Juewen Liu

Dr. Juewen Liu is Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo, and a member of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology. Juewen is a leading expert in functional DNA research such as aptamers and DNAzymes. His lab performs in vitro selection to isolate DNA sequences that can selectively bind to various metal ions, small molecules, proteins and materials surfaces. He has also developed a number of bio/nano hybrid materials for diagnostic and biomedical applications. His lab has been working with EcoSynthetix since 2011 with the support of NSERC Engage and CRD grants to develop starch nanoparticle based drug delivery systems. He has authored over 160 research papers, receiving nearly ten thousand citations. He has received a Fred Beamish Award (2014) from the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) and an Early Researcher Award (2011) from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. Juewen received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry in 2005 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He cofounded the company Andalyze Inc. to commercialize DNA-based metal sensors and worked there during its start-up phase (2005-2007). Juewen was a postdoctoral fellow at the Sandia National Labs and the University of New Mexico (2007-2009) before joining the University of Waterloo in 2009.