Rong Tong

Rong Tong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on polymer science and biomedical applications, including the development of functional polyesters, drug delivery systems, and cancer nanomedicine. He obtained his B.S. from Fudan University (2005) and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2010).

Key research interests include:

• Polymers and materials chemistry (particularly polyesters and nanomaterials)
• Biomaterials and nanoparticles for drug delivery
• Controlled release systems and cancer immunotherapy

His work integrates chemistry, materials science, and biotechnology to create novel therapeutic platforms. Recent publications emphasize stimuli-responsive nanomedicine, machine learning in polymer design, and stereoselective polymerization techniques. Tong leads a research group exploring applications of poly(α-hydroxy acids) and nanoconjugates for targeted therapy.

He has developed innovative optical fiber-based drug delivery systems and pioneered Bayesian-optimized catalyst discovery for polymer synthesis. His lab maintains the ROP Catalyst Database, categorizing metal complexes for ring-opening polymerization.