11/2025 Dr. Zhang gave a seminar in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California！
10/2025 Dr. Zhang gave a seminar in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame！
09/2025 Dr. Zhang gave an invited presentation in the 2025 SES (Society of Engineering Science) Annual Technical Meeting！
08/2025 Our work on the development of implantable multimodal neural probes for optical stimulation and neural recording has been published in ACS Nano. Congratulations to Yingqi, Xincheng, and all co-authors！
08/2025 Our lab received a new NSF grant to develop implantable drug sensors. Thank you for the support from NSF ECCS program.
07/2025 Our lab presented two invited presentations in the IEEE-NANO 2025 conference. Thank you, Prof. Cunjiang Yu and Prof. Luyao Lu, for the kind invitation！
05/2025 Dr. Zhang gave a seminar in the School of Biomedical Engineering at Korea University. Thank you, Prof. Ha Uk Chung, for the kind invitation！
05/2025 Dr. Zhang received the Director’s Award for Faculty Excellence from the Polymer Program at UConn!
05/2025 Our lab gave an invited presentation on ‘Wireless, Implantable Multimodal Neural Probes’ at the 247th ECS Meeting. Thank you, Prof. Nick Wu, for the kind invitation!
04/2025 Dr. Zhang gave an invited seminar in the Center for Neural Engineering at PSU. Thank you, Prof. Tao Zhou, for the kind invitation！
03/2025 Congratulations to Xiaoting and Xincheng for receiving the Polymer Program Fellowship in recognition of their recent publication in Nature Communications! Well done!
03/2025 Our lab presented six posters in the 11th Annual UConn College of Engineering Poster Competition!
03/2025 Dr. Zhang gave an invited seminar in BME department at CCNY. Thank you, Prof. Ryan Williams, for the kind invitation！
02/2025 Dr. Zhang gave an invited presenation on our implantable neurochemical sensors at 22nd Annual NeuroTech Convention of SBMT 2025. Thank you, Prof. Zhenpeng Qin and Prof. Guosong Hong, for the kind invitation！
01/2025 Our work on the development of liquid-based encapsulation materials for implantable bioelectronics under extreme pH environments has been accepted in Nature Communications. Big congratulations to all authors!
12/2024 Our group delivered two presentations at the MRS Fall 2024 Meeting: one by Huijie, titled ‘Long-term Molecular Monitoring in Complex Biological Environments,’ and another by Xiaoting, titled ‘Liquid-Based Encapsulation for Implantable Bioelectronics Across Broad pH Environments.
12/2024 Huijie successfully passed her Ph.D. thesis defense, marking a significant milestone for her and her family!
11/2024 Dr. Zhang gave a seminar in the Chemistry department at UConn. Thank you, Prof. Jie He, for the kind invitation！
10/2024 Yang Song, our postdoc, has secured a Research Scientist position at Thermo Fisher. We sincerely thank him for his contributions to our lab over the past four years and wish him all the best in his new role.
08/2024 Our lab has received a new NSF grant to develop thermophilic CRISPR sensors for rapid and ultrasensitive RNA detections. We are grateful for the continued support from NSF on our CRIPSR biosensor research! With previous NSF support, we have developed a set of ultrasensitve CRISPR biosensors for target amplification-free detections; see our publications in Angew Chemie, Nature Chemical Biology, and ACS Sensors, as well as our review paper in Angew Chemie. In this new project, we aim to tackle the thermal stability issue of CRISPR biosensors.
05/2024 Dr. Zhang gave an invited presenation on our aptamer-based sensors at MMiN 2024. Thank you, Prof. Anne Andrews, for the kind invitation！
03/2024 Our paper entitled “Amplification‐free detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 and respiratory syncytial virus using CRISPR Cas13a and graphene field‐effect transistors” is among the top 10% papers downloaded from Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
02/2024 Dr. Zhang is recognized as a Collins Professor in Engineering Innovation in the College of Engineering at UConn!
02/2024 Dr. Zhang gave an invited presentation entitled “Implantable Bioelectronics to Unlock the Mystery of Brain Chemistry” in the 32nd Connecticut Symposium on Microelectronics & Optoelectronics!
01/2024 Dr. Zhang gave a seminar in the MSE department at JHU. Thanks Prof. Dingchang Lin for the kind invitation!
01/2024 Welcome Caroline and ChangHee joining the group as Postdocs!
01/2024 Dr. Zhang gave a seminar in the MSE department at Seoul National University. Thanks Prof. Seung-Kyun Kang for the kind invitation!
