Four Questions with Shue Wang, Ph.D.
New Tagliatela College of Engineering Faculty Member

Shue Wang, is an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2015 from the University of Arizona. She comes to the Tagliatela College of Engineering from the University of Michigan where she was a post-doctoral fellow in Mechanical Engineering.

Q. Can you share some details about your research work?

A. My research focuses on engineering techniques such as microfluidics, biomechanics, and biosensor design for addressing important problems in biology and medicine. When I was a graduate student at the University of Arizona, I designed a nanobiosensor to detect biomarkers, messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein at the single-cell level. Using this nanobiosensor, we were capable of detecting gene expression dynamics in living cells and tissues.

A very good example is collective cell migration during wound healing. Individual cells sense the environment and respond by moving toward the area of wound. This nanobiosensor has been applied to study other dynamic phenomena, including cancer metastasis, tissue regeneration, and development. When I was at the University of Michigan, I designed a novel synthetic switch sensor for microRNA detection in mammalian cells. I also designed microfluidic systems for disease diagnostics.

I am excited to start my own research lab at the University of New Haven.

Q. What will you be researching at the University of New Haven?

A. I am dedicated to developing novel engineering techniques at the University of New Haven to solve biological problems. The goal is to bridge the gap between biological and engineering paradigms.

My lab will be mainly working in two directions: mechanobiology and microfluic systems for disease diagnostics. Mechanobiology is the study of mechanical force in regulating cell functions during tissue regeneration and development. In biological systems, mechanical force is a critical factor in the regulation of pattern formation, which results in cell functions. Pattern formulation examples include vascular systems, lung vascular structure, and retina vasculature. The central question we are exploring is how individual cells sense and respond to mechanical stimuli to finish self-organization and self-healing during development and repair.

I am also very interested in developing microfluidic systems for applications in the field of forensic science and disease diagnostics. Specifically, I am interested in detecting microRNAs for the identification of body fluids.

Q. What are you looking forward to about teaching and researching at the University of New Haven?

A. My teaching philosophy is "motivating students and helping them to become accomplished and independent intellectuals." The students at the University of New Haven are highly motivated and very intelligent. As an engineering teacher, I am dedicated to guiding students in the development of problem-solving and analytical skills.

I look forward to seeing the students develop communication and teamwork skills and becoming successful engineers though classroom activities. I am also very interested in STEM education and outreach. I would like to promote diversity at the University by arranging workshops and other activities to advance the role of women in STEM fields.

Q. Will you be doing research projects in collaboration with students?

A. This semester I have five graduate students working on different projects. Onohome Akonure and Rui Yang are studying the effects of mechanical compression on tumor angiogenesis. Karan Suresh and Miroslava Avila are working on designing microfluidic devices for cell migration. Vidya Palanisamy is working on the project to understand how compressive stress modulates breast cancer cell migration. I am also interested in recruiting curious, creative, and self-motivated undergraduate students to do research in my lab.