Rice University
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University
Prof. Dong obtained a PhD degree in organic chemistry at Rice University in May 2008 where she focused on the self-assembly of nanostructured peptides into 3-D scaffolds for tissue regeneration. Afterwards, she took her postdoctoral position in the Department of Surgery at Emory University focusing on peptide-based anti-inflammatory drug development. From July 2009 to Aug 2012, Prof. Dong worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley where she developed self-assembled hybrid peptide-polymer conjugates as long-circulating nanocarriers for cancer therapy. Prof. Dong joined the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science at Clarkson University as an assistant professor in August 2012. Her research spans from chemistry, materials science to biomedical sciences. Currently her primary research interests lie in the construction of biomaterials based on the self-assembly of peptides/proteins and block-copolymers for a wide range of biomedical applications including drug delivery, gene/siRNA delivery, vaccine delivery and antimicrobial therapy development. Prof. Dong has been actively involved in various educational and outreach activities by mentoring local high school students and providing opportunities for summer internship to local high school teachers. She is also an active participant to disseminate research discovery and knowledge to local community people through public lectures and discussions. Prof. Dong received NSF Faculty Early Career Award in 2017 and is currently a member in the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, Materials Research Society and biomedical Science Society.
Research Interests:
Molecular self-assembly of soft matter nanomaterials
Supramolecular assemblies based on peptides/polypeptides, proteins, and block-copolymers
Understanding the specific molecular interactions involved in natural assembly
Synthesis and assembly of man-made materials to suit a wide range of applications in drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, light harvesting, molecular transport and sensing
Combining de novo designed peptides and synthetic polymers to generate functional hybrid materials with well-defined hierarchical structures
Understanding the static and dynamic interactions involved in a multi-component system to facilitate rational design and synthesis of more complex, smart materials with desired stimuli responsiveness
Current Research:
Biomaterials play key roles in advancing biological science and medical research. A novel biomaterial can present numerous opportunities to advance science and solve real-world problems. The Dong group has a great deal of interest and expertise in the design and assembly of various forms of supra-molecular peptide biomaterials. We have recently developed filamentous cell penetrating peptides (FCPPs) and self-assembling antimicrobial nanofibers (SAANs), two families of self-assembled peptides exhibiting intriguing built-in biological function, in addition to well-defined molecular and nanostructure. The potential for biomaterials design and therapeutic delivery is tremendous and currently under aggressive exploration, as exemplified by our recent publications. The discovery of both FCPPs and SAANs families will create new opportunities in the fields of functional supra-molecular peptides, antimicrobial biomaterials and nanomedicines, and will impact the multi-billion-dollar industry surrounding conventional small molecule antibiotics/anticancer drugs and long-standing traditional antimicrobial peptide (AMP)-based antimicrobial therapy.
2017 National Science Foundation Early Career Award
2008 John L. Margrave Outstanding Graduate Thesis Award
2008 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Graduate Students Abroad
1999-2002 JINGHUA Graduate Fellowship
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Linhai Jiang, Dawei Xu, Ling Liu, Reidar Lund*, He Dong*, “Protein-like Nanoparticles Based on Orthogonal Self-assembly of Chimeric Peptides”, Small, 2016, 12, 5126-5131. Link to Article
Dawei Xu, Linhai Jiang, Louis DeRidder, Brendan Elmore, Maurish Bukhari, Qiang Wei, Damien S. K. Samways*,He Dong*, “Membrane Activity of a Supramolecular Peptide-based Chemotherapeutic Enhancer”, Mol. Biosyst., 2016, 12, 2695-2699. Link to Article
DeDennis A. Delgado, Katelynne Doherty, Qinghui Cheng, Hyeongeun Kim, Dawei Xu, He Dong, Christof Grewer and Wei Qiang, “Distinct membrane disruption pathways induced by the 40-resdiue β-amyloid peptides”, J. Biol. Chem., 2016, 291, 12233-12244. Link to Article
Dawei Xu, Qian Ran, Yang Xiang, Fadi Bou-Abdallah, Reidar Lund, Zhongjun Li*, He Dong*, “Toward Hemocompatible Self-assembling Antimicrobial Nanofibers: Understanding the Synergistic Effect of Supramolecular Structure and PEGylation on Hemocompatibility”, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 15911-15919. Link to Article
Xiaobo Liu, Mouna Marrakchi, Dawei Xu, He Dong*, Silvana Andreescu*, Label-Free Detection and Differentiation of Pathogenic Bacteria using Synthetic Antimicrobial Peptides, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2016, 80, 9-16. Link to Article
Linhai Jiang, Dawei Xu, Timothy Sellati, He Dong*, “Self-Assembly of Cationic Multidomain Peptide Hydrogels: Supramolecular Nanostructure and Rheological Property Dictate Antimicrobial Activity”, Nanoscale, 2015, 7, 19160-19169. Link to Article
Dawei Xu, Derek Dustin, Linhai Jiang, Damien, S. K. Samways, He Dong*, “DesignedFilamentous Cell Penetrating Peptides: Probing Supramolecular Structure-Dependent Membrane Activity and Transfection Efficiency”, Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 11757-11760. (Featured on Front Cover) Link to Article
He Dong, Reider Lund, Ting Xu, “Micelle Stabilization via Entropic Repulsion: Balance of Force Directionality and Geometric Packing of Subunit”, Biomacromolecules, 2015, 16, 743-747. Link to Article
Dawei Xu, Linhai, Jiang, Anju Singh, Miao Yang, Derek Dustin, Ling, Liu, Reidar Lund, Timothy Sellati, He Dong*, “Designed Supramolecular Filamentous Peptides: Balance of Nanostructure, Cytotoxicity and Antimicrobial Activity”, Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 1289-1292. Link to Article
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