Z. Hugh Fan

Z. Hugh Fan is a US-based biomedical engineer, chemist, scientist, inventor, and academic. Hugh Fan is the Steve and Louise Scott Excellence Fellow and Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida (UF). At UF, he is director of the Microfluidics and BioMEMS Laboratory, a research lab and part of the Interdisciplinary Microsystems Group (IMG). Hugh Fan is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is known for his pioneering work in microfluidics in the early 1990s, while his research work spans microfluidics, biomedical microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS), sensors, cancer and medical diagnostics, and pathogen and virus detection. Hugh Fan's work has significantly contributed to the development of lab-on-a-chip technologies and microfluidic devices for various biomedical applications. He has developed microfluidic devices using aptamers, special DNA or RNA sequences, to isolate and study different types of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood, offering an alternative to antibody-based methods. In 2018, Hugh Fan and John Lednicky co-led a team at the University of Florida that developed a rapid, cost-effective point-of-care test for the Zika virus. Their work with C. Y. Wu on SARS-CoV-2 (severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-related coronavirus) in 2020 helped change the opinion on virus transmission route from “droplets” in 2020 to “airborne” in 2021.

Early life and education Hugh Fan studied at Yangzhou Teachers College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1985. From 1985 to 1989, he worked as an Assistant Teacher at Yangzhou Teachers' College. In 1989, he moved to Canada where he pursued his doctoral studies at the University of Alberta and received his Ph.D. in 1994. From 1994 to 1995, he was a post-doctoral fellow at Ames Laboratory.

Career Hugh Fan worked for Sarnoff Corporation from 1995 to 2000. In 2000, he became principal scientist at Aclara Biosciences. In 2003, he joined the University of Florida (UF) as an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. He was tenured in 2008. Hugh Fan became a full professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2013 and held the position until July 2024, when he became a distinguished professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UF.

Hugh Fan has been a member of the UF Health Cancer Center (since 2005) and a member of the Emerging Pathogens Institute (since 2008). He has been an affiliate professor at the Department of Chemistry since 2012 and an affiliate professor at the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering since 2004. He was a Humboldt Visiting Professor at the Fraunhofer Institute of Biomedical Engineering in 2010, and an E.T.S. Walton Fellow at the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute at Dublin City University in 2009.

In 2014, Hugh Fan was named a University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professor.

Research and inventions Hugh Fan is known for his pioneering work in microfluidics in early 1990s which is often credited for helping establish microfluidics as a research field and for popularizing the subject in academia, industry and governmental agencies. His research work spans microfluidics, biomedical microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS), sensors, cancer and medical diagnostics, and pathogen and virus detection. Hugh Fan's work has significantly contributed to the development of lab-on-a-chip technologies and microfluidic devices for various biomedical applications. He has been working on developing microfluidic devices, which are small, chip-like devices used for medical and scientific purposes. Instead of using antibodies to capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which are cancer cells found in the blood, he uses special DNA or RNA sequences called aptamers. These aptamers can bind specifically to different types of CTCs. By attaching these aptamers to the channels in his microfluidic devices, he could isolate different kinds of CTCs based on the specific aptamers used. This method offers an alternative to using antibodies for detecting and studying cancer cells.

Patents

C. Y. Wu, X. Jiang, M. Pan, J. Lednicky, A. D. Theodore, Z. H. Fan, N. Afshar-Mohajer, “Bioaerosol detection systems and methods of use”, U.S. Patent 11,845,997, 2023. Z. H. Fan, X. Jiang., T. B. Tilly, J. Lednicky, C-Y. Wu, “Apparatus and Method for Performing Microorganism Detection”, U.S. patent application, 2021/0230533 A1, 2021. C. Y. Wu, X. Jiang, M. Pan, J. Lednicky, A. D. Theodore, Z. H. Fan, N. Afshar-Mohajer, “Bioaerosol detection systems and methods of use”, U.S. Patent 10,859,473, 2020. Z. H. Fan, J. Zhang, “Antibody and aptamer ensemble for cell isolation and enrichment”, U.S. Patent 10,466,243 B2, 2019. Z. H. Fan, K. Jackson, "Apparatuses and methods for high-throughput protein synthesis", U.S. Patent 10,214,713 B2, 2019. S. E. McBride; S. C. Cherukuri; R. Kumar; J. A. Ladd; Z. H. Fan; B. L. Bentz; P. J. Zanzucchi; “Apparatus for separating molecules”, US Patent 6,296,752, 2001. T. L. Fare; Z. H. Fan; P. J. Heaney, “Flow control in microfluidics devices by controlled bubble formation”, US Patent 5,992,820, 1999. S. C. Cherukuri; R. R. Demers; Z. H. Fan; A. W. Levine; S. E. McBride; P. J. Zanzucchi, “Method and system for inhibiting cross-contamination in fluids of combinatorial chemistry device”, US Patent 5,980,704, 1999. P. J. Zanzucchi; S. C. Cherukuri; S. E. McBride; R. R. Demers; A. W. Levine; B. J. Thaler; R. L. Quinn; P. L. Braun; W. Chiang; Z. H. Fan; S. A. Lipp; J. R. Matey, “Liquid distribution system”, US Patent 5,846,396, 1998. Z. H. Fan; A. W. Levine; S. C. Cherukuri; S. A. Lipp, “Field-assisted sealing”, US Patent 5,747,169, 1998. S. C. Cherukuri; R. R. Demers; Z. H. Fan; A. W. Levine; S. E. McBride; P. J. Zanzucchi, “Method and system for inhibiting cross-contamination in fluids of combinatorial chemistry device”, US Patent 5,603,351, 1997.

Selected publications Journal articles

Books Fan, Z. Hugh (Ed.) "Circulating Tumor Cells: Isolation and Analysis." John Wiley & Sons, 2016.

Awards, honors, and fellowships

Awards

Career Award, National Institutes of Health (2011) Fraunhofer-Bessel Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2010) E.T.S. Walton Award, Science Foundation Ireland (2009)

Honors

The University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professorship Award (2014)

Fellowships

Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Footnotes