Lulu Qian

Lulu Qian
Born
China
Alma materNanjing Railway University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Scientific career
InstitutionsCalifornia Institute of Technology
Academic advisorsErik Winfree

Lulu Qian is a Chinese-American biochemist who is a professor at the California Institute of Technology. Her research uses DNA-like molecules to build artificial machines.

Early life and education

Qian is from China. She completed her bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering at Southeast University in Nanjing.[1] Qian moved to Shanghai for her doctoral research, where she worked at Shanghai Jiao Tong University on biochemistry.[2] She then moved to the California Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral fellow.[3] At Caltech, she worked alongside Erik Winfree on biochemical circuits. She used a reversible strand displacement process to create a simple DNA-based building block for a biochemical logic circuit.[4]

Research and career

Qian joined the faculty at Caltech in 2013. She was promoted to professor in 2019.[5] Her research considers molecular robotics and the self-assembly of nanostructures from DNA. These molecular robots can explore biologically relevant surfaces at the nanoscale, picking up molecules and transporting them to specific locations.[6] In 2011, she created the world's largest DNA circuit, which included over seventy DNA molecules.[7]

Qian has also created complex DNA origami.[8] She created two-dimensional images from DNA origami tiles.[8] She used DNA to create an artificial neural network.[9] The network consisted of a DNA gate architecture that can be scaled up into multi-layer circuits.[9][10]

Awards and honors

  • 2019 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize in nanotechnology[11]
  • 2023 Caltech Richard P. Feynman Prize for excellence in teaching[12]

Selected publications

  • Lulu Qian; Erik Winfree (1 June 2011). "Scaling up digital circuit computation with DNA strand displacement cascades". Science. 332 (6034): 1196–1201. Bibcode:2011Sci...332.1196Q. doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.1200520. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 21636773. Wikidata Q34189459.
  • Lulu Qian; Erik Winfree; Jehoshua Bruck (20 July 2011). "Neural network computation with DNA strand displacement cascades". Nature. 475 (7356): 368–372. doi:10.1038/NATURE10262. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 21776082. Wikidata Q34027774.
  • Anupama J Thubagere; Wei Li; Robert F. Johnson; et al. (1 September 2017). "A cargo-sorting DNA robot". Science. 357 (6356). doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.AAN6558. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 28912216. Wikidata Q46277927.

References

  1. ^ "Lulu Qian | Caltech Directory". directory.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  2. ^ "Introducing ISNSCE Vice President Lulu Qian". ISNSCE. 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  3. ^ "Programming DNA for Molecular Robots: An Interview with Lulu Qian – Pasadena Now". www.pasadenanow.com. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  4. ^ Qian, Lulu; Winfree, Erik (2011-06-03). "Scaling Up Digital Circuit Computation with DNA Strand Displacement Cascades". Science. 332 (6034): 1196–1201. Bibcode:2011Sci...332.1196Q. doi:10.1126/science.1200520. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 21636773. S2CID 10053541.
  5. ^ "Lulu Qian's CV" (PDF).
  6. ^ Major, Mario L. (2017-09-16). "Scientists Build DNA Robots That Could One Day Deliver Medicine Inside Your Body". interestingengineering.com. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  7. ^ "Caltech researchers build largest biochemical circuit out of small synthetic DNA molecules". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  8. ^ a b Andy Extance2017-12-07T14:30:00+00:00. "DNA origami makes it big". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2023-03-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b Qian, Lulu; Winfree, Erik; Bruck, Jehoshua (July 2011). "Neural network computation with DNA strand displacement cascades". Nature. 475 (7356): 368–372. doi:10.1038/nature10262. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 21776082. S2CID 1735584.
  10. ^ Mehar, Pranjal (2018-07-10). "Scientists created AI from DNA". Tech Explorist. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  11. ^ "Foresight Institute Awards 2019 Feynman Prizes in Nanotechnology to Qian, Galli; awards presented by Nobelist, Sir Fraser Stoddart". PRWeb. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  12. ^ "Two Professors Receive Caltech's Highest Honors for Teaching and Mentorship". California Institute of Technology. 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-03-04.