Dr. Juewen Liu (刘珏文) (Biosensors and Bionanotechnology)
Dr. Juewen Liu, Professor of Chemistry and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Biosensors and Bionanotechnology at the University of Waterloo, is recognized for his outstanding, impactful, and original contributions to analytical chemistry, surface science, and bionanotechnology. Dr. Liu is one of the most highly cited analytical chemists in Canada, with over 45,000 citations and an H-index of 95, and has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher and ranked among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists by Stanford University.
Dr. Liu’s research focuses on interfacing DNA with metal ions and surfaces for analytical, environmental, and biomedical applications. His work has had significant impact in several key areas. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to biointerface chemistry, systematically studying the adsorption of DNA and lipids to inorganic nanomaterials-research of broad interest to analytical, biomedical, toxicological, and surface science researchers. A testament to his work’s quality and impact is that one of his papers was selected as one of the 40 most important papers in the history of the journal Langmuir, representing “seminal advances” in surface and colloidal science.
Dr. Liu has made transformative contributions to the field of metal-specific catalytic DNA (DNAzymes) for biosensing applications. Using hard-soft-acid-base theory to rationally guide the selection of metal-specific DNAzymes, his lab has contributed the highest number of metal-specific DNAzymes in the world. His review paper “Metal Sensing by DNA” in Chemical Reviews has received over 600 citations. Dr. Liu is also a world leader in the DNA aptamer field, developing high-quality aptamers for molecules such as lactate and ATP, with his work highlighted in Chemical & Engineering News and published in premier journals including JACS and Angewandte Chemie.
Dr. Liu’s research has resulted in 17 patents, nearly all of which have been licensed to start-ups or established companies. He co-founded ANDalyze Inc. for commercializing DNA-based metal biosensors, which are now sold through VWR in many countries.
Dr. Liu received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studied bioinorganic and bioanalytical chemistry of catalytic DNA, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of New Mexico with Prof. C. Jeffrey Brinker. He was born and educated in China, receiving his B.S. from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2000 before immigrating to the United States for graduate studies and then to Canada.
Education
- Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005
- B.S., Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, 2000
Scholarship
- Publication of over 505 journal papers and 16 book chapters with over 45,000 citations and an H-index of 95
- Section Editor for Biosensors & Bioelectronics, Contributing Editor for TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Associate Editor for FACETS and Chinese Chemical Letters
- Supervised 17 PhD students, 12 MSc students, and mentored over 30 undergraduate students
- 90 papers cited over 100 times; 17 papers listed as top 1% highly cited papers in chemistry
Honours and Awards (selected)
- 2024-2031 Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Biosensors and Bionanotechnology
- 2022-2023 Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher
- 2019-2023 World’s top 2% most-cited scientists by Stanford University
- 2019 Member of the Royal Society of Canada, College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists
- 2018 W.A.E. McBryde Medal, Canadian Society for Chemistry
- 2017 University Research Chair
- 2014 Fred Beamish Award, Canadian Society for Chemistry