Join us for “Engineered Nanostructures for Medical Diagnosis” a keynote presentation by Dr. Xiaohu Xia, College of Engineering – Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, MizzouForward faculty candidate.  Dr. Xia will present on his research for approximately 40-minutes with a 20-minute question and answer session to follow.

Dr. Xiaohu Xia is an Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF), holding joint appointments in the Department of Chemistry, the NanoScience Technology Center, and the Bionic Implants, Materials, and Interfaces (Biionix) Cluster. Before joining UCF, he served as an Assistant Professor at Michigan Technological University (2014 – 2018) and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology (2012 – 2014). Dr. Xia’s research focuses on developing advanced functional materials for medical diagnostics, biological and chemical sensing, and food safety applications. He has published 75 peer-reviewed scientific papers in high impact journals such as PNAS, JACS, ACS Nano, Advanced Material, and Nano Letters. His publications have been cited over 11,000 times, with an h-index of 46. His research work has been consistently supported by federal funding agencies, including an NSF CAREER Award, NIH R01 grants, and USDA NIFA competitive grants. In addition to his academic research, Dr. Xia actively collaborates with industry partners and healthcare institutions.

Dr. Xia’s research group conducts interdisciplinary and translational research, leveraging advanced functional materials to create innovative clinical solutions for emerging challenges in medical diagnostics. Their primary focus is on developing minimally invasive, accessible, and affordable diagnostic technologies for life-threatening diseases, with the goal of benefiting a broad population, including individuals in rural areas and underserved communities.

Accessible and cost-effective diagnostic technologies for detection of disease biomarkers are essential for enhancing quality of life, particularly in resource-limited areas and countries. In this talk, Dr. Xia will share his research group’s recent efforts in developing sensitive and user-friendly diagnostic technologies powered by advanced functional nanomaterials. The presentation will cover the design and synthesis of nanostructures with tailored properties, insights into the structure-property relationships, and the application of nanostructures in detecting various disease biomarkers. Special focus will be given to engineered nanostructures with exceptional catalytic and plasmonic properties, highlighting their role in the development of bioassay kits and point-of-care diagnostic devices.

You can access Dr. Xia’s CV via OneDrive here:   Curriculum Vitae-Xia X-12-2024.pdf  (University log in required to access)

After the keynote, please provide candidate feedback with our brief survey.