12/2023 Dr. Zhang gave invited presentation in the MRS Fall meeting. Thanks Prof. Jahyun Koo for the kind invitation!
11/2023 Dr. Zhang gave a presentation on implantable neurochemical sensors in ENGR 1000 OCP.
10/2023 Dr. Zhang gave a seminar in the BME department at PSU. Thanks Prof. Cunjiang Yu for the kind invitation!
10/2023 Welcome Ji Hyun joining the group as a Postdoc!
09/2023 Welcome Gilberto, Jaewook, and Xiaoting joining the group as Ph.D. students!
08/2023 Congratulations to He Sun on finishing her Ph.D. study!
07/2023 Our work on the development of point-of-care microfluidic devices for nucleic acid detection has been accepted by Lab on a Chip. Congratulations to Yuxuan, Yang, and all co-authors!
05/2023 Dr. Zhang received the BME Early Career Faculty Scholar Award. Many thanks for the support from the nominators and my group members!
03/2023 Dr. Zhang received the 2023 UConn-AAUP Research Excellence Award –Early Career. Many thanks for the support from the nominators and my group members!
03/2023 Our work on the development of CRISPR-Cas12a biosensor arrays has been accepted by ACS Sensors. Congratulations to Zhengyan, Huijie, and all co-authors!
01/2023 Dr. Zhang received the NSF CAREER Award! Many thanks for the support from our collaborators, students, and the NSF ECCS program.
01/2023 Welcome Claudia and Michelle to join our lab as undergraduate researchers!
01/2023 Our work on the development of surface coatings to reduce protein adsorptions on PDMS surfaces has been accepted by ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. This work is led by our master student, Yue. Big Congrats!!
01/2023 Our review paper on CRISPR-based molecular diagnostics has been accepted by Angew Chemie. Congrats to Zhengyan!
01/2023 Welcome Hailey Parsons to join our lab as a master student!
01/2023 Welcome Azizur Khan to join our lab as a Postdoc!
12/2022 Our lab moved to the New STEM Research Center (Science One) at UConn!
10/2022 Welcome Manikandan from Purdue/IIT to join our lab as a new Postdoc!
10/2022 Our lab received UConn REP to develop wireless microfluidic devices!
10/2022 Our collaborative work entitled “Engineered LwaCas13a with Enhanced Collateral Activity for Nucleic Acid Detection” is online in Nature Chemical Biology!
06/2022 Our work on amplification-free CRISPR biosensors has been selected as a back cover in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.!
06/2022 In collaboration with Dr. Ravi Nistala, we received an NIH R21 grant to develop wearable sensors for patients with chronic kidney diseases. We greatly thank NIH NIDDK for the research support!
05/2022 Our work on multiplexed neurochemical monitoring has been accepted for publication in Analytical Chemistry! Congratulations to all co-authors!
05/2022 Our work on amplification-free CRISPR biosensors has been accepted for publication in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.! Congratulations to the team! Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2022, e202203826
04/2022 Our work on implantable neurochemical sensors has been accepted for publication in Nano Letters! Congratulations to the team! acs.nanolett.2c00289
02/2022 Welcome Michael joining the group as a Research Scientist!
02/2022 Congratulations to He Sun on passing her Ph.D. general exam!
02/2022 Our work on neurotechnology has been published in Science Advances! PDF
12/2021 Welcome new PhD student, Gavin, joining the group! Gavin will be supported by GAANN fellowship in Spring 2022.
12/2021 Congratulations to Ian on passing his master thesis defense!
09/2021 Welcome new PhD students, Xincheng, Vagif, Yingqi, Caihong and Yuxuan, joining the group!
08/2021 Our maskless aligner arrived!
07/2021 Congratulations to Zhengyan on passing his qualifying exam!
07/2021 Congratulations to Shuhong on passing his master thesis defense!
06/2021 PhD student He Sun’s paper is accepted for publication by ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces!ACS AMI
05/2021 PhD student Huijie’s paper is accepted for publication by ACS Sensors!PDF
05/2021 AJA sputtering and LPKF U4 laser system arrived!
12/2020 Professor Zhang was invited to give a seminar in Polymer Program at UConn.
10/2020 New grant from NIH on the development of neural probes. We greatly thank NIH for the research support!
09/2020 Our proposal on the development of multimodal neural probes is funded by NIH (R01). We greatly thank NIH for the research support!
