Gu receives Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award

Dr. Zhen Gu, assistant professor in the Joint NC State/UNC Department of Biomedical Engineering, has received the 2014 Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award from NC State’s chapter of Sigma Xi. This award honors young scientists and engineers who have excelled in their areas of research.

Gu received the award at Sigma Xi’s Annual General Meeting, Initiation Ceremony and Awards Recognition event on April 23.

The NC State Chapter of Sigma Xi is part of an international honor society of science and engineering. It honors excellence in scientific investigation and encourages interdisciplinary research at colleges and universities, industry research centers and government laboratories.

Gu’s research interests include controlled drug delivery, bio-inspired materials and nanobiotechnology. His research team has received recent attention for developing an injectable nano-network that painlessly releases insulin to control blood glucose levels when triggered by a hand-held ultrasound device. In addition, his team is developing programmed anticancer drug delivery systems that can release drugs triggered by the cellular environment or sequentially release multiple drugs in their most active sites in the tumor.

Gu has received numerous mentions and awards for his research, including a Junior Faculty Award from the American Diabetes Association in 2014.

Gu earned a doctoral degree in 2010 in microelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He received a master’s degree in polymer science and engineering and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2003 and 2006, respectively, from Nanjing University.