Shaoyi Jiang joined the Meinig School as Robert S. Langer ’70 Family and Friends Professor in June 2020. Prior to Cornell he was the Boeing-Roundhill Professor of Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering and an adjunct professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Jiang’s current research focuses on the molecular understanding, design and development of functional zwitterionic materials for biomedical and engineering applications. His group performs both fundamental and applied studies using an integrated experimental and computational approach to target research problems at the interface of materials and biological sciences. Biofouling control is essential for many applications, ranging from medical devices, tissue scaffolds and drug carriers to industrial membranes and ship hulls. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been extensively used, but suffers from severe issues including instability, limited performance and adverse effects. His group has developed several new classes of ultra-low fouling zwitterionic materials such as poly(carboxybetaine) (PCB), poly(sulfobetaine) (PSB) and poly(trimethylamine N-oxide) (PTMAO) as alternatives or replacements over PEG. In drug delivery and nanomedicine, his group has demonstrated the advantages of zwitterionic materials over PEG for protecting drugs and biologics to improve drug efficacy and safety (Nature Chemistry, 4, 59, 2012; PNAS, 112, 12046, 2015; Science Translational Medicine, 11, aau7091, 2019). For medical implants, his group has uncovered the ability of zwitterionic materials to avoid fibrotic encapsulation (Nature Biotechnology, 31, 553, 2013). To facilitate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) therapies, his group has exhibited substantial expansion of HSCs without differentiation through culture in zwitterionic hydrogels (Nature Medicine, 25, 1566, 2019). For blood-contacting devices, his group has demonstrated zwitterionic coated artificial lungs to exhibit excellent anticoagulant-free performance and zwitterionic coated sensors to detect cancer biomarkers in undiluted blood. In addition, his group has developed environmentally benign, long-lasting and effective zwitterionic-based nonfouling marine coatings on ship hulls against biofouling.
Jiang’s research at Cornell aims to (a) integrate immunology into existing biomaterials research programs to develop immune-modulating biomaterials assisted by a fundamental understanding at the molecular and cellular levels and artificial intelligence-directed materials discovery; (b) translate zwitterionic material, surface coating and nanoparticle technologies into medical practice in nanomedicine, tissue engineering, cell therapeutics, medical devices and cancer immune therapeutics. His group will have close collaborations with researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Hospital for Special Surgery, Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, and Cornell Center for Immunology.
Jiang's lab currently has multiple postdoctoral positions available.
B.S. (Chemical Engineering), Hua Qiao University, 1985
M.S. (Chemical Engineering) Nanjing Institute of Chemical Technology, 1988
Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), Cornell University, 1993
Postdoctoral Fellow (Chemistry), University of California at Berkeley, 1993-1994
Research Fellow (Chemistry), California Institute of Technology, 1994-1996
A $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund research, led by Nicholas Abbott from the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, into “microcleaners” for waterways. Read more about NSF grant to fund research into ‘microcleaners’ for waterways
Shaoyi Jiang, Ph.D. ’93, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Washington, has been named the first Robert S. Langer ’70 Family and Friends Professor at Cornell. Jiang will join the Nancy E. and Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering in July, in a professorship honoring one of the university’s most notable engineering alumni. Read more about Alumnus named inaugural Langer Professor in Meinig School
