Congzhou Wang

Dr. Wang is an associate professor in the Department of Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering.  His primary role at South Dakota Mines, which he joined in 2018, is to establish a strong research and teaching program in Nano-biomaterials applied for treating cancer and cardiovascular diseases.  Dr. Wang is the recipient of National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2022, and South Dakota Mines Research Award in 2024.  Dr. Wang’s research is also funded NIH, NASA, and the research results were published on prestigious journals including ACS Nano, Nano Letters, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, etc. 

Research Expertise

Dr. Wang’s research is focused on understanding and harnessing the impact of nanomaterials on biological systems (including proteins and cells) from a biophysical, nanoscale perspective to help improve human health.  The long-term goal of Dr. Wang’s research program is to establish a strong team specialized in biomechanics, nanomaterials, and the use of biophysical impact of nanomaterials to transform/re-define nanotechnology-based disease treatment and nanotoxicology.  Since starting independent career in 2018, Dr. Wang’s research interests have focused on three major areas: (1) Understanding and tuning the impact of metal nanoparticles on the biophysical characteristics of normal and cancer cells (funded by National Science Foundation CAREER Award); (2) Developing photothermal nanomaterials to treat metastatic and refractory cancers (funded by National Cancer Institute at NIH); and (3) Developing porous metal-organic framework materials for preserving the structures and functions of proteins such as antibodies and enzymes under non-refrigerated conditions (funded by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at NIH).  

Teaching

Courses taught by Dr. Wang are in the area of biomaterials and nano-chemistry. Since joining Mines, he has developed and taught courses on Introduction to Biomedical Engineering/Lab (BME 101/101 Lab), Biomaterials (BME 401/501), Nanochemistry (NANO 717), and Nano-biomaterials (NANO 722).