Core Faculty Members

Prof. CHOI Chung Hang Jonathan
蔡宗衡教授
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, CUHK

Area of Expertise: Nanomedicine, Bionanomaterials, Bio-nano interactions

jchchoi@cuhk.edu.hk
Tel: 3943 8469
Location: ERB1115

Lab webpage: http://www.bme.cuhk.edu.hk/jchchoi

Jonathan joined CUHK as an assistant professor in 2013, and was subsequently promoted to associate professor and full professor in 2019 and 2024, respectively. He inaugurated the first laboratory in nanoparticle-based drug delivery and bio-nano interactions in Hong Kong in 2013 and co-founded CUHK Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), the first BME department in Hong Kong, in 2017. He served as Assistant Dean (Student Affairs) of CUHK Faculty of Engineering in 2018–2021 and Communication Chair of the Controlled Release Society (CRS) Bioinspired and Biomimetic Delivery Focus Group in 2020–2022. He is now Vice-Chair (Undergraduate) of the CUHK BME Department and a Member-At-Large of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Nanoscale Science & Engineering Forum. He was a guest co-editor of a special issue in Molecular Pharmaceutics in 2019–2021.

2013 Croucher Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar, Northwestern University
2011 Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
2006 M.S. in Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
2005 B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Stanford University

Jonathan’s research interests are bionanomaterials, nanomedicine, bio–nano interactions, and drug delivery. His team studies how nanoparticles interact with the body across the length scales of organ, tissue, cell, organelle, and receptor. Accordingly, his team develops strategies for delivering nanotherapeutics to challenging diseased sites. [Key direction: Ho LWC, Liu Y, Han R, Bai Q, Choi CHJ*. Nano-cell interactions of non-cationic bionanomaterials. Acc. Chem. Res., 52, 6, 1519–1530 (2019).]

BMEG2001 Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
BMEG3140 Molecular and Cellular Engineering Laboratory
BMEG3210 Biofluids BMEG4450 Bionanotechnology
BMEG4510 Biomolecular Engineering
BMEG4520 Cardiovascular Engineering
BMEG5840 Biomedical Engineering Laboratories

2024   49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva: Silver Medal
2024   Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences: Elected Member
2023   Research Grants Council: Research Fellow (This ~HKD 5.2 million prize funds top associate professors, from sciences to humanities, in Hong Kong.)
2023   ACS Nano: Finalist, ACS Nano Impact Award [This award aims to honor significant contributions to a work published in ACS Nano, with one winner and four finalists globally in 2023. Paper credited: Liu Y et al., ACS Nano, 15, 8, 13871–13890 (2021).]
2019   Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Materials Division: Best Paper on Materials for Postgraduates [Choi CKK et al., ACS Nano, 13, 5, 5864–5884 (2019)]
2016   Croucher Foundation: Croucher Innovation Award (This prize of HKD 5 million funds top young investigators from science, engineering, and medicine in Hong Kong.)
2010   AIChE: Bionanotechnology Graduate Student Award (Second Prize)

1. Chan CKW, Szeto CC, Lee LKC, Xiao Y, Yin B, Ding X, Lee TWY, Lau JYW*, Choi CHJ*. A sub-10-nm, folic acid-conjugated gold nanoparticle as self-therapeutic treatment of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 120, 42, e2305662120 (2023).

2. Bai Q, Xiao Y, Hong H, Cao X, Zhang L, Han R, Lee LKC, Xue EY, Tian XY*, Choi CHJ*. Scavenger receptor-targeted plaque delivery of microRNA-coated nanoparticles for alleviating atherosclerosis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 119, 39, e2201443119 (2022).

3. Li H, Ho LWC, Lee LKC, Liu S, Chan CKW, Tian XY, Choi CHJ*. Intranuclear delivery of DNA nanostructures via cellular mechanotransduction. Nano Lett., 22, 8, 3400–3409 (2022).

4. Ho LWC, Chan CKW, Han R, Lau YFY, Li H, Ho YP, Zhuang X, Choi CHJ*. Mammalian cells exocytose alkylated gold nanoparticles via extracellular vesicles. ACS Nano, 16, 2, 2032–2045 (2022).

5. Liu H, Liu S, Xiao Y, Song W, Li H, Ho LWC, Shen Z, Choi CHJ*. A pH-reversible fluorescent probe for in situ imaging of extracellular vesicles and their secretion from living cells. Nano Lett., 21, 21, 9224–9232 (2021).

6. Han R, Ho LWC, Bai Q, Chan CKW, Lee LKC, Choi PCL, Choi CHJ*. Alkyl-terminated gold nanoparticles as a self-therapeutic treatment for psoriasis. Nano Lett., 21, 20, 8723–8733 (2021).

7. Liu Y, Choi CKK, Hong H, Xiao Y, Kwok ML, Liu H, Tian XY, Choi CHJ*. Dopamine receptor-mediated binding and cellular uptake of polydopamine-coated nanoparticles. ACS Nano, 15, 13871–13890 (2021). (Finalist, 2023 ACS Nano Impact Award).

8. Yin B, Ho LWC, Liu S, Hong H, Tian XY, Li H, Choi CHJ*. Sub-10 nm substrate roughness promotes the cellular uptake of nanoparticles by upregulating endocytosis-related genes. Nano Lett., 21, 4, 1839–1847 (2021).

9. Yin B, Chan CKW, Liu S, Hong H, Wong SHD, Lee LKC, Ho LWC, Zhang L, Leung KCF, Choi PCL, Bian L*, Tian XY*, Chan MN*, Choi CHJ*. Intrapulmonary cellular-level distribution of inhaled nanoparticles with defined functional groups and its correlations with protein corona and inflammatory response. ACS Nano, 13, 12, 14048-14069 (2019).

10. Choi CKK, Chiu YTE, Zhuo X, Liu Y, Pak CY, Liu X, Tse Y-L S, Wang J, Choi CHJ*. Dopamine-mediated assembly of citrate-capped plasmonic nanoparticles into stable core-shell nanoworms for intracellular applications. ACS Nano, 13, 5, 5864–5884 (2019). (Best Paper on Materials 2019, HKIE Materials Division.)

11. Ho LWC, Yung WY, Sy KHS, Li HY, Choi CKK, Leung KCF, Lee TWY, Choi CHJ*. Effect of alkylation on the cellular uptake of polyethylene glycol-coated gold nanoparticles. ACS Nano, 11, 6, 6085–6101 (2017).

12. Yang H, Chen Z, Zhang L, Yung WY, Leung KCF, Chan HYE, Choi CHJ*. Mechanism for the cellular uptake of targeted gold nanorods of defined aspect ratios. Small, 12, 37, 5178–5189 (2016).