About Us
We are a cross-disciplinary laboratory that unites researchers with complimentary expertise in engineering, health sciences, and physical sciences.
Our goal is to deconvolute human complexity and improve human health by studying biomolecules at multiple scales. We develop and apply innovative technologies to track disease progression and treatment response to learn the underlying pathologies associated with the human body. Ultimately, we aim to harness this information to develop better treatment strategies for cancer, autoimmune disease, infectious disease, and beyond.
We invite you explore our website and feel free to contact us with any questions about our work.
Latest News
October 8, 2024 - Congratulations to Dr. Lu for receiving the 2024 NIH New Innovator Award (DP2)—we are very grateful for the support of The Office of the NIH Director! Read More.
September 11, 2024 - Our lab just received the College of Pharmacy Large Seed Grant—Thank you to The College of Pharmacy for your support.
August 19, 2024 - We are excited to have two rotation students join us this fall: Emma Welsh (BME) and Yusuf Rasheed (PHCEU).
August 6, 2024 - Congratulation to Isabella White for being selected for the Fall 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Award! Thank you to The Officer of Undergraduate Research for your support!
April 1, 2024 - Teng Ma joins as Postdoctoral Fellow. Welcome onboard Teng!
February 10, 2024 - Congratulations Evan Marsh and team for winning first place in the 7th annual Global Health Case Competition! @UofUMedicine
October 4, 2023 - When you have COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 spreads throughout the body. But why are the lungs hit hardest? Mucosal lymphoid tissues might be the key. Read our new Cell Reports publication to learn about our findings and the analytical framework that could aid in future COVID studies and more.
August 22, 2023 - Congratulations Chuang Zhang for his Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation Fellowship! Read More.
August 21, 2023 - Ping Lu, Chuang Zhang, and Evan Marsh join as graduate research scholars. Welcome onboard Ping, Chuang and Evan!
July 21, 2023 - Congratulations Dr. Lu for completing the Utah Health Equity Leadership and Mentoring program!
May 19, 2023 - Our lab just received a pilot award from the @huntsmancancer Lung Cancer Disease Center! Their support is invaluable as we explore the potential of circulating vesicles to predict immunotherapy response. We are grateful to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation for their support.
May 17, 2023 - Our lab just received a NOA from @theNCI supporting the development of our single-EV technology! We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of a community of innovators in #IMAT. Stay tuned for where we will take our technology next! Read More. @UofUHealth @huntsmancancer @isbsci
May 9, 2023 - Isabella White, Adwoa Bonsu, and Angeles Fratti join as undergraduate research scholars. Welcome onboard Isabella, Adwoa, and Angeles!
Apr 15, 2023 - Alphonsus Ng has joined the Faculty of @UtahBME as tenure-track Assistant Professor! We are grateful for the support of @UtahBME, @UtahCoE, @UofU3i, and @UofUDMRC, and we look forward to the expansion of the Lu-Ng DigiPharma Lab!
Jan 7, 2023 - Chaoyang Mei joins as a graduate research scholar. Welcome onboard Chaoyang!
Nov 10, 2022 - Our lab are co-authors in a Nature publication describing a first-of-its-kind trial by @PACTpharma, using CRISPR-based editing for personalized cancer immunotherapy. We are proud to have contributed to the founding technologies of @PACTpharma as well as methods to analyze engineered T-cells in the tumor. Read More.
Sep 19, 2022 - Our lab just received the NOA for a R01 grant with @BRIseattle, @isbsci, and @UofUHealth to bring new micro-nanotechnologies into the fight against T1D. We are grateful to @NIDDKgov, US taxpayers, and study section reviewers for their support of our research. Read More. We are hiring at all levels! Please visit our website for more details.
Our Environment
The DigiPharma Lab is housed in the Departments of Molecular Pharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy and Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Utah. The University of Utah is a research-intensive institution with cutting-edge healthcare and research facilities, an annual excess of $600 million in research funding, and a highly supportive environment for student and faculty entrepreneurial activities. The University is also located in the beautiful Wasatch foothills, providing access to world-class outdoor recreational opportunities.
Our lab fosters a vibrant and collaborative atmosphere, enabling interactions with researchers and clinicians across various departments and institutions. In addition to the resources available in our lab at the Skaggs Research Institute and the Biomedical Polymers Research Building, we also have access the best academic infrastructure and resources available in the Intermountain West, including the Utah Nanofab and the Center for Medical Innovation. As a member of our lab, you'll have access to these amazing resources, both within and outside of the University.
Reference: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/utah
Yue Lu, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
University of Utah
Dr. Lu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics at the College of Pharmacy, and a member of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She received her B.S. degree in Chemistry from Nanjing University, and Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina (NC) State University, under the guidance of Dr. Zhen Gu in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. She completed postdoctoral research with Dr. James R. Heath at the Institute for Systems Biology and Caltech.
Keywords: Controlled drug delivery; Quantitative microscopy; Systems biology; Extracellular vesicle analysis; Translational medicine
Alphonsus Ng, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
College of Engineering
University of Utah
Dr. Ng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Engineering. He received his B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering both at the University of Toronto, where he conducted pre- and postdoctoral research with Dr. Aaron R. Wheeler in the Department of Chemistry and in the Institute for Biomedical Engineering. He also completed postdoctoral research with Dr. James R. Heath at the Institute for Systems Biology and Caltech.
Keywords: Microfluidics; Single-cell analysis; Point-of-care diagnostics; Cancer immunology