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.

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

Early life and education edit

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 edit

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 edit

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

Selected publications edit

  • 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 edit

  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.