EVCNA Expert Interview Series X - Dr. Ying Zhu
On 14th December 2022, the Editorial Office of Extracellular Vesicles and Circulating Nucleic Acids (EVCNA) had an exclusive interview with Dr. Ying Zhu to talk about her current research projects on early detection of pancreatic cancer and her expectation in this field. Dr. Zhu is a lecturer from the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Her current research focuses on developing new nanomaterials and nanoscale devices for the capture and analysis of biomarkers for cancer diagnostics. As the principal investigator, Dr. Zhu was awarded the 2022 PanKind Early Detection Innovation Grant for the project "A blood test for early detection of pancreatic cancer by single extracellular vesicle analysis". During the interview, Dr. Zhu shared her research journey, ongoing projects, and progress, and elaborated on her recently funded project on the early detection of pancreatic cancer. In addition, Dr. Zhu also talked about her future research plans and goals and gave helpful suggestions for researchers to begin their journey in this field.
Watch the following video for expert insights from Dr. Ying Zhu:
Interview Questions:
Question 1: Could you please share with us your career journey and how your research interests came to focus on cancer diagnosis?
Question 2: What are your current projects mainly focused on?
Question 3: Could you please discuss the general challenges in the early detection of pancreatic cancer?
Question 4: Could you please introduce this innovative project that received the 2022 Pankind Early Detection Innovation Grant?
Question 5: What research goals do you hope to achieve in the next five years?
Question 6: What pieces of advice will you give to early career researchers to start their journey in academia?
About Dr. Ying Zhu:
Dr. Ying Zhu, Lecturer, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Dr Ying Zhu is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), and the group leader of the Laboratory of In-Vitro NanoDiagnostics. She completed her PhD in optical biosensors from 2011 to 2015 under the supervision of Professor Justin Gooding, Editor-in-Chief of ACS Sensors, in Australia's leading biosensor and biodevice research group at UNSW. Her postdoctoral work (2015--2017) at Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering expanded her expertise in translational cancer research, emphasizing the clinical applications of biosensors.
From 2017 to 2020, Dr Zhu was supported by the prestigious Cancer Institute NSW Early Career Fellowship, focusing on developing nanoplasmonic biosensors for cancer diagnostics. She joined UTS as a Lecturer in 2020 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2023. In recognition of her research excellence, Dr Zhu was awarded an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) in 2024.
Dr Zhu's current research aims to advance diagnostic technologies by translating frontier nanoscale tools. Her interdisciplinary approach spans chemistry, physics, materials science, nanotechnology, and biomedicine. She is committed to translational biomedical research, advancing innovative analytical technologies through highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary efforts to bridge the gap from bench to bedside.
Editor: Yan Lei
Production Editor: Ting Xu
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Extracellular Vesicles and Circulating Nucleic Acids
