Our team

Professor Lining (Arnold) Ju is an award-winning engineer and biophysicist at the University of Sydney’s School of Biomedical Engineering. His research applies engineering principles to investigate the cardiovascular system at molecular and cellular scales, with a focus on developing microtechnologies to detect early signs of heart attack and stroke.

Dr Ana Esteves is a Critical thinker, problem solver, multidisciplinary scientist with a creative mind, an out-of-the-box thinking and a can-do attitude, driven by curiosity and a commitment to excellence. PhD in biochemistry with over 20 years of hands-on lab experience across academic, industry, healthcare and government sectors. Post-graduation in workplace health and safety and over 8 years of laboratory management experience. I am passionate about transforming laboratories into safe and efficient workplaces!

Contact: [email protected]

Snow Program Manager: Dr Haimei (Helen) Zhao is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and ICT Director at the School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney. Her research lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and digital health, with a strong focus on developing translational technologies for biomedical diagnostics and personalised healthcare. She currently works under the supervision of Snow Fellow Professor Lining (Arnold) Ju on digital health solutions for cardiovascular disease prediction and prevention.

Contact: [email protected]

Dr Yao Wang is a mid-career researcher and co-lead of the Mechanobiology and Biomechanics Laboratory (MBL) at the School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney. Her research lies at the intersection of mechanobiology, organoid-on-a-chip technologies, and mechanomedicine, with a strong focus on developing novel platforms for drug screening and translational applications in cardiovascular health. She currently works alongside Snow Fellow Professor Lining (Arnold) Ju on advancing biomechanical models and device innovations to uncover new therapeutic strategies.

Contact: [email protected]

Dr Mingxin Xu is a Snow Postdoctoral Researcher in the JuLab at the University of Sydney. His research leverages expertise in acoustofluidics and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) to create next-generation point-of-care and lab-on-chip technologies. These platforms enable the precise manipulation of cells and biomolecules, aiming to advance medical diagnostics and deepen our understanding of disease mechanobiology. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Melbourne in 2023.

Contact: [email protected]

Dr Chia Lun (Mike) Wu is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney’s School of Biomedical Engineering. His research bridges biology, engineering, and clinical science, with a focus on translational R&D and the commercialization of new diagnostics and therapies for thrombotic complications in cardiovascular disease. He earned First-Class Honours and a Ph.D. in Immunopharmacology at the University of Queensland, complemented by training in research commercialization and patent development. With over a decade of experience in thrombosis and haemostasis, he has published in Nature and Science journals, and his discoveries have advanced understanding of red blood cell–driven microvascular thrombosis in stroke, diabetes, ischemia, infection, and cancer. Dr Wu has developed safer anticoagulants inspired by bush ticks and co-invented SmartClot+, a rapid paper-based blood test that won the 2025 PERIscope Commercialisation Prize. His projects are supported by major national grants, and he was awarded the Gordon Research Conference Young Investigator Award in 2025.

Dr Alexander Dupuy is an early-career researcher in the field of thrombosis, inflammation, and thromboinflammation. He completed a Bachelor of Medical Science with First-Class Honours under the supervision of Professor Kerry-Anne Rye at the University of New South Wales. He further advanced his expertise in thrombosis and inflammation as a research assistant and Ph.D. student under Associate Professor Freda Passam, and is now a postdoctoral researcher working with Snow Fellow Professor Lining (Arnold) Ju. Despite being at an early stage of his career, he has delivered two oral and one poster presentation at international conferences and published eight research articles, six of which are as first or co-first author.

Dr Zihao Wang is a postdoctoral researcher at School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney, where his work combines expertise in Mechatronic Engineering and Biomedical Engineering to develop innovative integrated Vessel-on-Chip system for stroke prediction and diagnose. His research focuses on creating next-generation platforms that enable the fully automated manufacturing and precise control and analysis of patient-specific vessel chips, with the goal of advancing stroke prediction and prevention, drug screening, and advanced medical applications. He completed his Ph.D. at University of Sydney in 2023.

Dr Qian (Peter) Su is an NHMRC EL2 Fellow. After completing his PhD at Peking University, he developed advanced imaging tools to study cellular processes in real time. His work bridges nanoscale imaging and cell biology, with a focus on understanding how cells interact with their environment.

Yunduo Charles Zhao is a biomedical engineer dedicated to advancing translational research that directly benefits patients with cardiovascular disease. My work integrates patient-specific vascular 3D printing with organ-on-chip platforms to recreate anatomically accurate blood vessels. By combining endothelialisation strategies with thrombosis modelling and drug screening, I aim to develop next-generation in-vitro systems that accelerate personalised diagnosis and therapeutic discovery.

Kaitlyn Zhang is a researcher keen to develop advanced lab-on-a-chip systems to study thrombosis and cancer spheroids. Her work focuses on modeling complex disease microenvironments—such as cancer-associated thrombosis and atherosclerosis—through innovative microfluidic devices that mimic physiological vascular conditions. By integrating biomechanics with cell biology, she aims to improve biomedical diagnostics and provide new platforms for studying thrombosis, metastasis, and cardiovascular disorders.

Jerry Wang is a biomedical engineering researcher focusing on mechanobiology and platform development. His work aims to utilize leading mechanobiology research to develop next-generation cellular mechanobiology screening platforms to aid clinical diagnosis and cell therapy screening.