09/2020 Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Gao at Rice University and Dr. Lin at Mizzou is funded by NSF (CBET). We greatly thank NSF for the research support!
08/2020 New grant from NSF ECCS on the development of wearable hybrid sensing systems. We greatly thank NSF for the research support!
01/2020 Our paper “Excitatory VTA to DH projections provide a valence signal to memory circuits” with Dr. Jelena group was accepted for publication in Nat Communications.
10/2019 Our “In vivo wireless pharmacology and optogenetics” work is published by PNAS.
09/2019 Dr. Zhang traveled to Princeton, N.J., and delivered a presentation at Siemens Healthcare AI Center. Many Thanks Dean Loboa and Siemens’ Dorin Comaniciu, Sasa Grbic, Puneet Sharma, Eli Gibson, Ali Kamen, Tiziano Passerini and Daphne Yu.
09/2019 Our “In vivo wireless pharmacology and optogenetics” work is accepted by PNAS.
08/2019 Dr. Zhang is invited to serve as a reviewer for a Department of Defense proposal review panel.
07/2019 Our lab hosted Mizzou Engineering High School Summer Camp.
07/2019 Our soft nerve cuff paper is published by Science Advances.
07/2019 Prof. Zhang received 2019 BMES Career Development Award. Thanks Biomedical Engineering Society for the support.
06/2019 Our collaborative work on soft-hard interface has been accepted for publication in PNAS!
06/2019 Prof. Zhang attended the 93rd ACS Colloid & Surface Science Symposium at Georgia Institute of Technology. Very excited to meet friends, colleagues and advisor.
05/2019 Our review paper of “biosnesors for kidney and hypertension management” is published by Current Opinion in Nephrology and Hypertension. Congratulations!
04/2019 Our collaborative work is featured as back cover in the recent issue of Lab on a Chip.
04/2019 Our collaborative proposal is funded by NIH. Thanks NIH for the support.
04/2019 Prof. Zhang received Faculty Incentive Fund for traveling from the College of Engineering at Mizzou. Thanks Mizzou for the support.
04/2019 Prof. Zhang attended the 2019 NSF ENG Career Proposal Writing Workshop.
03/2019 Our optofluidic work is accepted by Science Advances. Congratulations!
03/2019 Our paper of sweat sensing for kidney disorder monitoring is published by Lab on a Chip. Congratulations!
03/2019 Prof. Zhang attended the NSF workshop on sensor systems integrated with AI and data harnessing for personalized medicine. Rewarding trip!
02/2019 Our lab received grant from the Mizzou Research Council. Congratulations!
01/2019 He Sun and Huijie joined the group. Welcome!
11/2018 Prof. Zhang gave two talks “Injectable, Brain-Interfaced Optofluidic Device for Programmable Fluid Delivery and Optogenetics” and “Lab-on-Skin: Epidermal Microfluidic Device for the Capture, Storage, and Colorimetric Sensing of Sweat” at AIChE 2018 at Pittsburgh, PA.
10/2018 Zhengyan joined the group. Welcome!
01/2023 Our work on the development of surface coatings to reduce protein adsorptions on PDMS surfaces has been accepted by ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. This work is led by our master student, Yue. Big Congrats!!
01/2023 Our review paper on CRISPR-based molecular diagnostics has been accepted by Angew Chemie. Congrats to Zhengyan!
01/2023 Welcome Hailey Parsons to join our lab as a master student!
01/2023 Welcome Azizur Khan to join our lab as a Postdoc!
12/2022 Our lab moved to the New STEM Research Center (Science One) at UConn!
10/2022 Welcome Manikandan from Purdue/IIT to join our lab as a new Postdoc!
10/2022 Our lab received UConn REP to develop wireless microfluidic devices!
10/2022 Our collaborative work entitled “Engineered LwaCas13a with Enhanced Collateral Activity for Nucleic Acid Detection” is online in Nature Chemical Biology!
06/2022 Our work on amplification-free CRISPR biosensors has been selected as a back cover in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.!
06/2022 In collaboration with Dr. Ravi Nistala, we received an NIH R21 grant to develop wearable sensors for patients with chronic kidney diseases. We greatly thank NIH NIDDK for the research support!
05/2022 Our work on multiplexed neurochemical monitoring has been accepted for publication in Analytical Chemistry! Congratulations to all co-authors!
