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Honorary Professor Chunxia Zhao

Honorary Professor

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
z.chunxia@uq.edu.au

Overview

Professor Chun-Xia Zhao is a Honorary Professor at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), University of Queensland. She is also a Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering and Advaned Materials, The University of Adelaide (UofA). Before joining UofA in 2021, Prof Zhao was a Group leader, UQ Amplify Fellow and an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow at AIBN, UQ. She was also the UQ Node Director and Leader of the Research Program 3 in ARC Centre of Excellence Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals.

Prof. Zhao joined Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland (UQ) in early 2008 as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Prof. Anton Middelberg's group, after obtained her PhD degree in Zhejiang University. In 2011, Prof. Zhao was awarded an ARC Discovery project along with the Australian Postdoctoral Fellow as the sole investigator. In 2014, she was awarded the prestigious Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Her research in bio-inspired nanotechnology and microfluidics has attracted more than $$7 M research funding since 2011, including six ARC grants as the Lead or Sole Investigator, two prestigious national Fellowships (Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship and Future Fellowship), key CI in an ARC Centre of Excellence, as well as other UQ funding and industry funding. She worked with Prof. David Weitz at Harvard University as Fellow of the School of Engineering and Applied Science (2014). In 2016, her research excellence was recognised by the UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award. She has been appointed as member of the 2019 ARC College of Experts (2019-2021).

Prof. Zhao has contributed substantial high quality scientific papers in international top refereed journals such as Nature Comm, Science Advances, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, ACS Nano, etc. She has been focusing on innovative research, and has been active in patent application to transfer her research into practical applications, as evidenced by her six patents. One of her patents was licensed to an international company. She has built extensive collaborations with scientists at top universities such as Harvard University, Brown University, etc. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board member for several journals.

Research Interests

  • Multifunctional nanomaterials for drug delivery, vaccine delivery and controlled release
    Dr Zhao's research expertise is nanomaterials for drug delivery and controlled release, microfluidics for making sophisticated materials and screening drug delivery systems, and biomolecular engineering for sustainable materials, including a number of directions: (1) Emulsion and biomimetic dual-templating technology for making silica capsules for controlled and sustained release; (2) Stimuli-responsive soft materials based on biomolecules manufactured from renewable resources. (3) Simple and low-cost platform technology for producing bioproducts, including peptide or protein biosurfactants, peptide antibiotics. (4) Microfluidic synthesis of hierarchical materials for applications in sustained and controlled drug release. (5) Microfluidic platform technology for reproducibly producing targeted polymer nanocarriers having systematically varied properties. (6) In vivo-mimicking Tissue Chips for screening and evaluating nanocarriers.

Research Impacts

A/Prof. Zhao has established a recognised international presence in the fields of nanomaterials, microfluidics and drug delivery. She has been invited to contribute three book chapters and 14 papers in top journals (e.g. Advanced Drug Delivery Review IF 15.5, ACS Nano IF=13.9, etc.). She has also been invited to present her work at international conferences (World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Annual World Congress of Advanced Materials, Annual World Congress of NanoMedicine, Bionano Innovation Conference, etc). A/Prof. Zhao is also an invited reviewer for more than 30 journals, including Nature Comm, Advanced Materials, Biomaterials, Chemical Communication, Lab on a Chip, etc.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Zhejiang University

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Precision engineering core-shell nanomaterials for drug delivery

    Project 1

    New platform technologies for making hybrid core-shell materials

    Poor water solubility of many chemical actives hinders the development of new pharmaceutical, agricultural, food products. For example, 40% of approved drugs and 90% of drugs in development are water-insoluble. New methods are needed for more efficient formulation and delivery of these drugs. This project will develop new platform technologies for making hybrid core-shell materials with exceptionally high drug loading capacity and programmed drug release, delivering new technologies for the manufacture of high-value pharmaceutical product for various applications.

    This project is supported by an ARC Discovery Project. Two PhD scholarships are available.

    Project 2

    Fast microfluidic screening platform for specific binding

    Facile and quick platforms will be developed to screen biomolecule candidates for selective binding to specific metals. The screened biomolecules will be synthesized either using chemical synthesis methods or biological cell expression systems. The selective adsorption of the biomolecules on the target valuable metals will be systematically studied.

    This project is supported by an ARC Centre of Excellence project. PhD scholarship is available.

    Project 3

    Development of stimuli responsive biomolecules for controlling different interfaces

    Peptides or proteins are informational polymers made up of amino acids and are increasingly viewed as key building blocks to achieve specific functions owing to their biocompatibility, sustainability, and ease of functionalization, coupled with facile methods for their economic manufacture. Enabled by the diversity of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids, there is a large sequence and structural solution space for design. This project will explore the functionality of biomolecules to stabilise foams or emulsions, and the potential for switching that functionality based on different switching mechanisms.

    This project is supported by an ARC Centre of Excellence project. PhD scholarship is available.

