Ming Dao

Ming Dao is a Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Nanomechanics Laboratory at MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He teaches courses on fracture mechanics and materials structure. His research focuses on nanomechanics of advanced materials, cell biomechanics, and machine learning applications in engineering and medicine. He has authored over 165 peer-reviewed papers, including in *Science*, *Nature Materials*, and *PNAS*. He holds an ASME Fellowship and has received international awards for his work in materials science and malaria research. He co-leads the Infectious Diseases Research Group at MIT's SMART Center and has held visiting roles at institutions globally.

Education

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, University of California San Diego (1994)
• M.S. in Materials Science, UC San Diego (1991)
• B.S. in Engineering Mechanics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (1989)

Research Interests

• Biomechanics of cellular systems
• Pathophysiology of malaria and sickle cell disease
• Nanomechanical properties of biological materials
• Machine learning for biomedical diagnostics
• Advanced materials characterization

Awards

• ASME Fellow (2016)
• Top 2% Global Scientists (Ioannidis List, 2019–2023)
• Best Paper Awards from Japan Institute of Metals (2006, 2013)
• 2012 Singapore Research Chair in Bioengineering

Grants and Leadership

He has chaired 18 international symposiums and led major projects including the SMART Center's Infectious Diseases IRG. His lab develops microfluidic tools for disease diagnostics and advanced materials testing.