- Born 1982
- B.S. Tsinghua University (2004)
- Ph.D. California Institute of Technology (2009)
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University (2009-2013)
- Hellman Fellow (2015)
- Pew Biomedical Scholar (2015)
- Sloan Research Fellow (2016)
- Beckman Young Investigators Award (2016)
- NSF CAREER Award (2016)
- The Talented 12, Chemical & Engineering News (2016)
- Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (2016)
- Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator (2017)
- NIH Director's New Innovator Award (2018)
Biophysical chemistry; super-resolution microscopy; single-molecule spectroscopy; nanoscale cell biology; graphene microscopy and chemistry.
Prof. Xu and his research group develop new experimental tools to interrogate biological, chemical, and materials systems at the nanoscale with extraordinary resolution, sensitivity, and functionality. To achieve this, the group takes an interdisciplinary, multidimensional approach that integrates advanced microscopy, spectroscopy, cell biology, and nanotechnology. Recent developments include spectrally resolved and functional super-resolution microscopy, ultrahigh-throughput single-molecule spectroscopy, interference-based microscopy for 2D materials, and uncovering the nanoscale ultrastructure of the membrane cytoskeleton and intracellular vesicles.