Openings
We are currently hiring postdoctoral scholars and PhD students.
We also welcome undergrad students to join the lab.
Contact: jl@msu.edu
About the LI Lab
We focus on the development of biointegrated technologies that allow us to precisely record, understand, and modulate biology, specifically the nervous system or microbial activities.
To achieve this, we engineer new synthetic materials or bioengineered hybrids with desired mechanical and electrical properties that enable seamless integration and precise interaction with biological systems across various scales, from cells to organisms. We also actively pursue innovative precision manufacturing methods to transform these materials and/or biohybrids into scalable structures, bioelectronics, and microrobots. Enabled by the new materials and precision manufacturing, the biointegrated technologies ecosystem will redefine the relationship between the synthetic and biological worlds, sparking discoveries and solutions in basic science, human-machine interactions, and sustainable built environments.
Research Interests
Neural Electronics
References:
A tissue-like neurochemical sensor for brain and gut Nature 2022.
Morphing electronics enable neuromodulation in growing tissue Nature Biotechnology 2020.
Microrobotics
References
Micro/Nanorobots for biomedicine: delivery, surgery, sensing, and detoxification. Science Robotics 2017.
Biomimetic platelet‐camouflaged nanorobots for binding and isolation of biological threats. Adv. Mater. 2018.
Micromotor-Enabled Active Drug Delivery for In Vivo Treatment of Stomach Infection. Nature Commun. 2017.
Living Materials
Ongoing project:
New 'living' wood could be an environmental superhero
Biomanufacturing
Ongoing project:
'Biomanufacturing' helps building materials go green
Sponsors
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Department of Enegry’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
Henry Ford Health+Michigan State University Health Sciences (HFH+MSU HS)
Spartan Innovations
MSU Office of Research and Innovation’s Global Impact Initiative
Lab News
LI Lab undergrad Charlie Meilinger (MechE) presents soft electronics at 2023 BMES Meeting, Seattle. Oct. 2023
LI Lab receives the HFH+MSU Health Sciences Center Cancer Pilot Grant Award for developing microrobotic cancer therapy. July 2023
LI Lab receives a grant from NSF Dynamics, Control and System Diagnostics (DCSD) to study microrobots in complex fluids. July 2023
Congratulations to LI Lab undergrads Bella Rodrigues (Engineering Sciences) and Michael Ngatio (Biochemistry) for winning FIRST PLACE AWARD in the 2023 University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF)! April 2023
LI Lab presents “Tiny Robots“ at MSU Science Festival. April 2023
Congratulations to Vittorio Mottini for being selected by the MSU BME department as an Honorable Mention for the Outstanding Graduate Student Award of 2023! March 2023
Exoskeletons at MSU May 2022