Wei Chen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Principal Investigator and Faculty Member
Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica
Research Field and Expertise:
Nanomedicine, Biomedical Engineering, Drug Delivery Technology,
Materials Chemistry, Nanotechnology, RNA Medicine, Biomaterials
| Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan | Assistant Professor | 2023 – present |
| Center for Nanomedicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA | Postdoctoral Fellow | 2020 – 2023 |
| Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA | Ph.D. | 2014 – 2019 |
| Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan | M.S. | 2009 – 2011 |
| Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan | B.S. | 2005 – 2009 |
Education and Professional Experience
The Chen Lab brings together multidisciplinary expertise in Nanomedicine, Biomedical Engineering, Drug Delivery, Chemistry, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Immunology, and Biology. Our research interest spans the innovation of fundamental materials, including nanoparticles, two-dimensional materials, hydrogels, and RNA nanomedicine, as well as living materials like engineered microalgae, microbes, and cells. These materials find diverse applications in disease treatment, vaccine development, and translational medicine. Our innovations are aimed at enabling efficient therapeutic delivery to targeted areas, addressing a range of diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, inflammatory diseases, while also exploring applications in anti-aging and tissue regeneration. Additionally, our research interest includes the development of innovative diagnostic agents that leverage protein corona phenomena on nanoparticle surfaces to enhance our understanding of biological processes and the intricate interactions at the nano-bio interface.
Dr. Chen has so far authored over 60 peer-reviewed papers including about 30 first-author/corresponding-author papers in prestigious journals, such as Nature Nanotechnology 2024, 19, 1386–1398; Circulation 2025, 152, 1564-1581; Nature Reviews Cardiology 2022, 19, 228-249 (Front Cover Featured); Nature Reviews Cardiology 2025, 22, 255–272; Nature Communications, 2023, 14, 6973; Science Advances 2025, 11, adw7191; Science Advances 2021, 7, abi9265 (Front Cover Paper); J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 8375-8388 (Cover Featured); J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 12475-12480; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 17670-17684; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202308413 (Front Cover Paper), Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 7155-7164 (Front Cover Paper); Cell Biomaterials 2025, 100252; Chem. Rev. 2025, 125, 8835–8920 (Cover Featured); Chem. Rev. 2024 124, 929-1033; Acc. Chem. Res. 2019, 52, 1531-1542; ACS Nano 2019, 13, 1292-1308; ACS Nano 2013, 7, 8423-8440; Matter (Cell Press) 2024; 7, 3811-3844; Matter (Cell Press) 2022, 5, 2471-247; Matter (Cell Press) 2022, 5, 18-19; Advanced Science 2023, 10, 2207439; Advanced Science 2023, 10, 2207768, Biomaterials 2023, 295, 122031, etc.
Additionally, Dr. Chen has been dedicated to serving as an exceptional collaborator, and through these collaborations, we have achieved numerous high-impact papers, including publications in journals, such as Nature Nanotechnology 2025, 20, 1526-1538; Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2026, in press; Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2025, in press; Science Translational Medicine, 2025, 17, eadu1493; Nature Reviews Methods Primers 2023, 3, 63; Nature Reviews Bioengineering 2025, in press; Nature Communications 2021, 12, 1124; Nature Communications 2022, 13, 1413; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2023, 120, e2304966120; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 12193–12205; Chemical Society Reviews 2022, 51, 3828-3845; Advanced Materials 2023, 35, 2207391; Advanced Materials 2023, 35, 2207787; Advanced Materials 2021, 33, 2102504; Materials Today 2023, 62, 296-326; Med (Cell press) 5, P863-885; Nano Letters 2021, 21, 9706-9714; Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 2022, 185, 114268, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 2023, 203, 115116, and Trends in Biotechnology 2024, 44, 1439-1452. Many of these papers have been rated as Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper and/or Top 0.1% ESI Hot Paper.
The Chen Lab actively recruits undergraduate students, Master's students, PhD students, research assistants, and postdoctoral researchers in diverse fields, such as chemistry, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, nanotechnology, biology, medicine, immunology, materials science engineering, pharmacy, chemical engineering, or related disciplines. If you are interested in our research and would like to apply for any of these positions, please email your CV or resume to wchen123@as.edu.tw (Professor Wei Chen Lab).
Research Interests
2025 Moderna Taiwan mRNA Innovation Awards, Moderna Taiwan - Biomedical Translational Research Center, Academic Sinica , Taiwan
2025 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) HOPE Fellow, JSPS, Japan
2025 Fellow of the Materials Tech, Materials Tech, Global Nonprofit Organization (GNO)
2024 2030 Cross-Generation Young Scholars Program, Emerging Young Scholars, National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan
2024 Special Outstanding Talent Recruitment and Retainment (Recruitment), Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
2024 Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum Young Leader, STS forum, Kyoto, Japan
2024 "Dr. Yun MOU" Outstanding Young Scholar Award, Taiwan Nanomedicine Society, Taiwan
2024 Nanoscale Emerging Investigator Award, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, UK
2023 Newly-Appointed Faculty Academic Research Grants, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
2023 American Heart Association (AHA) Transformational Project Award, Co-Investigator, AHA, US
2022 Young Scientist Award, International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM), Sweden
2019 Inorganic Faculty Chemistry Dissertation Award (Outstanding Research Achievements in Chemistry), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, USA
2019 Ralph & Charlene Bauer Award for research in Inorganic Chemistry (Outstanding Research Achievements in Inorganic Chemistry), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, USA
2019 Doctoral Student Travel Grant for Conference, UCLA, USA
2018 Mautner Graduate Award (Meritorious graduate students at UCLA), Division of Physical Sciences, UCLA, USA
2018 Southern California Scholarship Award, the Yin Chin Foundation USA and STUF United. Fund Inc., USA
2015 Government Scholarship to Study Abroad, the Ministry of Education, Taiwan
2014 Dean’s Scholar Award, College of Science, UCLA, USA
2011 Master Poster Thesis Award, Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University
2011 Dean’s Award, College of Science, National Taiwan University
2011 Travel Grant for International Conference, National Science Council, Taiwan
2010 Mr. Kao Ying-Shih Research Scholarship, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
2010 Honorary Member, The Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society
2010 Thesis Award in Nanomaterial Chemistry, Chemical Society Located in Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
2009 Dean’s Award, College of Science, National Taiwan University
2009 The Research Idea Award, National Science Council, Taiwan
2008 Research Proposals Grant for College-Level Students, National Science Council, Taiwan
Honors and Awards
Independent Journal Article Reviewer: Cell Biomaterials, Advanced Materials, Biomaterials; Chemical Engineering Journal, Small, Journal of Controlled Release, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Bioactive Materials, Journal of Nanobiotechnology, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, Theranostics, Small Methods, Materials Today Bio; Research; Exploration, etc.
Journal Article Co-Reviewer: Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Review Materials, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Cardiovascular Research, PNAS USA, Nano Today, ACS Nano, Advanced Functional Materials, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, J. Chem. Eng., Advanced Therapeutics, J. Mater. Chem. B, and etc.