Lab Members

Research scientist

Jordan earned her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Virginia Commonwealth in 2023. During her PhD work she studied how loss of isoprenylation decreased IgE mediated mast cell activation in allergic disease. Following this she worked for a cord blood bank working on cellular therapies. In April of 2024 she transitioned to the Zhu lab where she will work on the immune effects of novel cancer and autoimmune therapies.

Postdoc Fellow

You received PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Her research focus is on novel nucleic acid therapeutics and vaccines for cancer immunotherapy and immune disorder treatment/prevention.

Postdoc Fellow

Qiyan graduated from China Pharmaceutical University in 2020, where he obtained his B.S. and Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry. His research is focused on the delivery of cancer chemotherapy and immunotherapy. He worked on dermatologic immunology at Dr. Mi's lab (HenryFord Healthy System, USA, MI, August 2021-May 2023). He joined Dr. Zhu’s lab in June 2023, where he works on PROTAC and nanovaccine development for cancer therapy and autoimmune disease.

Postdoc Fellow

Ri received his MD in Clinical Medicine from Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. His research focus is on myofibroblast activation in pulmonary fibrosis. He is a resident doctor in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China(August 2020-August 2023). He joined Dr. Zhu’s lab in August 2023, where he works on novel nucleic acid therapeutics and vaccines for pulmonary fibrosis.

Postdoc Fellow

Yu received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Soochow University, China. Her research is primarily focused on the development of biomaterials aimed at modulating the tumor microenvironment (TME) to enhance cancer therapy. In November 2023, she joined Dr. Zhu’s lab, where her current focus is in the field of therapeutic nucleic acid delivery for advancing cancer immunotherapy.

Postdoc Fellow

Shimiao earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from the Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China in 2021. Following that, he assumed the role of an RNA scientist at CNBG-Virogin Biotech. In November 2023, he transitioned to the Zhu lab, channeling his expertise towards developing innovative nucleic acid-based immunotherapeutics.

Postdoc Fellow

Chunpeng received his PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2020, where he focused on novel protein vaccine design and epitope-specific antibody discovery. After graduation, he worked as a scientist at Shanghai Hengrui pharmaceutical company and led antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) projects. He will join Dr.Zhu’s lab in March 2024, where he will work on developing novel therapeutics and vaccines for cancer immunotherapy based on nucleic acid.

Postdoc Fellow

Guolan received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from East China Normal University in 2019. Following that, she joined Shanghai Jiao Tong University as a postdoc, focusing on post-modification of nucleosides and nucleotides. In 2023, She received postdoc training in medicinal chemistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. In June 2024, she joined Dr. Zhu’s lab and her current research focuses on pharmaceutical sciences and nucleic acid medicine.

Postdoc Fellow

Sicong received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of Michigan. His research is primarily focused on the RNA structure influences on its enzymatic cleavage steps and development of RNA structure based antisense oligo design. In July 2024, he joined Dr. Zhu’s group to work on novel therapeutic nucleic acid design for RNA editing

PhD student

Shurong graduated from Peking University in 2019, where she obtained her B.S. and M.S. in pharmaceutical sciences. She has worked on developing novel delivery systems for oral protein delivery. She joined Dr. Zhu’s lab to study nucleic acid-based immunotherapeutics design and its drug delivery for cancer immunotherapy.

PhD student

Xiang obtained his bachelor degree in Applied Chemistry from Shandong University in China. He has worked on polymeric carriers for CFTR gene delivery during his master's training at University College London. He joined Dr. Zhu’s lab in 2021 to study drug delivery for cancer immunotherapy.

PharmD Student

Yuqing is a Class of 2026 PharmD student at University of Michigan who is interested in both fields of clinical pharmacy and pharmaceutical research. Her professional background encompasses diverse experiences in clinical, community, and non-traditional pharmacy settings, complemented by research experience in microbiology, behavioral science, and oncology. Currently, her research interest is on developing innovative cancer therapies utilizing LNP that co-deliver mRNA and DNA, aiming to enhance treatment efficacy and patient outcomes.

PhD student

Zitong earned her bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Michigan. She joined Dr. Zhu's lab in June 2024, where her research will focus on developing novel nucleic acid therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of pulmonary diseases.

PhD Student

Qing received her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering from Southeast University in 2020 and completed dual master's degrees in Nanoscience and Technology from University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Copenhagen in 2023. With research interests in immunoengineering and RNA therapeutics, she joined Dr. Zhu's lab in 2024 and is co-advised by Dr. James Moon.