Evolution of central genetics and immunity from Archaea to Eukarya
Marine microbe–virus interactions
Marine extremophile resources and technologies
Systems and synthetic biology of nitrogen fixation
AI-driven marine biomanufacturing
Dr. Wu is an Associate Professor (independent PI) of Microbiology at Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo. He received his B.S. in Biotechnology from Zhejiang University and his Ph.D. (cum laude) in Biophysics from the Department of BioNanoScience Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, where he was also awarded the Kavli Institute Biennial Best Ph.D. Thesis Award. He subsequently completed his postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology. He was a recipient of National Young Investigator Award, Oceanomics Young Investigator Award, the Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) Long-Term Fellowship, and Rubicon Fellowship. His work has been published in international journals including Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Microbiology, Nature Ecology & Evolution, and Nature Communications. His research is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), the Ministry of Science and Technology (National Key R&D Program for Young Scientists), and an industrial R&D program in biomanufacturing.
Research Interests
Evolution of central genetics and immunity from Archaea to Eukarya
Marine microbe–virus interactions
Marine extremophile resources and technologies
Systems and synthetic biology of nitrogen fixation
AI-driven marine biomanufacturing
Education
2010–2015: Ph.D. in Biophysics and Bionanotechnology, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands
2008–2010: M.Sc. in Nanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands
2008–2010: M.Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
2004–2010: B.S. in Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
Professional Experience
Apr. 2024–Present: Associate Professor, Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo
Mar. 2022–Mar. 2024: Principal Investigator, Hangzhou International Science and Innovation Center, Zhejiang University
Dec. 2016–Aug. 2021: Postdoctoral Scholar, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology
Oct. 2015–Nov. 2016: Postdoctoral Researcher, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology
Academic Service (Selected)
Dec. 2021–Present: Committee Member, International Society of Archaea
Aug. 2024–Present: Committee Member, Archaea Committee, Chinese Society for Microbiology
Dec. 2025–Present: Youth Editorial Board Member, mLife
Jan. 2026–Present: Committee Member, Zhejiang Provincial Association of Young High-Level Talents
Feb. 2026–Present: Committee Member, Environmental Microbiology Committee, Zhejiang Provincial Society for Microbiology
Awards and Honors
2025: Highlight Paper, International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Computing
2022: National Young Investigator Award
2022: The 2nd Oceanomics Young Investigator Award, International Genomics Consortium
2017: Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Ph.D. Thesis Award (biennial, sole recipient)
2017: Rubicon Fellowship, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)
2017: Long-Term Fellowship, Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP)
2015:cum laude Doctoral Degree, Delft University of Technology
2010:cum laude Master’s Degree, Delft University of Technology
Google Scholar：
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3WpApsMAAAAJ&hl=en
10. Feng Y, Ding J, Lin Y, Cui D, Li K, Zheng D, Cai Z, Bell SD, Wu F#. Serial innovations by Asgard archaea shaped the DNA replication machinery of the early eukaryotic ancestor. Nature Ecology & Evolution 9, 2333–2345 (2025)
9. Shomar H*, Georjon H*, Feng Y, Olympio B, Tesson F, Cury J, Wu F# & Bernheim A#. Viperin immunity evolved across the tree of life through serial innovations on a conserved scaffold. Nature Ecology & Evolution 8, 1667-1679 (2024)
8. Bastiaanssen C*, Bobadilla Ugarte P*, Kim K*, Feng Y*, Finocchio G*, Anzelon TA, Kostlbacher S, Tamarit D, Ettma TJG, Jinek M, MacRae IJ, Joo C#, Swarts DC# & Wu F#. RNA-guided RNA silencing by an Asgard archaeal Argonaute. Nature Communications 15, 5499 (2024)
7. Laso-Perez R*,#, Wu F*,#, Crémière A, Speth DS, Zhao K, Magyar JS, Krupovic M# & Orphan VJ#. Evolutionary diversification of methanotrophic ANME-1 archaea and their expansive virome. Nature Microbiology 8, 231-245. (2023)
6. Wu F#, Speth DR, Philosof A, Crémière A, Narayanan A, Barco RA, Connon SA, Amend JP, Antonshechkin IA, Orphan VJ#. Unique mobile elements and scalable gene flow at the prokaryote-eukaryote boundary revealed by circularized Asgard archaea genomes. Nature Microbiology 7, 200-212. (2022) [JOURNAL COVER]
5. Wu F*, Japaridze A*, Zheng X, Wiktor J, Kerssemakers J, & Dekker C. Direct imaging of the circular chromosome in a live bacterium. Nature Communications 10, 2194. (2019)
4. Wu F, Swain P, Kuijpers L, Zheng X, Felters K, Guurink M, Solari J, Jun S, Shimizu T, Chaudhuri D, Mulder B & Dekker C. Cell boundary confinement sets the size and position of the E. coli chromosome. Current Biology 29, 2131-2144. (2019)
3. Wu F*, Halatek J*, Reiter M, Kingma E, Frey E & Dekker C. Multistability and dynamic transitions of intracellular Min protein patterns. Molecular Systems Biology 12, 873. (2016) [JOURNAL COVER]
2. Wu F & Dekker C. Nanofabricated structures and microfluidic devices for bacteria: from techniques to biology. Chemical Society Reviews 45, 268-280. (2016)
1. Wu F, van Schie BGC, Keymer JE & Dekker C. Symmetry and scale orient Min protein patterns in bacterial shape sculptures. Nature Nanotechnology 10, 719-726. (2015) [JOURNAL COVER]
