Biography

 Websites:
Website
Research with Rowan
Google Scholar

Education:
Post-Doctoral Associate, Tuft University
Ph.D., Polymer and Biophysics, Tufts University
M.S., Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University
M.S., Physics, Tufts University
B.S., Crystal and Material Physics, Nanjing University

Research Expertise:
Protein-based Biomaterials | Polymer Physics | Tissue Engineering | Controlled Drug Release and Delivery | Biosensor and Nanomedicine

The focus of my research is on biopolymers and sustainable materials, including fibrous proteins (silks, elastins, resilins, keratins, collagens, etc.), variable plant proteins (corn zeins, soy proteins, etc.), polysaccharides (celluloses, chitosans, hyaluronic acids, etc.), synthetic biocompatible polymers (polylactic acids, nylons, etc.), and other recombinant or natural polymers. Central to my work is the development of engineering technologies that precisely manipulate the biosynthesis, biophysics, and processing of these polymer systems, enabling controlled self-assembly into functional materials. These materials can be fabricated into tunable forms such as films, foams, gels, particles, fibers, or composites, and can be widely used for various green or biomedical technologies, including tissue regeneration medicine, disease modeling, controlled drug delivery and release, antibody and vaccine storage, flexible biosensors, green plastics, biodegradable building materials, biophotonics, and nano-biotechnology.

Honors and Awards:
President, North American Thermal Analysis Society, 2023
President, Thermal Analysis Forum of Delaware Valley, 2017-2019
Rising Innovator Award, Rowan University, 2016

Professional Memberships:
North American Thermal Analysis Society

Selected Publications:
Xincheng Zhuang, Haomiao Zhu, Fang Wang, Xiao Hu, Revolutionizing wild silk fibers: Ultrasound enhances structure, properties, and regenerability of protein biomaterials in ionic liquids, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry (2024), 109, 107018.

Kelsey DeFrates, Theodore Markiewicz, Ye Xue, Kayla Callaway, Christopher Gough, Robert Moore, Kristen Bessette, Xiaoyang Mou, Xiao Hu*. Air-jet spinning corn zein protein nanofibers for drug delivery: Effect of biomaterial structure and shape on release properties. Materials Science and Engineering: C (2021), 118, 111419.

Ye Xue, Samuel Lofland, Xiao Hu. Protein-based flexible thermal conductive materials with continuous network structure: Fabrication, properties, and theoretical modeling. Composites Part B: Engineering (2020), 201, 108377.

Maria Torculas, Jethro Medina, Wei Xue, Xiao Hu. Protein Based Bioelectronics. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, (2016), 2(8), 1211–1223.

Guokui Qin*, Xiao Hu*, Peggy Cebe, David Kaplan. Mechanism of resilin elasticity. Nature Communications, (2012), 3, 1003.