My research interests lie at the interface of physics and biology. I’m exploring the physical mechanisms and dynamics in complex biological processes and biomaterials through a combination of high-throughput imaging, biotechnology, and quantitative analysis. I believe the journey is the reward and you are welcome to join me in this exciting endeavor.
My career path has been an interesting one. Instead of staying in one research area and studying deeper and deeper on one topic, I have hopped from one place to another, driven by my constant desire to do interesting science with good intention and good taste. I started grad school at MIT learning nanotechnology and nanofabrication. Then I found myself attracted more by open-ended soft condensed matter topics. So I moved to UIUC to work under the guidance of Dr. Steve Granick. There I watched very carefully how single molecules move around and I was thrilled to discover surprising dynamics through direct observation contrary to classical theoretical predictions. Gradually I began to feel my skill sets acquired in the process such as quantitative imaging and modeling could potentially make a broad impact on other research areas such as interesting biophysics problems. A chance meeting with Dr. Bo Huang towards the end of my PhD led me to UCSF. There I had great exposure to cutting-edge biotechnologies and trained myself to speak the biology language and work with biologists. Along the way, my physics background and quantitative skills helped me reveal the secrets of cells, one after another.
I have been extremely fortunate to have learned tremendously from my two mentors on many aspects of science and life in general over the years. They have set wonderful examples of doing great science and being supportive mentors. Greatly indebted to their enormous patience and trust in me, I can only pass this on and inspire next generation of young scientists to follow their dreams.
Outside lab, I enjoy reading novels, watching art films and documentary films, cooking, and hanging out with friends.
My career path has been an interesting one. Instead of staying in one research area and studying deeper and deeper on one topic, I have hopped from one place to another, driven by my constant desire to do interesting science with good intention and good taste. I started grad school at MIT learning nanotechnology and nanofabrication. Then I found myself attracted more by open-ended soft condensed matter topics. So I moved to UIUC to work under the guidance of Dr. Steve Granick. There I watched very carefully how single molecules move around and I was thrilled to discover surprising dynamics through direct observation contrary to classical theoretical predictions. Gradually I began to feel my skill sets acquired in the process such as quantitative imaging and modeling could potentially make a broad impact on other research areas such as interesting biophysics problems. A chance meeting with Dr. Bo Huang towards the end of my PhD led me to UCSF. There I had great exposure to cutting-edge biotechnologies and trained myself to speak the biology language and work with biologists. Along the way, my physics background and quantitative skills helped me reveal the secrets of cells, one after another.
I have been extremely fortunate to have learned tremendously from my two mentors on many aspects of science and life in general over the years. They have set wonderful examples of doing great science and being supportive mentors. Greatly indebted to their enormous patience and trust in me, I can only pass this on and inspire next generation of young scientists to follow their dreams.
Outside lab, I enjoy reading novels, watching art films and documentary films, cooking, and hanging out with friends.
Some random snapshots ...