Current Members

Chang Liu, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
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PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, 2013
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BS, Biomedical Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, China, 2007
Dr. Liu joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as an Associate Professor in 2024. Before this, he started in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina as an Assistant Professor in 2018 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2023. In his early career, he worked as a Research Scientist at Arizona State University and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Houston Methodist Research Institute. Dr. Liu’s research interests include in vitro diagnostics, point-of-care devices, and translational biomarkers for improving healthcare. Dr. Liu received the NIH MIRA award, the NSF CAREER award, and the USC Breakthrough Stars award. He is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Biophysical Society.
Email: chang@umass.edu

Xiaojun Wei, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
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Associate Scientist, Biomedical Engineering, University of South Carolina, 2023
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Postdoctoral Fellow, Biomedical Engineering, University of South Carolina, 2018-2023
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Project Research Assistant, Key Laboratory of Colloid, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS), 2018
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PhD, Physical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2018
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MS, Material Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 2013
Email: xiaojunwei@umass.edu

Sanjayan C. G., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Research Associate, Jain (Deemed-to-be University), 2024
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PhD, Nanotechnology, Jain (Deemed-to-be University), 2024
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MS, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Madras, 2019
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BS, Medical Bionanotechnology, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, 2017
Email: schandrapura@umass.edu

Ankur Ruhela, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
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PhD, Chemical Engineering Department, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Tarragona, Spain, 2023
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Project Research Assistant, Biomedical Engineering Department, IIT Delhi, India, 2018-2019
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Project Research Assistant, Waurn ponds campus, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 2016-2017
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Project Research Assistant, Mawson Lakes Campus, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, 2016
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Visiting Scientist, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2015
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MS & M.Tech., Amity Institute of Nanotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India, 2014
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BS, Medical Lab Technology, Santosh Medical and Dental College, Ghaziabad, India, 2011
Email: aruhela@umass.edu

Rajiv Ranjan Thakur, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
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PhD, Engineering Sciences, CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, 2024
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M.Tech., Microelectronics & VLSI System Design, National Institute of Technology, Mizoram, 2018
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B.Tech., Electronics & Communication Engineering, Mizoram University (A Central University), 2015
Email: rajivranjant@umass.edu

Pengyi Wang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Research Scientist, Labby Inc., 2024
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PhD, Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, 2023
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BS, Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2016
Email: pengyiwang@umass.edu

JaEon Cho, Esq.
PhD Student
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MS, Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2024
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BS, Biomolecular Science, New York University, 2021
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LLM, Georgetown Law School, 2016
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JD, University of Minnesota Law School, 2015
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LLB, Yonsei University, South Korea, 2011
Email: jaeoncho@umass.edu

Anna Su
PhD Student
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B.Eng., Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University, China, 2022
Email: ansu@umass.edu

Lijun Peng
PhD Student
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M.E, Food Science and Engineering, Nankai University, China, 2024
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B.E, Food Quality and Safety, Shaanxi Normal University, China, 2021
Email: lijunpeng@umass.edu

Chengzhi Dong
PhD Student
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Project Research Assistant, The University of Hong Kong, 2024
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BS, Biotechnology, Sun Yat-sen University, 2023
Email: chengzhidong@umass.edu
Alumni

Kara McClung (Undergraduate, 2018)

Rachel Teague (Undergraduate, 2018-2019)

Jonathan Gray (Undergraduate, 2018-2019)

Roberto Gambarini (Undergraduate, 2018-2019)

Leon Wang (High School, 2019-2021)

Gabriela Lozada Calle (REU, 2022)

Nyasia Brown (High School, 2022)
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Leighton Buckner (Undergraduate, 2023-2024)

Xiaoqin Wang (Ph.D., 2019-2024)

Zehui Zhang (Ph.D., 2019-2024)
