Jianjun (JJ) Cheng

Jianjun Cheng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Cheng received his B.S. in chemistry at Nankai University and his M.S. in chemistry from Southern Illinois University. He then received his Ph.D. in materials science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His industry experience includes working as a Senior Scientist and Project Leader for Insert Therapeutics, Inc., where he developed Cyclodextrin-based polymers for systemic delivery of camptothecin and the modification of polycations for systemic gene delivery and targeting. He has also done postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Robert Langer, an MIT Institute professor who has written more than 840 articles, has more than 500 issued or pending patents, and has received the Charles Stark Draper Prize, considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for engineers. In this position Cheng researched magnetic nanoparticles for oral protein delivery and Aptamer-nanoparticles for in vivo targeted prostate cancer therapy and diagnosis. Cheng has more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and patent applications.