PhD Student : Fengtao Jiang is aPhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Sydney, specializing in microfluidics, vascular engineering, and organ-on-chip technologies. My research focuses on developing physiologically relevant microenvironments for cancer metastasis studies, rare cell isolation, and patient-specific cardiovascular models. I have led the creation of first-in-field platforms published in Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, and Analytical Chemistry, and hold four invention patents. My work bridges fundamental bioengineering with translational applications for diagnostics and personalized medicine.

Laura Moldovan is a PhD student researching neutrophil mechanobiology. I utilise a variety of techniques in my work including biomembrane force probe (BFP), microfluidics, and optical tweezers. My work aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that drive NET formation under mechanical force.

Arian Nasser works on advanced vascular models to study and understand biomechanics of physiology and disease more clearly.

Allan Sun is a PhD student researching how mechanical stimuli and blood flow haemodynamics contributes to blood clot development in cardiovascular disease. My work aims to use these findings to develop point-of-care technologies for early recognition and disease pathology and aiding in clinical decision-making processes.

Richard Louis is the AI Digital Mechanobiology and ICT Lead at JuLab. His research focuses on computational chemistry, where he investigates mechanistic interactions between proteins and leverages computer-aided drug design (CADD) to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of thrombosis.

Jianfang (Jenny) Ren is fascinated by how thrombosis forms — the deeper I dig, the more hooked I get! After years studying platelets and endothelial cells, I’m now turning to red blood cells, combining microfluidic devices with mouse models. I do believe lab works can save lives and improve our living standard! When I’m not chasing clots in the lab, I’m probably chasing shuttlecocks on the badminton court!

Linda Dei-Awuku is a PhD candidate specialising in Biofabrication and 3D Printing for Neurovascular diseases, developing vessel-on-chip models to study clot formation, and potential therapeutic strategies, with a focus on improving women’s brain health and cerebrovascular outcomes.

Patrick Bao is I am working micropiette, using Micropipette based nano tools to study the mechanical properties of different cells and also figure out the function of mechanical ion channels on these cells.

PhD Student: Rui (Ray) Gao develops microdevices for cardiovascular disease research

Tiana Pelaia is a PhD candidate researching the cellular contributions to biomechanical thrombus formation. I aim to integrate microfluidics, preclinical models and multi-omics to identify patient-specific “mechanophenotypes” for arterial thrombotic risk.

Yunping Tu is a researcher specializing in microfluidics, acoustofluidics, and lab-on-a-chip technologies. His work focuses on integrating acoustic techniques with microfluidic platforms to enable advanced detection and analysis of thrombosis. By combining precise acoustic manipulation with microfluidic control, he aims to develop innovative diagnostic tools that enhance the accuracy and efficiency of blood clot evaluation, ultimately contributing to improved biomedical diagnostics and personalized healthcare.

Sihao Wang is a researcher specializing in bioprinting, focusing on developing hemorrhage models of abdominal aortic aneurysms using 3D printing and hydrogel technology. My work integrates microfluidics, vascular biology, and computational simulations to study blood flow dynamics, rupture mechanisms, and clot formation, with the aim of understanding the processes behind aneurysm expansion and rupture and predicting rupture location and risk.

Christina Mansour is a PhD student specializing in biomaterials. My research focuses on developing hydrogel tubes that replicate the mechanical and biological properties of human arteries, with the aim of investigating stent thrombosis.

Zhou Jianxuan is a PhD student specializing in microfluidics, with a focused research interest in developing organ-on-a-chip platforms. My upcoming work will harness microfluidic devices to dissect the intricate mechanisms underlying glioblastoma-associated thrombosis, aiming to illuminate this critical yet underexplored facet of the disease.

Yiyao Catherine Chen is a biomedical engineering researcher at the forefront of mechanomedicine and thrombosis research. Her work integrates cutting-edge mechanobiology with translational design, from deciphering vaccine-associated thrombotic mechanisms to engineering next-generation anti-thrombotic mechanomedicine platforms. By bridging single-molecule biophysics, cellular mechanics, and therapeutic innovation, her research aims to transform how we diagnose, predict, and treat cardiovascular and immune-driven thrombotic disorders.

Zhian Yao is a master’s student specializing in microfluidics

Nicole Alexis Yap is a researcher working in the field of cardiovascular health, thrombosis mechanobiology, microfluidics, and automation programming. My work deals with aspects of vessel-on-chip design & manufacturing, cell culture, blood experiments, data processing and analysis. Current expertise lies in programming automation algorithms for experimental data handling and the AI Digital Twin project.

Laura Sylvester is a Biomedical Engineering and Medical Science Honours student investigating how drug-induced modulation of red blood cell membranes influences thrombosis using microfluidic chip platforms. My work aims to provide novel insights into the contribution of red blood cells to thrombosis.

Clara Valeria is a Biomedical Engineering student with a focus on developing affordable and accessible diagnostic technologies. My work centers on red blood cells (RBCs) and their role in detecting abnormalities in blood coagulation and morphology, particularly for conditions such as stroke and other thrombotic disorders. I am currently working on a paper-based point-of-care device that visually identifies changes in RBC characteristics without the need for complex equipment, aiming to make healthcare more accessible in low-resource settings.

Zhitong Lin is a Bachelor of Advanced Computing and Bachelor of Science student currently working on computer vision analysis of medical data, with broad interests spanning science and engineering.

Gazi Sharita Fairooz is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (Honours), with a research focus on developing a point-of-care lateral flow assay to assess red blood cell membrane rigidity and rupture profiles, aiming to link morphology to disease outcomes.