Biography
Dr. Cheng received his doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Washington Seattle in 2009. In August 2009, Dr. Cheng started his independent academic career as an assistant professor at the University of Akron. In 2015, Dr. Cheng was promoted to Associate professor with tenure. In 2016, Dr. Cheng joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has obtained many major grants from US and China federal and state funding agencies to support his research program. In 2015, He received the prestigious NSF Faculty Early Career Award. Dr. Cheng is well known for his pioneering work in zwitterionic polymers. His team has developed a set of new materials, concepts, and methods to address long-standing biofouling challenges. His work has been highlighted and commented on by Nature Materials, Science, and experts in the field.
2005-2009
Ph.D., University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA), Chemical Engineering
2002-2005
M.S., University of Minnesota (Twin Cities, MN, USA), Microbial Engineering
1995-1999
B.S., Beijing University of Chemical Technology (Beijing, China), Biochemical Engineering
History
2023
Principal Investigator, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
Adjunct Professor, University of Illinois Chicago, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chicago, Illinois
2021
UIC COE teaching award
2019
UIC Proof-of-Concept award
2018
UIC student advising award
2017
Director of Graduate Studies, University of Illinois Chicago, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chicago, Illinois
Faculty Senator, University of Illinois System
2016
Associate Professor with Tenure, University of Illinois Chicago, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chicago, Illinois
Adjunct Professor, Dalian University of Technology, School of Pharmaceutical Science
2015
Associate Professor with Tenure, University of Akron, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Akron, Ohio
NSF Faculty Early Career award
University of Akron Faculty Fellowship
2011
Firestone Fellowship
2009
Assistant Professor, University of Akron, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Akron, Ohio
2007
University of Washington graduate award
2010
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Department of Integrative Medical Sciences, Rootstown, Ohio
1999
Project Engineer, China Huanqiu Chemical Engineering Corporation, Beijing, China
Research
1. Develop new materials, new concepts, and new methods to address long-standing biofouling challenges for medical and industrial applications
2. Use new materials as a tool to probe and understand the mechanisms of multiple biofouling phenomena, including biofilm, material-induced thrombosis, and foreign body reaction
3. Establish the structure-function relationships of the effective antifouling materials and develop material design principles
4. Develop new biomaterials to address critical challenges in nucleic acid, protein, and small molecular drug delivery
Representative Publications
1. Yaqian Fan, Peilang Yang, Hongyang Ma, Yang Hu,* Gang Cheng,* and Fu-Jian Xu,* One ternary nucleic acid delivery system with smart dextran-peptide coating enables in vivo and ex vivo wound therapy, 2022, Matter, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2022.10.011
2. Li, Qingsi; Wen, Chiyu; Yang, Jing; Zhou, Xianchi; Zhu, Yingnan; Zheng, Jie; Cheng, Gang; Bai, Jie; Xu, Tong; Ji, Jian; Jiang, Shaoyi; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Peng, Zwitterionic Biomaterials, Chemical Review, 2022, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00344
3. Kun Wang, Theo Arado, Ardith Huner, Hyang Seol, Xuan Liu, Huifeng Wang, Lena Hassan, Karthika Suresh, Sangil Kim* and Gang Cheng*, Thermoplastic zwitterionic elastomer with critical antifouling properties, Biomaterials Science, 2022, 10, 2892 – 2906
4. Huifeng Wang, Seyyedfaridoddin Fattahpour, Daniel Christiansen, Haiqing Song, Shafigh Mehraeen, Gang Cheng*, Thermoplastic polyurethane with controllable degradation and critical anti-fouling properties, Biomaterial Science, 2021, 9, 1381 - 1396.
5. Haiqing Song, Yang Hu*, Fan-Ya Qian, Gang Cheng*, Fujian Xu*, Polysaccharide-peptide conjugates: a versatile material platform for biomedical applications, 2020 Advanced Functional Materials, https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202005978
6. Huifeng Wang, Daniel Edward Christiansen, Shafigh Mehraeen, Gang Cheng,* Winning the fight against biofilm: A six-month study showing minimal bacterial attachment and no colony formation on zwitterionic polymers, Chemical Science, 2020,11, 4709-4721
7. Yang Hu, Megan, Young, Huifeng Wang, and Gang Cheng*, Peptide-grafted dextran vectors for efficient and high-loading gene delivery, Biomaterials Science, 2019, 7, 1543 - 1553
8. Huifeng Wang, Yang Hu, Dylan Lynch, Megan Young, Shengxi Li, Hongbo Cong , Fu-Jian Xu, and Gang Cheng*, Tunable Surface and Bulk Properties of Zwitterionic Polyurethane, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2018, DOI 10.1021/acsami.8b10450
9. Chen-Jung Lee, Huifang Wang, Megan, Young, Dylan Lynch, Hongbo Cong, and Gang Cheng*, Structure-function study of Poly (sulfobetaine 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PSBEDOT) and its derivatives, Acta Biomaterilia, 2018. 75, 161-170
10. Haiyan Wu, Chen-Jung Lee, Huifeng Wang, Yang Hu, Megan Young, Hongbo Cong* and Gang Cheng*, Highly Sensitive and Stable Zwitterionic Poly(Sulfobetaine 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) (PSBEDOT) Glucose Biosensor in Complex Media, Chemical Science, 2018, 9, 2540 - 2546
11. Chen-Jung Lee, Haiyan Wu, Yang Hu, Megan, Young, Dylan Lynch, Huifang Wang, Fujian Xu, Hongbo Cong,* and Gang Cheng*, Ionic conductivity in polyelectrolyte hydrogels, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2018, 10 (6), pp 5845–5852
12. Han, Y.; Wu, H. Y.; Liu, F.; Cheng, G.*; Zhe, J.*, A Micro Resistive Pulse Immunosensor for Label-free Pathogen Measurement, Lab on a Chip 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c5lc01207d.
13. Cao B.; Lee, J. C.; Zeng, Z. P.; Cheng, F.; Xu, F. J.; Cong, H. B.*; Cheng, G.*, Electroactive Zwitterionic Poly (sulfobetaine 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PSBEDOT) with Controllable Antimicroibal and Antifouling Properties, Chemical Science 2016, 7, 1976-1981.
14. Cao, B.; Tang, Q.; Li, L. L.; Lee, C. J.; Wang, H.; Zhang, Y. Q.; Castaneda, H.*; Cheng, G.*, Integrated zwitterionic conjugated poly (carboxybetaine thiophene) as a new conducting biomaterial platform, Chemical Science 2014, 6 (1), 782 - 788.
15. Han, Y.; Wu, H. Y.; Liu, F.; Cheng, G.*; Zhe, J.*, Label-free biomarker assay in a micro resistive pulse sensor via immunoaggregation, Analytical Chemistry 2014, DOI: 10.1021/ac502270n.
16. Cao, B.; Li, L. L.; Tang, Q.; Cheng, G.*, The impact of structure on elasticity, switchability, stability and functionality of an all-in-one carboxybetaine elastomer, Biomaterials 2013, 34, (31), 7592–7600.
Contact Us
Email: chenggang@westlake.edu.cn