Principle Investigator

Chao Liu

Assistant Professor at Southern University of Science and Technology. Chao received his Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Science from University of Toronto, Canada. He received his Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto. Chao has completed a postdoctoral fellowship at New York University with joint appointment from the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Orthopedics at NYU Langone Health Medical Center. Chao’s research interests include the mechanobiology of stem cells, tissue engineering of bone tissue for regenerative medicine applications, and biomechanically functional implants.

Postdoc

Siying Wu

PhD, City University of Hong Kong

Siying is researching the utilization of mechanical memory in stem cells to induce chondrogenesis, thereby enhancing the regeneration of cartilage.

Graduate Students

Ziyan Wang

PhD student, the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Ziyan Wang is from Liaoning Province. She earned undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Jilin University graduating with a degree in Microbiology. Her desire to advance the treatment of orthopedic diseases by understanding the mechanisms of bone regeneration leads to her joining the Chao Liu lab for her doctoral work, where she is studying the function and role of macrophages in bone repair.

Yang Liu

PhD student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Yang Liu is from Jiangsu, China. He completed his undergraduate studies in department of biomedical engineering at China Medical University, where he researched the design of 3D-controlled hydrogel scaffolds for adipose-derived stem cells’ induction towards endothelial cells and adipose cells.

This sparked his interest in advancing stem cell treatments through designing tissue engineering scaffolds, and lead him to join the Chao Liu lab for his graduate work, where he is studying the cell mechanobiology and repairing of critical sized defects with mechanobiologically optimized 3D printed ceramic scaffolds.

Hang Zhou

PhD student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Hang is a postgraduate student from Jiangsu province, China. He first finished his undergraduate studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University graduating with a degree in Biomedical engineering.

Then he worked for Innovative Cellular Therapeutics in CAR-T therapy for colorectal cancer and leukemia, and searched for potential therapeutic targets. In September 2021, he joined Southern University of Science and Technology for a master’s degree.

Currently, in Liu Lab, he is investigating the mechanism by which hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes angiogenesis and osteogenesis.

Haotian Cai

Master student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Haotian is a Post-Graduate student from Hunan, China. After 2 years of study at Applied Biomechanics Tissue Regeneration Laboratory, he developed a keen interest in the coupling of angiogenesis and osteogenesis. He is studying the effect of endothelial cell produced paracrine induced by fluid shear stress on Pre-osteoblasts.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering of Southern University of Science and Technology, where he researched Mechanics of Soft materials and Computational Solid Mechanics. During his summer intern at University of California, San Diego in 2019, he researched the mechanical properties of PLA.

Minmin Lin

Master student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Minmin graduated from Southern University of Science and Technology, where she majored in Statistics and Data Science. In the Liu lab, she is investing how the mechanical environment affects bone regeneration. Currently, she is learning the finite element analysis for simulating the strain field in the bone marrow. When she is not in the lab, Lin enjoys playing badminton and playing with her cat.

Yonghao Pan

Master student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Yonghao is a postgraduate student from Heilongjiang province, China. He first finished his undergraduate studies at Northeastern University graduating with a degree in Safety engineering.

In September 2021, he joined Southern University of Science and Technology for a master’s degree.

Currently, in Liu Lab, he is investigating mechanical loading for meniscus regeneration by Single cell RNA sequencing.

Hongzhi Liu (Homzhi)

Master student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Homzhi is a boy who likes to cook. He is happy to share the food he made with others. When not in the lab, Homzhi prefers to go to the gym to work out, or play badminton with other lab colleagues. Homzhi knew in his freshman year that he wanted to get a doctorate certificate, so he devoted himself to scientific research very early. He also enjoys the sense of achievement brought by scientific research and loves this job.

Jiawei Li

Master student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Jiawei comes from Jilin province, China. He first finished his undergraduate studies at Wuhan polytechnic University graduating with a degree in Food science and Engineering.

In July 2022, he joined Southern University of Science and Technology for a Master’s degree.

Bingtong Yan

Master student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology.

Yan graduated from Tianjin University majoring in Urban Planning and Design.

Her current interests are focused on 3D modeling and programming, based on which she wants to explore the mechanical factors of bone regeneration related to spatial relationships and digital image processing in Liu Lab.

Ying Wang

Master student. Ying is a Hubei native born and raised in Shenzhen. She is from Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine with a degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Yuanhao Fan

Master student, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology

Yuanhao Fan is from Guangdong, China. Yuanhao graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen , where he majored in Communication Engineering.

Visiting Scholars and Students

Jianqun Wu

Visiting PhD student, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology

Qiang Lian

Visiting PhD student, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology

Master degree at the Southern Medical University. In 2019, I joined Professor Wang Jian’s team, where I was mainly involved in researching antibacterial materials.