Contact Information
University of Illinois
1304 W Springfield Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Research Areas
Research Interests
Microbial synthetic biology; microbial communities; mathematical modeling; sustainable biomanufacturing
Research Description
Gene regulatory networks are one of the main cellular infrastructures that confer defined biological functions. Our research focuses on synthetic and systems biology - the analysis, construction, and exploitation of these regulatory networks for cellular functionality reprogramming. In particular, we are interested in understanding the architecture and dynamics of naturally existing networks, primarily those in bacteria, and exploring their relationship to cellular function. We are also interested in engineering gene circuits for biomedical applications. Along that line, engineered microbial consortia are particularly attractive to us. To pursue our interest, we often employ an integrated approach that combines mathematical modeling with experimental synthetic biology.
Education
Ph.D., 2007, University of California at San Diego (Biophysics)
B.S., 2002, Zhejiang University (Physics)
Awards and Honors
NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (2019)
U.S. NAS Arab-American Frontiers Fellowship (2019)
ACS Infectious Diseases Young Investigator Award (2018)
MSU Center for Biofilm Engineering Young Investigator Award (2017)
NCSA Faculty Fellowship (2016)
ONR Young Investigator Award (2016)
BMES Young Innovator of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (2016)
NSF CAREER Award (2015)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, Bioengineering
Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Faculty Affiliate, Physics
Professor, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Professor, Center for Digital Agriculture, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Affiliate, Personalized Nutrition Initiative, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Recent Publications
Nguyen, D. T. N., & Lu, T. (2026). A new strategy to stabilize gene circuits. Trends in Biotechnology, 44(4), 885-887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2026.02.005
Qian, Y., Collins, J. J., & Lu, T. (2026). A programmable microbial assembly line for plastic upcycling. Nature Sustainability. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01765-9
Li, Y., Lai, Y. H., & Lu, T. (2025). Coarse-Grained Modeling Elucidates Differential Metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under Varied Nutrient Limitations. ACS synthetic biology, 14(5), 1523-1532. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.4c00803
Wu, Y., Kong, W., Van Stappen, J., Kong, L., Huang, Z., Yang, Z., Kuo, Y. A., Chen, Y. I., He, Y., Yeh, H. C., Lu, T., & Lu, Y. (2025). Genetically Encoded Fluorogenic DNA Aptamers for Imaging Metabolite in Living Cells. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 147(2), 1529-1541. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c09855
Chen, H., Shi, Y., Huang, M., Lu, T., Zhang, H., Zhou, C., Hou, T., & Feng, Y. (2024). Recognition and acquisition of FakB2-loaded exogenous fatty acid (eFA) by a streptococcal FakA kinase. Science Bulletin, 69(21), 3355-3360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2024.05.015