Lu, George (Faculty Profile)

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Faculty Profile

Last Modified Time: 01:22:16 PM Tue, 5 May 2020

Contact Information
George Lu	Associated Profiles
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering, Rice University


george.lu@rice.edu Web Link Lab Webpage
Protein Engineering, Synthetic Biology, Ultrasound, MRI, OCT, Drug Delivery, Macromolecular Assemblies, Cell-Based Therapies, Protein Structures, Membrane Proteins, Biomolecular NMR, Neural Engineering

Professional Preparation
Research and Expertise
Affiliations
Appointments

Professional Preparation

Degree	Major	Institution	Year
PhD	Chemistry and Biochemistry	University of California, San Diego	2014
BSc	Biochemistry	University of Alberta	2007

Research and Expertise

Research Interests

Gas vesicles (GVs) are a class of gas-filled hollow protein nanostructures. They were evolved in certain photosynthetic microbes, and serve as their flotation devices in bodies of water. GVs are several hundreds of nanometers in size and made exclusively of proteins, which form a 2-nm-thick porous, amphipathic shell that allows gas to freely exchange but prevents the condensation of water vapor inside the nanostructures. Notably, the physical properties of GVs, including their size, shape, and critical collapse pressure are determined by their genetic sequence, and can vary significantly (often by more than an order of magnitude) among different species. In the past few years, the biomolecular engineering of GVs opened up a new frontier of noninvasive deep-tissue imaging of cellular function, such as being developed as the first reporter genes for ultrasound imaging, the erasable MRI contrast agents, and the first genetically encodable OCT contrast agents. In addition, GVs can potentially enable the manipulating and control of genetically engineered cells, such as through GV-based acoustic tweezer and cavitation.

The Laboratory for Structural Biomolecular Engineering will employ protein engineering, synthetic biology, chemical biology, and computational biology to understand the biochemistry and biophysics of these class of protein nanostructures, and to engineer novel biomedical applications based on their unique properties. Current research includes several interrelated directions: Structure and the assembly mechanism of GVs; Design and evolution of novel gaseous protein nanostructure; GV-based biological imaging; Translation of the technologies to cell-based therapies.

Publications/Creative Works

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Affiliations

Research Consortia

Junior Faculty Network

GCC Cluster for Cellular and Molecular Biophysics

Appointments

Title	Department / School	Institution
Assistant Professor	Bioengineering	Rice University

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