Dr. Yichun Wang is the Keating-Crawford Collegiate Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and an Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Her laboratory advances multiscale material–bio interactions to create next-generation therapeutic and diagnostic platforms, with an emphasis on engineered carbon nanostructures, therapeutic extracellular vesicles, and physiologically relevant 3D biomimetic culture systems for high-content/high-throughput screening and scalable biomanufacturing. Dr. Wang’s work has been recognized with multiple honors, including the NSF CAREER Award, NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), the ACS PMSE Early Investigator Award, the BMES Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Rising Star Award, and selection as a Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator. She also serves as an editor for the section “Applied Biomaterials and Biotechnologies” of Chemical Engineering Journal, as well as a standing member of the NIH Innovations in Nanosystems and Nanotechnology (INN) Study Section.
Professional Appointment
Keating-Crawford Collegiate Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2025-
Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2020 –
Editor, Chemical Engineering Journal–Elsevier, 2026 –
Academic Experience
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2016 – 2020
Research Assistant, Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2011 – 2016
Selected Awards
ACS PMSE Early Investigator Award, 2025
National Institutes of Health (NIH) INN Study Section Standing Member, 2025-2029
Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Rising Star Award, 2025
National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, 2024-2029
Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator Award, 2024
NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award, 2023-2028
NIH Selected Participant Early Career Reviewer (ECR) Program, 2023-2024
Beyond Research
As a university teacher and mentor in a research lab, I’m deeply attuned to the mental health challenges prevalent in our fast-paced world. Beyond research, I’m a RYT certified yoga teacher for more than a decade, aiming to foster community and collective healing. I believe that yoga is a shared journey towards greater balance and understanding, both physically and socially.
The Wang Lab 