2024 UofM Alumni Association Distinguished Research, Creative Achievement & Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Awards

Distinguished Research in Science, Engineering & Mathematics

Xiaohua Huang, Dunavant Professor in the Department of Chemistry

Dr. Huang works in the field of cancer nanomedicine with research focusing on the development of new and better technologies for cancer detection and treatment by exploring the unique structural and functional properties of plasmonic and magnetic nanomaterials in conjunction with high sensitivity optical tools and miniaturized devices.

Huang’s research has made high impact in cancer medicine by  developing (1) plasmonic photothermal therapy that uses biocompatible gold nanorods to destroy cancer cells with harmless near infrared laser, (2) a nanotechnology-based microfluidic platform to capture, detect, and profile rare tumor cells in blood for sensitive detection and monitoring of metastatic cancer, and (3) a dual imaging single vesicle technology that can analyze and quantify tumor-derived vesicles in biofluids for early cancer detection and metastasis prediction.

Dr. Huang is a Top 2% World's Most-Cited Scholar, with more than 37,000 citations on her scholarly work. She was the first at UofM to receive Oak Ridge Associated Universities' Ralph E Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. She was an American Association for Cancer Research – Women in Cancer Research Brigid G Leventhal Scholar. She is an Associate Editor of Nanotheranostics and Editorial Board Member of Nanomaterials.