. His lab develops core technologies like super-resolution microscopy, lateral flow sensors, and microbe-encapsulating beads.

Over 45 graduate students and 50 postdoctoral scholars have been mentored, with collaborative networks spanning 15 countries. Major awards include AAAS, Royal Chemical Society, and AIMBE fellowships. His work is supported by grants from NIH, NSF, and international agencies.