Jiahui (Chris) Wu is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, and a member of the Center for Bioactive Delivery in IALS.
IALS: Hi Chris, thank you for speaking with us today. We have a few questions for you so everyone on campus can get to know you better. How long have you been at UMass Amherst?
JW: I have been at UMass Amherst since last fall. I started to work on campus last November, so it's been a bit more than four months.
IALS: Where did you grow up?
JW: I grew up in a city called Zhuhai in China.
IALS: Does the love of science run in your family?
JW: Somewhat. My uncle was and, to some extend, still is quite enthusiastic about science, especially biotechnology. When I was in high school, my uncle told me about things that he learned in molecular biology and biotechnology. I didn't fully understand a lot of the things he said at that time, to be honest, but my interest in science started there and this led me to pursue a PhD later in life.
IALS: How long have you been teaching?
JW: I was a graduate TA during my PhD. I started to teach CHEM121H last fall when I became an assistant professor.
IALS: What is more stressful, grant proposals, research, or teaching?
JW: As a new assistant professor, most of my stress comes from the fact that a lot of these tasks need to be completed within a relatively short amount of time. For example, we need to get research going as soon as possible, while maintaining teaching, and trying to send out grant applications. Even though it's stressful, I tend to remember the rewarding moments of these activities, such as discussing science with my colleagues and students, helping students with their coursework, and getting feedback for my grant proposals.
IALS: Assuming your research is widely successful, how will it impact society?
JW: My lab is interested in exploring the fascinating world of RNA and leveraging our understanding to advance therapeutics. This can provide fundamentally new understanding on how RNA plays a role in human health, also expand the drug target space for RNA-related diseases, and provide new therapeutics to diseases that are challenging to treat.
IALS: Who do you admire and why?
JW: I cannot think of a specific person at the moment, but I do admire people with artistic talent. Great artists can create something meaningful and impactful out of existing materials. In a way, this is somewhat similar to what we do as scientists. We make new connections between scientific ideas and concepts that are seemingly unrelated to solve problems and to make new discovery.
IALS: What are your interests when you are not a scientist?
JW: I enjoy music when I am not a scientist.
IALS: Thank you so much Chris!