Fan Yuan

Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Yuan has extensive experiences in analysis of therapeutic agent transport in mammalian cells, tissues, and organs, and development of effective strategies, design principles, and new technologies that can be used to facilitate the transport. The goal of his research is to improve delivery of therapeutic agents to their targets, which is crucial in treatment and prevention of diseases. He has published >100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, and a textbook on transport analysis in biological systems that has been used to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in many universities.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Professor of Biomedical Engineering
  • Professor in Ophthalmology
  • Member of the Duke Cancer Institute

Contact Information

  • Office Location: Rm 1385, Fciemas, Duke Univers, Durham, NC 27708-0281
  • Office Phone: (919) 660-5411
  • Email Address: fyuan@duke.edu
  • Websites:

Education

  • B.S. Peking University (China), 1983
  • M.S. Peking University (China), 1985
  • Ph.D. City University of New York, 1990

Research Interests

Principles and mechanisms of delivery for drugs, genes, and vaccines; pharmacokinetics; electrotransfer or electroporation technology; and tumor pathophysiology.

Courses Taught

  • BME 530: Introduction to Tissue Biomechanics (GE, BB)
  • BME 577: Drug Delivery (GE, BB, MC)
  • BME 789: Internship in Biomedical Engineering
  • BME 791: Graduate Independent Study

Representative Publications

  • Wang, Chunxi, Amelia Karlsson, Thomas H. Oguin, Andrew N. Macintyre, Gregory D. Sempowski, Kevin R. McCarthy, Yifei Wang, M Anthony Moody, and Fan Yuan. “Transient inhibition of lysosomal functions potentiates nucleic acid vaccines.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 120, no. 44 (October 31, 2023): e2306465120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306465120.
  • Wang, Yifei, Chun-Chi Chang, and Fan Yuan. “Copy number of naked DNA delivered into nucleus of mammalian cells by electrotransfection.” Bioelectrochemistry (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 153 (October 2023): 108491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioelechem.2023.108491.
  • Wu, Fangda, Hanlin Wang, Chao Sun, Fan Yuan, Zhihua Xie, Roman Mikhaylov, Zhenlin Wu, et al. “Power-controlled acoustofluidic manipulation of microparticles.” Ultrasonics 134 (September 2023): 107087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107087.
  • Wang, H., F. Yuan, Z. Xie, C. Sun, F. Wu, R. Mikhaylov, M. Shen, et al. “Modelling hybrid acoustofluidic devices for enhancing Nano- and Micro-Particle manipulation in microfluidics.” Applied Acoustics 205 (March 30, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2023.109258.
  • Jin, Z., and F. Yuan. “A Double-Permeability Poroelasticity Model for Fluid Transport in a Biological Tissue.” Transport in Porous Media 147, no. 1 (March 1, 2023): 169–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-023-01904-w.