Dr. Zhi Luo, born in China in 1991, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of SUSTech. He received the Bachelor degree from Tsinghua University in 2013 and then moved to Switzerland for his Ph.D. in Materials Science at EPFL under the supervision of Prof. Francesco Stellacci. His doctoral thesis was focused on the physical chemistry and synchrotron characterization of complex nanomaterial interfaces, which was honored with the Thesis Distinction Award at EPFL in 2018. He then decided to broaden the scope of his research and joined the group of Prof. Jean-Christophe Leroux at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science of ETH as a postdoc supported by the ETH Fellow program.

Prof. Luo heads the Laboratory of Bioinspired Medicine and Materials where he intends to apply the understandings in bio-material interfaces to the field of drug delivery and drug discovery. An interdisciplinary approach combining surface sciences, supramolecular chemistry, 3D printing and material characterization is adopted to develop novel concepts in pharmaceutical fields, especially in oral drug delivery.

Education

2013 – 2018  PhD in Material Science, EPFL, Switzerland

2009 – 2013  Bachelor in Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, China

Work Experience

2021– present  Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, SUSTech, China

2018 – 2021     Postdoc, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, ETHZ, Switzerland

Awards

2020  IPW Young Scientist Lecture Award, ETHZ

2019  ETH Fellow

2018  EPFL Thesis Distinction Award

2018  Chinese government award for outstanding self-financed student study abroad

2016  Highlight research of the year, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum

2012 June Tsao-Yu Scholarship

Publications

[1] "Physical methods for enhancing drug absorption from the gastrointestinal tract."  Z. Luo, N. Paunović, J-C Leroux. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev., 175 (2021): 113914

[2] "Determination and evaluation of the nonadditivity in wetting of molecularly heterogeneous surfaces."  Z. Luo, A. Murello, D. M. Wilkins, F. Kovacik, J. Kohlbrecher, A. Radulescu, H. I. Okur, Q. K. Ong, S. Roke, M. Ceriotti, F. Stellacci. PNAS, 116, no. 51 (2019): 25516-25523

[3] "Mass spectrometry and Monte Carlo method mapping of nanoparticle ligand shell morphology." Z. Luo, Y. Zhao, T. Darwish, Y. Wang, J. Hou, F. Stellacci. Nat. Comm., 9, no. 1 (2018): 4478.

[4] "Quantitative 3D determination of self-assembled structures on nanoparticles using small angle neutron scattering." Z. Luo, D. Marson, Q. K. Ong, A. Loiudice, J. Kohlbrecher, A. Radulescu, A. Krause-Heuer, T. Darwish, S. Balog, R. Buonsanti, D. I. Svergun, P. Posocco, F. Stellacci. Nat. Comm., 9, no. 1 (2018): 1343.

[5] "Evolution of the Ligand Shell Morphology during Ligand Exchange Reactions on Gold Nanoparticles." Z. Luo‡, J. Hou‡, L. Menin, Q. K. Ong, F. Stellacci.  Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 129, no. 43 (2017): 13706-13710.

[6] "Characterization of Ligand Shell for Mixed-Ligand Coated Gold Nanoparticles." Q. K. Ong‡, Z. Luo‡, F. Stellacci. Acc. Chem. Res., 50, no. 8 (2017): 1911-1919.

[7] "Multi-dimensional characterization of mixed ligand nanoparticles using small angle neutron scattering." Z. Luo*, Y. Yang, A. Radulescu, J. Kohlbrecher, T. Darwish, Q. K. Ong, S. Guldin, F. Stellacci*. Chem. Mater., 31, no. 17 (2019): 6750-6758

[8] "Digital light 3D printing of customized bioresorbable airway stents with silicone-like mechanical properties." N. Paunović, Y. Bao, F. Coulter, K. Masania, A. Geks, K. Klein, A. Rafsanjani, J. Cadalbert, P. W. Kronen, N. Kleger, A. Karol, Z. Luo, F. Rüber, D. Brambilla, B. von Rechenberg, D. Franzen, A. R. Studart, J-C Leroux. Sci. Adv., 7, (2021): eabe9499

[9] "Continuous color tuning of single-fluorophore emission via polymerization-mediated through-space charge transfer."  S. Ye, T. Tian, A.J. Christofferson, S. Erikson S, J. Jagielski, Z. Luo, S. Kumar, C-J Shih, J-C Leroux, Bao Y. Sci. Adv., 7, (2021): eabd1794.

[10] "Solvent-Free Three-Dimensional Printing of Biodegradable Elastomers Using Liquid Macrophotoinitiators." M. Sandmeier, N. Paunović, R. Conti, L. Hofmann, J. Wang, Z. Luo, K. Masania, N. Wu, N. Kleger, F. B. Coulter, A. R. Studart, H. Grützmacher, J-C Leroux, Y. Bao, Macromolecules, 54, no. 17 (2021), 7830–7839

[11] "Quantification of surface composition and segregation on AuAg bimetallic nanoparticles by MALDI MS." S. Liao, Z. Luo, J. Metternich, R. Zenobi, F. Stellacci. Nanoscale, 12 (2020): 22639-22644

[12] "Comparative characterization of non-monodisperse gold nanoparticle populations by X-ray scattering and electron microscopy." Y. Yang, S. Liao, Z. Luo, R. Qi, NM Fhionnlaoich, F. Stellacci, S. Guldin. Nanoscale,12 (2020): 12007-12013

[13] "Inhibitors of Calcium Oxalate Crystallization for the Treatment of Oxalate Nephropathies." K. Anna, S. R. Mulay, M. Motrapu, Z. Luo, H-J Anders, M. E. Ivarsson, J-C Leroux. ‎Adv. Sci (2020): 1903337

[14] "Reproducibility warning: The curious case of polyethylene glycol 6000 and spheroid cell culture." S. Simona, C. Martinelli, A. Palazzo, R. M. Iacobazzi, M. Perrone, Q. K. Ong, Z. Luo et al. PLoS One,15, no. 3 (2020): e0224002.

[15] "Synthesis and Characterization of Amphiphilic Gold Nanoparticles." P. Guven, P. Silva, Z. Luo, U. Cendrowska, M. Gasbarri, S. Jones, F. Stellacci. J. Vis. Exp., 149 (2019): e58872

[16] "On the van der Waals interactions of n-alkanethiol covered Surfaces: From planar to curved surfaces." F. Cometto, Z. Luo, S. Zhao, J. Olmos-Asar, M. Mariscal, Q. Ong, K. Kern, F. Stellacci, and M. Lingenfelder. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 129, no. 52 (2017): 16753-16757.

[17] "Freestanding Ultrathin Nanoparticle Membranes Assembled at Transient Liquid–Liquid Interfaces." B. Le Ouay, S. Guldin, Z. Luo, S. Allegri, and F. Stellacci. Adv. Mat. Interfaces, 3, no. 15 (2016): 1600191

[18] "Glutathione as the end capper for cyclodextrin/PEG polyrotaxanes." Q. Song, Z. Luo, X. Tong, Y. Du, and Y. Huang. Chinese J. Polym. Sci., 32, no. 8 (2014): 1003-1009.