Sandra Pinho and Takeshi Shimamura were recently introduced as new University of Illinois Cancer Center members. But they aren’t the only ones to join. Please welcome…
New member to the University of Illinois Cancer Center:
Ying Liu, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences
Ying Liu is an associate professor in the department of chemical engineering and adjunct professor in the department of bioengineering and department of biopharmaceutical sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Liu’s research group is interested in developing biomaterials with novel nano- and micro-structures for biomedical applications. Based on the understandings of molecular packing, interaction, degradation, and self-assembly kinetics and thermodynamics, the Liu research group developed several scalable, continuous, and self-assembling processes for massive production of well-controlled nano- and microparticles for targeting delivery and sustained release of small molecular compounds, peptides, oligonucleotides, and therapeutic cells. The toroidal-spiral particles developed by Liu demonstrated continuous expansion and controlled release of immune cells for treatment of various cancers, including solid tumors. Liu received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering mechanics from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China in 2001, and her PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 2007. Liu conducted a one-year research postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago in the department of chemistry and James Frank Institute as a postdoctoral researcher. She joined UIC in 2008. Liu has been the recipient of several awards, including an NSF CAREER Award, UIC Researcher and Scholar of the Year Rising Star Award, and College of Engineering Research Award. Liu’s email is [email protected]
New to UIC and new member to the University of Illinois Cancer Center:
Keith Naylor, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
University of Illinois Medical Center
Keith Naylor is a gastroenterologist and health services researcher in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at UI Health. His major areas of interest include using administrative health data to investigate small-area variation in the utilization of endoscopic and non-endoscopic forms of colorectal cancer screening. Naylor’s current research interests include defining colonoscopy-related geographic service areas using administrative data and examining the relationship between spatial proximity to colonoscopy infrastructure and the utilization of endoscopic and non-endoscopic screening modalities. He is particularly interested in exploring these factors among urban communities and within racial and ethnic minority population subgroups. Naylor is also seeing high risk cancer patients in the Familial and Hereditary Gastrointestinal Cancers Clinic. Naylor graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed a fellowship and residency program at the University of Chicago. Naylor’s email is [email protected]