Kerui Wu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Nanoscience
Dean's Office - Nanoscience and Nanoengineering
Email Address: k_wu@uncg.edu
Phone: 336.285.2865
Bio & Education
Dr. Wu became a member of JSNN in August 2023, following the culmination of his postdoctoral research at Wake Forest University’s Department of Cancer Biology, where he served as an NIH T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow. He holds an undergraduate degree in Clinical Medicine from Nanjing Medical University and earned his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Wake Forest University. Dr. Wu’s academic career has been focused on uncovering the intricate molecular mechanisms that govern physiological and pathophysiological processes. His research also explores innovative bioengineering approaches to advance both engineering and biomedical sciences.
Research
- Bioengineering Synthetic Cells: Dr. Wu focuses on designing and engineering synthetic cells that mimic natural cellular functions. These systems are applied to study and regulate fundamental biological processes, offering potential breakthroughs in both basic science and biomedical applications.
- Investigating Cell-Cell Communication in the Immune Regulation: His research explores how cell-to-cell communication shapes immune responses, both in maintaining health and in driving disease processes, particularly within the immune system.
- Nanoparticle drug development: Dr. Wu is developing nanoparticle-based drug carriers designed to improve the delivery and efficacy of therapeutic agents, with the goal of creating more targeted treatments for cancer and other diseases.
- Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis: He explores the role of the tumor microenvironment in promoting cancer progression and metastasis, aiming to identify key mechanisms that could be targeted to prevent cancer spread and improve treatment outcomes.
Honors & Awards
- 2024 Lung Cancer Initiative Innovation Vicky Amidon Innovation in Lung Cancer Research Award
- 2024 JSNN Excellence in Innovation
- 2024 UNCG Internal Research Award
- 2023 NIH T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
- 2023 Top-10 Women’s Health Research of WFU
- 2022 Director’s Excellence in Cancer Research Award
Grants
- 2026 NCInnovation Grant
- 2025 USDA NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Grant
- 2025 NSF Engineering Research Initiation Grant
- 2025 Houston Methodist Research Institute-JSNN Collaborative Pilot Funding
- 2024 NC Biotech Flash Grant
- 2024 DoD CDMRP LCRP Concept Award
Classes Taught
- NAN 731 Systems and Synthetic Biology
- NAN 750 Nanomedicine
- NAN 754 Immunology
- NAN 776 Tpcs: Genetics and Bioinfo
Selected Publications & Patents
- Li Wang, Zhuo Yan, Sindhu Yalavarthi, Yusif Abdul-Rashid, Kiki Parker, Kyle Nowlin, Ethan Li, Jordan Mack, Josephine Wei, Hunter Vu, Zhenquan Jia, Jianjun Wei, Jilong Wang, Kerui Wu. “Macrophage‐Targeted Magnesium Ion‐Nourisher for NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibition to Enhance Liver Inflammatory Disease Treatment.” Advanced Science (2026): e13798.
- Sindhu Yalavarthi, Li Wang, Yusif-Abdul Rashid, Kiki Parker, I’yanah Gunter, Ethan Li, Emily Cao, Jianjun Wei, Zhenquan Jia, Kounosuke Watabe, Kerui Wu, “Engineering an artificial antigen presenting system: A novel immunotherapeutic strategy for lung cancer.” Cancer Research 85, no. 8_Supplement_1 (2025): 3549-3549.
- Kerui Wu, Kounosuke Watabe. WIPO Patent WO2024215711: Modified Mammalian Vesicles and Compositions and Methods Related Thereto. 2024 October.
- Kerui Wu, Feng Lyu, Shih-Ying Wu, Sambad Sharma, Ravindra Pramod Deshpande, Abhishek Tyagi, Dan Zhao, Fei Xing, Ravi Singh, and Kounosuke Watabe. “Engineering an active immunotherapy for personalized cancer treatment and prevention of recurrence.” Science Advances 9, no. 17 (2023): eade0625.
- Kerui Wu, Jiamei Feng, Feng Lyu, Fei Xing, Sambad Sharma, Yin Liu, Shih-Ying Wu, Dan Zhao, Abhishek Tyagi, Ravindra Pramod Deshpande, Xinhong Pei, Marco Gabril Ruiz#, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Shunsuke Tsuzuki, Takahiro Kimura, Yin-yuan Mo, Yusuke Shiozawa, Ravi Singh and Kounosuke Watabe* (2021). Exosomal miR-19a and IBSP cooperate to induce osteolytic bone metastasis of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Nature Communications 12, no. 1 (2021): 5196