05/2022 Our work on amplification-free CRISPR biosensors has been accepted for publication in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.! Congratulations to the team! Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2022, e202203826
04/2022 Our work on implantable neurochemical sensors has been accepted for publication in Nano Letters! Congratulations to the team! acs.nanolett.2c00289
02/2022 Welcome Michael joining the group as a Research Scientist!
02/2022 Congratulations to He Sun on passing her Ph.D. general exam!
02/2022 Our work on neurotechnology has been published in Science Advances! PDF
12/2021 Welcome new PhD student, Gavin, joining the group! Gavin will be supported by GAANN fellowship in Spring 2022.
12/2021 Congratulations to Ian on passing his master thesis defense!
09/2021 Welcome new PhD students, Xincheng, Vagif, Yingqi, Caihong and Yuxuan, joining the group!
08/2021 Our maskless aligner arrived!
07/2021 Congratulations to Zhengyan on passing his qualifying exam!
07/2021 Congratulations to Shuhong on passing his master thesis defense!
06/2021 PhD student He Sun’s paper is accepted for publication by ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces!ACS AMI
05/2021 PhD student Huijie’s paper is accepted for publication by ACS Sensors!PDF
05/2021 AJA sputtering and LPKF U4 laser system arrived!
12/2020 Professor Zhang was invited to give a seminar in Polymer Program at UConn.
10/2020 New grant from NIH on the development of neural probes. We greatly thank NIH for the research support!
09/2020 Our proposal on the development of multimodal neural probes is funded by NIH (R01). We greatly thank NIH for the research support!
09/2020 Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Gao at Rice University and Dr. Lin at Mizzou is funded by NSF (CBET). We greatly thank NSF for the research support!
08/2020 New grant from NSF ECCS on the development of wearable hybrid sensing systems. We greatly thank NSF for the research support!
01/2020 Our paper “Excitatory VTA to DH projections provide a valence signal to memory circuits” with Dr. Jelena group was accepted for publication in Nat Communications.
10/2019 Our “In vivo wireless pharmacology and optogenetics” work is published by PNAS.
09/2019 Dr. Zhang traveled to Princeton, N.J., and delivered a presentation at Siemens Healthcare AI Center. Many Thanks Dean Loboa and Siemens’ Dorin Comaniciu, Sasa Grbic, Puneet Sharma, Eli Gibson, Ali Kamen, Tiziano Passerini and Daphne Yu.
09/2019 Our “In vivo wireless pharmacology and optogenetics” work is accepted by PNAS.
08/2019 Dr. Zhang is invited to serve as a reviewer for a Department of Defense proposal review panel.
07/2019 Our lab hosted Mizzou Engineering High School Summer Camp.
07/2019 Our soft nerve cuff paper is published by Science Advances.
07/2019 Prof. Zhang received 2019 BMES Career Development Award. Thanks Biomedical Engineering Society for the support.
06/2019 Our collaborative work on soft-hard interface has been accepted for publication in PNAS!
06/2019 Prof. Zhang attended the 93rd ACS Colloid & Surface Science Symposium at Georgia Institute of Technology. Very excited to meet friends, colleagues and advisor.
05/2019 Our review paper of “biosnesors for kidney and hypertension management” is published by Current Opinion in Nephrology and Hypertension. Congratulations!
04/2019 Our collaborative work is featured as back cover in the recent issue of Lab on a Chip.
04/2019 Our collaborative proposal is funded by NIH. Thanks NIH for the support.
04/2019 Prof. Zhang received Faculty Incentive Fund for traveling from the College of Engineering at Mizzou. Thanks Mizzou for the support.
04/2019 Prof. Zhang attended the 2019 NSF ENG Career Proposal Writing Workshop.
03/2019 Our optofluidic work is accepted by Science Advances. Congratulations!
03/2019 Our paper of sweat sensing for kidney disorder monitoring is published by Lab on a Chip. Congratulations!
03/2019 Prof. Zhang attended the NSF workshop on sensor systems integrated with AI and data harnessing for personalized medicine. Rewarding trip!
02/2019 Our lab received grant from the Mizzou Research Council. Congratulations!
01/2019 He Sun and Huijie joined the group. Welcome!
11/2018 Prof. Zhang gave two talks “Injectable, Brain-Interfaced Optofluidic Device for Programmable Fluid Delivery and Optogenetics” and “Lab-on-Skin: Epidermal Microfluidic Device for the Capture, Storage, and Colorimetric Sensing of Sweat” at AIChE 2018 at Pittsburgh, PA.
10/2018 Zhengyan joined the group. Welcome!
Zhang Research Group 