Liheng Cai
About
My lab’s research lies at the interface of soft (bio)materials and biology. We seek to understand and control the interactions between soft (bio)materials and biological systems, with the mission to address critical challenges in human health, energy, and sustainability. We achieve this through a combination of experimental, theoretical, and machine learning approaches. Our core expertise includes polymers and soft matter, biomaterials, voxel bioprinting, and additive manufacturing of soft and composite materials; complementary expertise includes chemical synthesis, advanced characterization, instrument engineering, animal and translational studies. Our research program is highly collaborative and interdisciplinary. The philosophy of our research is to identify and solve problems of both fundamental importance and practical value; this is often accomplished by working closely with experts from various fields.
Currently, we are pursuing research in four fields: (1) polymers and soft matter, (2) biomaterials, (3) advanced (bio)manufacturing, and (4) self-driving lab. Along with these research thrusts, in parallel to efforts toward practical applications, we seek to answer four fundamental scientific questions:
- What are the molecular mechanisms for nonlinear (mechanical, electric, magnetic, and optical) properties of soft materials under large deformations?
- How do soft (bio)materials interact with biological objects?
- Can we use polymer physics and soft matter principles to understand the rules of life?
- Can we exploit AI/machine learning to discover new, fundamental principles in soft matter?
Education
B.S. Physics, Lanzhou University, 2006
Ph.D. Materials Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2012
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, 2013-2017
"We aim to understand and control the interactions between soft (bio)materials and living systems to solve challenges in human health, energy, and sustainability."
Research Interests
Courses Taught
Awards
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From Artificial Organs to Advanced Batteries: A Breakthrough 3D-Printable Polymer
Read NowA new material developed at UVA could lead to breakthroughs in transplant treatments, drug delivery systems, even battery storage.
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UVA Engineering Polymer Scientist Wins American Physical Society’s John H. Dillon Medal
Read NowLiheng Cai has earned international recognition for his team’s work to untangle some of the mysteries of polymer physics and apply that knowledge in bold new ways.
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Carrigan, Cai Named the Latest Copenhaver Fellows
Read NowA researcher of tech subcultures and a pioneer in bottlebrush polymers are the latest recipients of the Copenhaver Fellowships.
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PECASE Winners: 3 UVA Engineering Professors Receive Presidential Early Career Awards
Read NowThe White House announced Tuesday that three professors and two alumni had received the nation’s top honor for up-and-coming scientists and engineers.
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In Major Materials Breakthrough, UVA Team Solves a Nearly 200-Year-Old Challenge in Polymers
Read NowUVA researchers’ new polymer strategy shifts a centuries-old engineering paradigm with a molecular design that doesn’t sacrifice stretchability for stiffness.
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UVA Engineers Design Lookalike Drug Carrier To Evade Lung’s Lines of Defense
Read NowManaging hard-to-treat respiratory illnesses like asthma and pulmonary fibrosis just got easier if a new drug-carrying molecule is as sneaky as its inventors think.
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UVA Engineering Professor Lands $1.9 Million NIH Award To Maximize Biomedical Research
Read NowAssistant professor Liheng Cai aspires to mimic the structure and functions of living tissue. The National Institutes of Health signaled their support for the research with a prestigious MIRA grant.
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Organs on Demand? UVA Prints Its First Voxel Building Blocks
Read NowUVA’s Soft Biomatter Lab is bioprinting 3D structures with a material that is a close match for human tissue, paving the way for true biomanufacturing.
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UVA Engineering Assistant Professors Named ‘Rising Stars’ in Polymers Research
Read NowRachel Letteri and Liheng Cai design polymer materials for applications such as treating disease or repairing tissue loss, soft robotics and wearable electronics.
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2023 Research Achievement Awards Honor UVA Engineering Faculty Members
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UVA-Led Discovery Challenges 30-Year-Old Dogma in Associative Polymers Research
Read NowA new study appears to challenge a long-held understanding of how the widely used materials function at the molecular level.
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University of Virginia Engineering Researchers Strive to Match Artistry of Biological Tissues
Read NowAssistant Professor Liheng Cai and his Ph.D. student Jinchang Zhu were invited to share their latest research in a special issue of Acta Biomaterialia.
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UVA Researchers Advance Bioprinting
Read NowRsearcher’s paper, Digital Assembly of Spherical Viscoelastic Bio-ink Particles, termed DASP, is featured as a cover article in Advanced Functional Materials.
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Research Team Develops New Class of Soft Materials
Read NowAssistant Professor Liheng Cai collaborated with Brookhaven National Laboratory to conduct soft biomatter research.
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Stretching Possibilities
Read NowLiheng Cai aims to design soft polymers capable of new feats, such as 3D printing materials for use in tissue engineering, optical devices or stretchable fabrics with embedded electronics.
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CAREER Award: Running Hot and Cold
Read NowLiheng Cai Earns Prestigious National Science Foundation Award to Develop Polymeric Material to Control the Types of Energy Streaming into Windows with the Flick of a Switch