Biography

Dr. Zhen Gu received his B.S. degree in Chemistry and M.S. degrees in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Nanjing University. In 2010, he obtained Ph.D. degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the guidance of Prof. Yi Tang in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He was a postdoctoral associate working with Prof. Robert Langer at MIT and Harvard Medical School during 2010 to 2012. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. He also holds joint positions in the Molecular Pharmaceutics Division in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Endocrinology and Metabolism Division in the Department of Medicine at UNC. His group studies controlled drug delivery, bio-inspired materials and nanobiotechnology, especially for cancer and diabetes treatment. He has published over 80 research papers and applied 40 patents. He is a co-founder of two startup companies. Dr. Gu is the recipient of the Sloan Research Fellowship (2016), Pathway Award (2015) and Junior Faculty Award (2014) of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), Young Innovator Award in Cellular and Molecular Engineering of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES, 2015) and the Sigma Xi Young Faculty Research Award (2014). MIT Technology Review listed him in 2015 as one of the global top innovators under the age of 35 (TR35). GOOD Magazine listed him in 2016 as one of GOOD 100- “100 individuals who are improving the world through creativity and innovation”. His invention- “Smart Insulin Patch” was selected as one of the top 10 images in 2015 by Science.

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Research Interest

Controlled Drug Delivery, Bio-Inspired Materials, Implantable Devices, Biochip Technology, Micro/Nanobiotechnology