Cheng Zhu
Areas of Research
Biomedical Imaging & Instrumentation , Cancer Technologies , Cardiovascular Engineering, ImmunoengineeringContact
UAW 1210Georgia TechBiography
Dr. Cheng Zhu received his PhD from Columbia University in 1988 and joined Georgia Tech's faculty in 1990 as Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1996, Full Professor in 2001, and Regents' Professor in 2006. He was appointed as J. Erskine Love Jr. Endowed Chair in Engineering in 2012. In 1998, at the time when the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering was established, he moved 1/3 of his faculty appointment to BME department; and in 2005, at the time when BME initiated its global initiative, he moved his faculty appointment 100% to BME to lead this effort.
While his Ph.D. and postdoctoral training with Richard Skalak at Columbia University and University of California, San Diego was on the mathematical modeling of cell locomotion and cell adhesion, Dr. Zhu became an experimentalist after he developed his independent laboratory at Georgia Tech, which is named Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics Lab. A strength of Dr. Zhu’s work from this background is close integration of experiment, modeling and computation, leading to innovation of new methods and techniques. He pioneered the analysis of interactions across the junctional interface between molecules anchored to two apposing surfaces (i.e., 2D analysis) by inventing the required experimental methods with custom-designed instruments and developing the needed mathematical models. Armed with these powerful tools, the Zhu lab characterized the biophysical regulation of 2D interactions and showed their biological relevance. Dr. Zhu is an internationally recognized leader in molecular biomechanics and mechanobiology and a pioneer of mechanoimmunology. Using molecular dynamic simulations and force spectroscopy on cells, his lab conceptualized and demonstrated several types of mechanical regulation of protein unbinding and unfolding (catch bonds, force-history, cyclic mechanical reinforcement, and dynamic catch) in a variety of receptor–ligand systems, including selectins, integrins, GPIbα, actin, ADAMTS13, and TCR with their counter molecules, and investigated how these dynamic bonds regulate the reception, transmission and transduction of mechanosignals in cells.
Dr. Zhu published over 200 peer-reviewed papaers in the above research areas.
Education
- Ph.D. 1988 Columbia University Engineering Mechanics
- M.Phil. l987 Columbia University Engineering Mechanics
- M.S. 1985 Columbia University Engineering Mechanics
- B.S. 1982 Zhejiang University (PRC) Fluid Mechanics
Academic Appointments
Affiliated Centers & Institutes
Research Interests
Our interests lie in the adhesion and signaling molecules of the immune system as well as those involved in platelet adhesion and aggregation. We are primarily focused on early cell surface interaction kinetics and their primary signaling responses, as these are critical in determining how a cell will ultimately respond upon contact with another cell. The majority of our work ranges from single molecule interaction studies using atomic force microscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, or biomembrane force probe assays to single cell studies using micropipette adhesions assays, fluorescence imaging techniques, or real-time confocal microscopy. These assays focus on the mechanics and kinetics of receptor-ligand binding and their downstream signaling effects within cells. T cell receptors, selectins, integrins, and their respective ligands are some of the cell surface molecules currently under investigation in our lab. Understanding the initial interaction between molecules such as these and their subsequent early signaling processes is crucial to elucidating the response mechanisms of these physiological systems. Ultimately, our research strives to help better understand the mechanisms within these systems for possible medical applications in autoimmunity, allergy, transplant rejection, and thrombotic disorders.
Teaching Interests
Introduction to Biomechanics
Problems in Biomedical Engineering
Fluid Mechanics
Dynamics
Thermodynamics
At the graduate level, Dr. Zhu has taught the following courses:
Cellular Engineering
Tissue Biomechanics
