Awarded in 2026
Home Department: Chemical Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Xiaojing Gao (Chemical Engineering), Brian Hie (Chemical Engineering), and Jin Billy Li (Genetics)

Research Title: Programmable RNA Sensing Platform: Integrating Computational Design with Synthetic Biology for Next-Generation Cancer Therapeutics and Diagnostics

Cancer therapies face a critical challenge: they must be powerful enough to eradicate aggressive tumors, yet precise enough to spare healthy tissue. Haoyu is developing programmable RNA sensors that recruit enzymes called ADAR (Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA) proteins to trigger efficient and targeted treatments. Combining synthetic biology and machine learning, her work aims to create safe, potent molecular switches for next-generation cancer medicine.