Zhen Gu, Ph.D.

Pairing a newly developed gel with immunotherapy that was delivered to post-surgical mouse brains with glioblastoma, a highly malignant and deadly cancer, improved the immunotherapy’s effectiveness, report researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and colleagues. The findings appeared on Oct. 6, 2021, in Science Advances.

The researchers used CAR-T cell (chimeric antigen receptor-T cell) immunotherapy, which involves harvesting immune-system T cells from a patient and genetically re-engineering them in the lab to recognize targets on the surface of cancer cells. In this mouse study, the CAR-T cells and gel were placed to fill in the area where a glioblastoma tumor had just been surgically removed. Previous studies have shown that administering T cells alone have produced limited benefit… Continue reading.

The artificial beta cells (ABCs) are much more patient-friendly and mimic the functions of the body’s natural glucose-controllers. The idea is that the AβCs could be subcutaneously inserted into patients, which would be replaced every few days, or by a painless and disposable skin patch.

The ABCs are constructed with a simplified version of a normal cell’s two-layered lipid membrane. The key innovation is what these cells contain: specially designed, insulin-stuffed vesicles. A rise in blood glucose levels leads to chemical changes in the vesicle coating, causing the vesicles to start fusing with the ABC’s outer membrane – thus releasing the insulin payloads… Continue reading.

UCLA bioengineers and colleagues at UNC School of Medicine and MIT have further developed a smart insulin-delivery patch that could one day monitor and manage glucose levels in people with diabetes and deliver the necessary insulin dosage. The adhesive patch, about the size of a quarter, is simple to manufacture and intended for once-a-day use.

The study, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, describes research conducted on mice and pigs. The research team, led by Zhen Gu, PhD, professor of bioengineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, is applying for FDA approval of clinical trials in humans. Gu and colleagues conducted the initial successful tests of the smart insulin patch in mice in 2015 in North Carolina… Continue reading.

A study supported by the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute has developed a “smart” insulin that could reduce dangerous complications in people who use the drug to manage diabetes. This new type of insulin, called i-insulin, is released for action when the blood sugar or glucose levels rise and blocks its own activity when glucose levels fall.

The findings, generated in mice, appeared this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research was led by former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher Zhen Gu, PhD, now a professor of bioengineering at UCLA… Continue reading.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of Zhen Gu, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, to its College of Fellows.

Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to a medical and biological engineer. The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”

Dr. Gu was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for “outstanding contributions to advancing fundamental and technological innovations in the field of drug delivery.”