Dr. Yue-Wern Huang, professor of biological sciences, will become the interim director of the Center for Biomedical Research (CBR) on Thursday, Sept. 1.

“I look forward to working with Dr. Yue-Wern Huang and the CBR-affiliated faculty, students and staff to continue to grow biomedical research engineering at S&T,” says Dr. Kamal Khayat, interim vice chancellor for research and innovation.

“I also want to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Hu Yang, whose leadership as CBR director served our university since August 2020,” says Khayat.

Huang joined S&T in 2000 as assistant professor of biological sciences. His research focuses on drug delivery, tissue regeneration, evolution and behaviors of indoor pathogens, and electronic cigarette toxicity. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, and several other federal, state and private agencies. He is on editorial boards for Current Gene Therapy and MDPI Cells. He serves as an ad hoc member of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Substance Control Act Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals.

“CBR is a fantastic platform for convergence research centered on development of next generation of biomaterials, biomedical devices, nanomedicine, and health informatics,” says Huang. “I would like to promote interdisciplinary collaborations and research activities in medicine and human health in general and lead the center to become a translational research hub.” “I had the privilege of serving as CBR director in the past year and was pleased to see the success of junior faculty in winning NIH grants and the momentum gained to boost biomedical research activities and interdisciplinary proposal submissions through various activities CBR hosted, such as NIH proposal mentoring program, symposiums, open houses as well as expanded research facilities and strengthened collaborations with Phelps Health and universities in the area,” says Dr. Hu Yang, chair of chemical and biochemical engineering. “Dr. Huang has a track record of well-funded research and vast leadership experience. I am confident that our biomedical research will continue to grow under his leadership.”