Jian Ren Lu

Jian Ren Lu is Professor of Biological Physics and head of the group at School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester.

His research interests lie in the broad area of biointerfaces. He graduated from China University of Petroleum with a B.Eng in 1983, obtained his PhD degree from Hull University in 1991 in surface chemistry and then went on a five-year post-doctoral fellowship in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at Oxford University. From 1995 to 2000 he worked as lecturer and reader at Surrey University before taking the chair at Manchester in 2001 and starting the Biological Physics Group.

Professor Lu has developed an international reputation in applying neutron reflection and scattering and related techniques to studying self-assembly of various systems. He has substantially contributed to the development of experimental approaches for studying how peptides, proteins and antibodies interact with different interfaces and self-assemble in bulk phases. His work on the roles of adsorbed extracellular matrix proteins on surface biocompatibility and the implications of molecular packing on their bioactivity has been widely referred to in surface functionalisation and biomaterials development. His recent work focuses on the design of antimicrobial peptides and their interactions with bacteria and skin cells with molecular insight into selective actions between efficacy and toxicity. He has published 300 papers in leading international journals in biomaterials and biophysics, with ISI citations over 10,000.