Dr. Xu has experience in materials science, drug delivery, nanotechnology, and physiochemical characterization of mucosal and tissue barriers to drug delivery systems. My lab focuses on translational medical research, and Dr. Xu is an inventor on 13 pending or awarded patents, at least three of which have been licensed to industry for commercialization. Dr. Xu runs active research program with two NIH (National Institutes of Health) grants (~$3.6M) and one FDA grant ($1.1M). Dr. Xu won prestigious awards, including Blick Scholar (VCU), Young Investigator of Controlled Release Society - Ocular Delivery, AOPT Young Investigator Travel Award, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award, AAPS/Genentech Innovation in Biotechnology Award, EBAA - Richard Lindstrom Research Award.
Area of Focus
- OPEN POSITIONS: Postdoc fellowship positions are available in Prof. Qingguo Xu's lab. Passionate and driven researchers with a strong background in polymers, biomaterials, nanomedicine, drug delivery or other biomedical research are welcome to apply. Qualified applicants are asked to submit a cover letter with a brief description of research experience, interests and career goals (2 pages), a CV, and contact information for three references to qxu@vcu.edu. The positions will remain open until filled.
- PhD candidates: We are welcoming self-motivated, talented PhD student candidate for our Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) program. VCU pharmacy ranks #17 by US News, and the PI has active NIH (R01) and FDA-funded nanomedicine / drug delivery research program. PhD students will get comprehensive training in translational nanomedicine.
Education
- Ph.D., Materials Science (University of Oxford, 2009)
- M.A., Materials Science (Tianjin University, China, 2004)
- B.A., Polymer Materials and Engineering (Tianjin University, China, 2002)
Post-Graduate Training
- Postdoctoral fellow - Ophthalmology (Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2013)
Professional Experience
- (2021 - Present) Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University
- (2017 - 2021) Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, VCU
- (2019 - Present) Blick Scholar, Virginia Commonwealth University
- (2020 - Present) Affiliate Faculty Member, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, VCU
- (2019 - Present) Member, Institute for Structural Biology, Drug Discovery and Development (ISB3D), School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University
- (2017 - Present) Affiliate Faculty Member, Department of Ophthalmology, and Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University,
- (2013 - 2017) Research Associate, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- (2008 - 2010) Process Scientist, Unilever R&D at Colworth, Bedford, United Kingdom
Professional and Scholarly Interests
- Nanomedicine; Drug Delivery; Biomaterials; Ocular Diseases; Opioid Use Disorder; Pulmonary Drug Delivery and Aerosol
Research Interests
- My research program focuses on applying engineering principles to advance our understanding of biological barriers to drugs and foreign body immune responses to biomaterials within the context of disease physiology, while developing cutting-edge nanotherapeutic-based treatments for ocular (eye) disorders, opioid use disorder (drug abuse), lung infections and other diseases.