Research

Dr. Dan Fu is an Assistant professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington, Seattle. He received his bachelor’s degree from Peking University in China. In 2009, he completed his Ph.D. study at Princeton University under the supervision of Professor Warren Warren, working on the development of label-free multiphoton absorption spectroscopy and microscopy methods. After that, he worked as a postdoctoral associate at the G.R.Harrison Spectroscopy Lab led by the late Professor Michael Feld at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he investigated quantitative phase microscopy and its applications to live-cell imaging. In 2010, Dr. Fu moved to Harvard University to work with Professor Sunney Xie as a postdoctoral fellow, where he developed multiplex stimulated Raman scattering microscopy and hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy. Dr. Fu joined the chemistry faculty of the University of Washington in 2015. Currently, his main research interests are the development and applications of quantitative chemical imaging tools to study various pathophysiological processes of living biological specimens at single-cell resolution. These tools involve state-of-the-art laser engineering, innovation in ultrasensitive signal detection, and novel machine learning/deep learning based data analysis. Leveraging these powerful tools, the Fu lab aims to drive biomedical applications in three areas: 1) new early detection and intraoperative methods for cancer diagnosis 2) understanding brain metabolism and brain dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases 3) quantifying drug transport and drug metabolism in complex tissue environment to understand drug resistance. Dan is a recipient of several research awards including the Beckman Young Investigator Award, the NSF Career Award, the NIH MIRA Award, and the Eli Lily Young Investigator Award.