Honggang Cui

Assistant Professor

Phone: 410-516-6878
Office: NEB 370
Email: hcui6@jhu.edu
Curriculum Vitae

Education

• Postdoctoral, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. 2010
• Ph.D., University of Delaware, Newark. Materials Science and Engineering. 2007
• M.S., Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. 2002
• B.S., Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China. 1999

Research Interests

Our research involves the manipulation of molecules by any means to produce functional nanomaterials for biomedical applications. 

Molecules are like us, each one having its own personality. The focus of our research at this stage is to understand the personality of different types of molecules so that we can combine them to achieve desired functions that do not necessarily, or directly, relate to the chemical structure of the individual molecules. Our goal is to use this knowledge to construct functional soft nanomaterials that can specifically interact with cells of interest. To this end, we work on the design, fabrication, characterization, and biomedical applications of nanomaterials of soft matter, with emphasis on rational engineering of the nano-bio interface. We are particularly interested in developing polymeric, peptidic and drug-based nanomaterials that offer specific chemical, physical and mechanical signals to targeted cells.

Selected Publications

• Cui, H.; Pashuck, E. T.; Velichko, Y. S.; Weigand, S. J.; Cheetham, A. G.; Newcomb, C. J.; Stupp, S. I., Spontaneous and X-ray triggered crystallization at long range in self-assembling filament networks. Science 2010, 327, (5965), 555-559.
• Cui, H.; Muraoka, T.; Cheetham, A. G.; Stupp, S. I., Self-assembly of giant peptide nanobelts. Nano Letters 2009, 9, (3), 945-951.
• Cui, H.; Chen, Z. Y.; Zhong, S.; Wooley, K. L.; Pochan, D. J., Block copolymer assembly via kinetic control. Science 2007, 317, (5838), 647-650.
• Cui, H.; Hodgdon, T. K.; Kaler, E. W.; Abezgauz, L.; Danino, D.; Lubovsky, M.; Talmon, Y.; Pochan, D. J., Elucidating the assembled structure of amphiphiles in solution via cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. Soft Matter 2007, 3, (8), 945-955.
• Pochan, D. J.; Chen, Z. Y.*; Cui, H.*; Hales, K.*; Qi, K.*; Wooley, K. L., Toroidal triblock copolymer assemblies. Science 2004, 306, (5693), 94-97. (*equal contribution)