    Please email z.chunxia@uq.edu.au with your CV, including a summary of academic qualifications, work and research experience, and publication list.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Featured Publications

Book Chapter

  • Fluid properties and hydrodynamics of microfluidic systems

    Wibowo, David, Zhao, Chun-Xia and He, Yinghe (2019). Fluid properties and hydrodynamics of microfluidic systems. Microfluidics for pharmaceutical applications. (pp. 37-77) Amsterdam, The Netherland: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-812659-2.00002-8

  • Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials using microfluidic technology

    Zhao, Chun-Xia and Middelberg, Anton P. J. (2016). Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials using microfluidic technology. Handbook of nanoparticles. (pp. 455-473) edited by Mahmood Aliofkhazraei. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-15338-4_23

  • Stimuli-responsive peptide nanostructures at the fluid-fluid interface

    Zhao, Chun-Xia and Middelberg, Anton P.J. (2013). Stimuli-responsive peptide nanostructures at the fluid-fluid interface. Protein nanotechnology: protocols, instrumentation, and applications. (pp. 179-194) edited by Juliet A. Gerrard. New York, NY United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-354-1_10

Journal Article

Conference Publication

  • Automatic live and dead cell classification via hyperspectral imaging

    Chen, He, Ho, Benjamin, Wang, Haofei, Tan, Say Hwa, Zhao, Chun-Xia, Nguyen, Nam-Trung, Gao, Yongsheng and Zhou, Jun (2019). Automatic live and dead cell classification via hyperspectral imaging. Workshop on Hyperspectral Imaging and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing (WHISPERS), Amsterdam, Netherlands, 24-26 September 2019. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE Computer Society. doi: 10.1109/WHISPERS.2019.8921136

  • A droplet-based microfluidic platform for the study of the effect of oscillation on the growth of E.coli

    Sun, Qi, Zhao, Chun-Xia, Nguyen, Nam-Trung and Tan, Say Hwa (2017). A droplet-based microfluidic platform for the study of the effect of oscillation on the growth of E.coli. 21st International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2017, Savannah, GA, United States, 22-26 October 2017. San Diego, CA, United States: Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society.

  • Bio-inspired nanomaterials for controlled release

    Zhao, Chun-Xia, Wibowo, David and Middelberg, Anton P. J. (2015). Bio-inspired nanomaterials for controlled release. 2015 AIChE Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, 8-13 November 2015.

  • Double emulsions by a one-step solvent shift method

    Zhao, Chun-Xia and Middelberg, Anton P. J. (2010). Double emulsions by a one-step solvent shift method. 40th Annual Australasian Chemical and Process Engineering Conference, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 26-29 September 2010. Barton, ACT, Australia: Engineers Australia.

  • Interfacial elasticity affects droplet formation in microfluidic channels

    Zhao, Chun-Xia, Miller, Erik, Cooper-White, Justin J., Dexter, Annette F. and Middelberg, Anton P. J. (2009). Interfacial elasticity affects droplet formation in microfluidic channels. 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Montreal, Canada, 23 - 27 August, 2009.

  • The influence of interfacial viscoelasticity on droplet deformation in microchannels

    Zhao, Chun-Xia, Rondeau, Elisabeth, Miller, Erik, Cooper-White, Justin J., Dexter, Annette F. and Middelberg, Anton P.J. (2009). The influence of interfacial viscoelasticity on droplet deformation in microchannels. WCCE8: 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Montréal, QC, Canada, 23-27 August 2009.

  • Separation for the mixture of petroleum ether (60-90?) and ethyl acetate

    Luo, D. Z., Zhao, C. X. and He, C. H. (2005). Separation for the mixture of petroleum ether (60-90?) and ethyl acetate. China/USA/Japan Joint Chemical Engineering Conference, Beijing, Oct 11-13, 2005.

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Precision-engineered hybrid core-shell materials

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Development of Immune organ on a chip

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Stimuli-responsive soft materials based on biomolecules

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Development of Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Cancer Combination Therapy

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Engineering encapsulation technology for animal feed manufacture

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Microchip-based human cancer models for chemoimmunotherapy

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Optimisation of Peptide-Stabilised Emulsion Engineering Using Microfluidics

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

  • Evaluation of polymer nanomedicines in treating solid tumours

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Novel Reagent Technologies for Arsenic Minerals

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Stem cell-based nanoparticles and cell-free systems for the treatment of liver diseases

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • The role of liver stem cells in cancer treatment and regenerative medicine

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Precision engineering core-shell nanomaterials for drug delivery

    Project 1

    New platform technologies for making hybrid core-shell materials

    Poor water solubility of many chemical actives hinders the development of new pharmaceutical, agricultural, food products. For example, 40% of approved drugs and 90% of drugs in development are water-insoluble. New methods are needed for more efficient formulation and delivery of these drugs. This project will develop new platform technologies for making hybrid core-shell materials with exceptionally high drug loading capacity and programmed drug release, delivering new technologies for the manufacture of high-value pharmaceutical product for various applications.

    This project is supported by an ARC Discovery Project. Two PhD scholarships are available.

    Project 2

    Fast microfluidic screening platform for specific binding

    Facile and quick platforms will be developed to screen biomolecule candidates for selective binding to specific metals. The screened biomolecules will be synthesized either using chemical synthesis methods or biological cell expression systems. The selective adsorption of the biomolecules on the target valuable metals will be systematically studied.

    This project is supported by an ARC Centre of Excellence project. PhD scholarship is available.

    Project 3

    Development of stimuli responsive biomolecules for controlling different interfaces

    Peptides or proteins are informational polymers made up of amino acids and are increasingly viewed as key building blocks to achieve specific functions owing to their biocompatibility, sustainability, and ease of functionalization, coupled with facile methods for their economic manufacture. Enabled by the diversity of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids, there is a large sequence and structural solution space for design. This project will explore the functionality of biomolecules to stabilise foams or emulsions, and the potential for switching that functionality based on different switching mechanisms.

    This project is supported by an ARC Centre of Excellence project. PhD scholarship is available.

    Please email z.chunxia@uq.edu.au with your CV, including a summary of academic qualifications, work and research experience, and publication list.

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Nanotechnology, Microfluidics, Vaccines, Drug delivery, Nanomaterials, Peptides, Antibiotics, Nanoparticles, Sustainable materials, Tissue Chips, Controlled release, Emulsions

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ResearcherID: I-4224-2012

ORCID: 0000-0002-3365-3759

Scopus ID: 56479601600

Personal Profile: Link

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