Prof. Yi Lu

Department of Chemistry
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL 61801
Phone:(217) 333-2619
Email: yi-lu@illinois.edu

Biography

Professor Yi Lu received his Ph.D. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1992. After two years of postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 1994. He is now a HHMI Professor in the U of I Department of Chemistry and a part-time faculty member in the Beckman Institute 3D Micro- and Nanosystems group. Professor Lu is also affiliated with the Departments of Biochemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, the Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, the Biotechnology Center, and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. His fields of professional interest are design and selection of protein and nucleic acid enzymes with potential applications in biocatalysis, sensing and directed assembly of functional biomaterials.

Honors

Biosensors and Bioelectronics Runner-up Award (2002), Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor Award (2002), University Scholar Award (2002), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research (2003), Camile Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1999), University of Illinois SCS Excellence in Teaching Award (1999), National Science Foundation CARRER Award (1995) and Special Creativity Extension Award (1998), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1998), Research Corporation Cottrell Scholars Award (1997), and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigators Award (1996).

Research

Lu's group is using rational design and combinatorial engineering methods to obtain proteins and DNA/RNA for directed assembly of nano- or colloidal particles and for gated control of nanofluidic devices. These objects can be hierarchically integrated to possess high functional complexity. Success in this undertaking will lead to robust structures for a range of applications, such as selective sensing in environmental and homeland security applications, medical imaging using fluorescence and MRI, targeted drug delivery, nanoporous catalytic materials for organic transformation and for bioremediation, as well as new, integrated nanofabrication strategies in 3D for electronic, magnetic, and photonic systems.

Select Publications

1. Ihms, H. E.; Lu, Y., In Vitro Selection of Metal Ion-Selective Dnazymes, In Ribozymes Methods and Protocols, ; Hartig, J. S., Ed.; Humana Press, Hatfield, UK, 2012, 297-316.

2. Li, L.; Zhang, R.; Yin, L.; Zheng, K.; Qin, W.; Selvin, P. R.; Lu, Y., Biomimetic Surface Engineering of Lanthanide-Doped Upconversion Nanoparticles as Versatile Bioprobes. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2012, 51, 6121-6125.

3. Liu, X.; Yu, Y.; Zhang, W.; Lu, Y.; Wang, J., Dramatic Increase of Oxidase Activity in a Genetic Incorporated Cross-Linked Tyrosine-Histidine in a Heme-Copper Oxidase Model of Myoglobin. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2012, 51, 4312-4316.

4. Miner, K. D.; Mukherjee, A.; Gao, Y. G.; Null, E. N.; Petrik, I. D.; Zhao, X.; Yeung, N.; Robinson, H.; Lu, Y., A Designed Functional Metalloenzyme That Reduces O2 to H2o with over One Thousand Turnovers. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2012, 51, 5589-5592.

5. Wilson, T. D.; Savelieff, M. G.; Nilges, M. J.; Marshall, N. M.; Lu, Y., Kinetics of Copper Incorporation into a Biosynthetic Purple Cua Azurin: Characterization of Red, Blue, and a New Intermediate Species. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011, 133, 20778-20792.

6. Xiang, Y.; Lu, Y., Using Personal Glucose Meters and Functional DNA Sensors to Quantify a Variety of Analytical Targets. Nature Chemistry 2011, 3, 673-703.

7. Lin, Y.-W.; Yeung, N.; Gao, Y.-G.; Miner, K. D.; Lanyu, L.; Robinson, H.; Lu, Y., Introducing a 2-His-1-Glu Nonheme Iron Center into Myoglobin Confers Nitric Oxide Reductse Activity. Journal of American Chemical Society 2010, 132, 9970-9972.

8. Lee, J. H.; Wong, N. Y.; Tan, L. H.; Wang, Z.; Lu, Y., Controlled Alignment of Multiple Proteins and Nanoparticles with Nanometer Resolution via Backbone-Modified Phosphorothioate DNA and Bifunctional Linkers. Journal of American Chemical Society 2010, 132, (8906-8908).

9. Lu, Y.; Yeung, N.; Sieracki, N.; Marshall, N. M., Design of functional metalloproteins. Nature 2009, 460, (7257), 855-862.

10. Marshall, N. M.; Garner, D. K.; Wilson, T. D.; Gao, Y. G.; Robinson, H.; Nilges, M. J.; Lu, Y., Rationally tuning the reduction potential of a single cupredoxin beyond the natural range. Nature 2009, 462, (7269), 113-U127.

11. Yeung, N.; Lin, Y. W.; Gao, Y. G.; Zhao, X.; Russell, B. S.; Lei, L. Y.; Miner, K. D.; Robinson, H.; Lu, Y., Rational design of a structural and functional nitric oxide reductase. Nature 2009, 462, (7276), 1079-U144.