Yan Yu

Yan Yu is a Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, holding the Art Krieg Professorship. He leads the Yu Research Group, focusing on nanotechnology for biophysical and biomedical applications. Previously affiliated with Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Chemistry, his lab will relocate to WashU in 2025.

Education: Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009), B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University (2004).

Research interests span chemical biology, biophysics, immune engineering, and biomaterials. His work develops nanotechnology tools for disease detection (e.g., biosensors, Janus particles) and immune modulation therapies. Key areas include viral entry mechanisms, phagocytic synapse dynamics, and antimicrobial nanomaterials.

Awards include the Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award (2021), Sloan Research Fellowship (2017), and NSF CAREER Award (2016). Over 15 patents/patent applications address diagnostic tools and antimicrobial strategies.

Mentoring includes graduate students (e.g., Avani, Navin) and postdocs (e.g., Yiming, Yi). Lab highlights include real-time phagosome imaging and reprogramming macrophages to combat metastasis.