About Our Lab

Welcome to the homepage of Professor Jianjun Cheng’s Research Group at Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People Republic of China.  The University is named after West Lake, a freshwater lake in numerous poems and paintings throughout Chinese history and an iconic and scenic site of Hangzhou that is famous for its natural beauty, gardens and temples. Westlake University was founded by world renowned biophysicist Shi Yigong, a former Professor of Princeton University, and a group of other prominent Chinese scientists in the year 2018.  At Westlake University, we are interested in exploring sciences and technology developments at the interface of synthetic chemistry, materials science and medicine.  We are particularly interested in developing polymeric biomaterials for medical applications, such as drug and gene delivery. The primary research focus in the Cheng Group includes therapeutic nanomedicine, polypeptide synthesis and applications, and development of hindered urea bond chemistry and materials. Professor Cheng was an Assistant, Associate, Full and Hans Thurnauer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, and Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2006-2021). In August 2021, he joined Westlake University as a full-time faculty in the School of Engineering.  He look forward to working with his students, post-doctors, and research associates at Westlake University to develop applicable biomaterials for medical uses.