He Dong jointed UT Arlington in Jan 2018 as an Associate Professor. Prior to this position, she was as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science at Clarkson University (2012-2017). He Dong obtained a PhD degree in organic chemistry at Rice University in 2008 where she focused on the self-assembly of nanostructured peptides into 3-D scaffolds for tissue regeneration. From 2008-2009, she was a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Elliot Chaikof lab at Emory University focusing on anti-inflammatory peptide drug development. She continued her postdoctoral research from 2009 to 2012 in Prof. Ting Xu group at the University of California, Berkeley where she developed self-assembled hybrid peptide-polymer conjugates as long-circulating nanocarriers for cancer therapy.
He Dong’s research spans from chemistry, materials science to biomedical sciences. Currently her primary research interests lie in the construction of supramolecular peptide biomaterials for a wide range of biomedical applications including drug delivery, gene/siRNA delivery, vaccine delivery and antimicrobial therapy development. He 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. He Dong recently received a NSF Faculty Early Career Award and is currently a member of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, Materials Research Society and biomedical Science Society.
Research Description
My research program focuses on the design, synthesis and characterization of functional supramolecular biomaterials based on the self-assembly of peptides and peptide-polymer conjugates and how to use these materials to probe and precisely control various biological processes.