Xing Wang

Dr. Xing Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), affiliated with the Chemistry Department, Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Laboratory (MNTL), Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), and Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL). He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from New York University and completed postdoctoral training at Princeton University. His research focuses on designer DNA nanostructures (DDNs) for biosensors, therapeutics, and imaging tools, with applications in viral inhibition, cancer therapy, and rapid diagnostics.

• Key affiliations: Grainger College of Engineering, MNTL, IGB, CCIL.
• Education: Ph.D. in Chemistry (NYU, 2009), postdoc at Princeton (RNA biology).

Research Interests: Engineering DDNs such as DNA Stars, Nets, and NanoGrippers for:

• Targeted drug delivery and aptamer-mediated apoptosis in cancer.
• Rapid viral detection (e.g., SARS-CoV-2) via biosensors like DNA Nets.
• Immunotherapy strategies and high-resolution imaging.

Notable Achievements:

• Recipient of the Mikashi Award (UIUC, 2021) and Spoke Award (CZ BioHub, 2024).
• Co-founder of Atom Bioworks Inc., serving as a scientific advisor.

Lab Activities: The Nucleic Acids Programming Lab develops:

• Biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics.
• Therapeutic platforms for infectious diseases and cancer.
• AI-driven aptamer design and molecular barcoding for imaging.