Wei Cheng
Associate Professor
Biological Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Michigan
United States of America
Biography
B.S., Biology, University of Science & Technology of China (USTC), graduated one year ahead of normal schedule Ph.D., Molecular Biophysics, Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine Postdoctoral training, Carlos Bustamante Lab, University of California at Berkeley After earning a BS in biology from the University of Science and Technology of China, Wei Cheng completed his PhD in molecular biophysics at Washington University, in St. Louis, Mo., and did postdoctoral training at UC-Berkeley. In 2009, he accepted an endowed assistant professor position with the University of Michigan.
Research Interest
Exploring fundamental questions that can enlighten therapeutic strategies Developing and applying state-of-the-art single-particle and single-molecule manipulation and visualization techniques to improve therapeutic development and delivery Professor Cheng’s lab develops and applies single-molecule techniques to important fundamental questions in biology and disease, with a special focus on mechanisms of HIV infection. For example, understanding the efficiency with which a virus transmits itself among host cells can enlighten therapeutic strategies to block virion infection, as well as improve vaccine and gene delivery using viruses as vectors. Addressing such questions is often limited by our understanding of these processes at molecular and cellular levels, which is one of many reasons the Cheng lab studies and dissects these processes, aided by novel biophysical techniques developed by the lab.
Publications
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Byumseok Koh; Wei Cheng Mechanisms of carbon nanotube aggregation and the reversion of carbon nanotube aggregates in aqueous medium. Langmuir. 2014;30(36):10899-10909
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Li-Hong Xin; Jing Wang; Zhen Wang; Wei Cheng; Wen Zhang Effect of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection on function of T lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of asthmatic children. Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. 2014;16(3):277-280
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W. Cheng, S. G. Arunajadai, J. R. Moffitt, I. Tinoco Jr., and C. Bustamante. (2011). Single Base Pair Unwinding and Asynchronous RNA Release by the HCV NS3 Helicase. Science 333: 1746-1749.
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B. Koh, G. Kim, H. Yoon, J. B. Park, R. Kopelman, and W. Cheng. (2012). Fluorophore and Dye-Assisted Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution. Langmuir 28: 11676-11686.
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Y. Pang, H. Song, J. H. Kim, X. Hou, and W. Cheng. (2014). Optical Trapping of Individual Human Immunodeficiency Viruses in Culture Fluid Reveals Heterogeneity with Single-Molecule Resolution. Nature Nanotechnology 9: 624-630.
