Xian Wang Lab

Xian Wang

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Xian Wang dq21 Fri, 01/19/2024 - 16:18

Last name

Wang

First name

Xian

Pronoun(s), designation(s), etc.

he/him.his, Ph.D.

Position / job title

Assistant Professor

xian.wang@queensu.ca

Office location

Rm 323 B, McLaughlin Hall

Faculty

Smith Engineering

Department

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Website

https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=O9X8qIgAAAAJ&hl=en

File Upload Label

Curriculum Vitae

Contact

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Contact dq21 Fri, 01/19/2024 - 16:02

Xian Wang

Assistant Professor

he/him.his, Ph.D.

Smith Engineering

xian.wang@queensu.ca

https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=O9X8qIgAAAAJ&hl=en

Rm 323 B, McLaughlin Hall

Kingston, Ontario

City Hall

Lake Ontario

Provincial Park

Publications

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Publications dq21 Fri, 01/19/2024 - 16:02

Journal Papers

[1] Zhaokai Wang, Zihuan Wu, Heidi Ploeg, Shideh Kabiri, Yongjun Lai, Na Liu, Xian Wang*. (2025). Ferrofluid Microrobot for Multi-location Mechanical Measurement within Biological Tissue. Under Review. * represents corresponding author.

[2] Zhaokai Wang, Syed Ali Raza Bukhari, Diancheng Li, Matthew Robertson, Andrew Giles, Jamie Purzner, Yongjun Lai, Xian Wang*. (2025). A Needle-Biopsy Inspired Method for Rapid Tissue Mechanical Characterization. Under Review.

[3] Zhaokai Wang, Jiyue Mao, Na Liu, Xian Wang*. (2025). Miniature Catheter-Assisted Retrieval of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Nanotherapeutics. Under Review.

[4] Ziheng Chen, Huayang Ren, Zhaokai Wang, Jingfang Han, Jiaqing Xie, Ruicheng Li, Chunyun Wei, Tao Yue, Yue Wang, Yuzhao Zhang, Yan Peng, Jiangfan Yu, Xian Wang*, Na Liu*, Yu Sun*. (2025) A Magnetic Capsule for Navigation and Multi-targeted Sampling within the Gastrointestinal Tract. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. Under Revision.

[5] Hyun-Kee Min, Hongyu Zhao, Alexander Bahcheli, Peng Pan, Jade Chan, Junsheng Chen, Esther Low, Yuxiao Zhou, Xian Wang, Savo Bajic, Ran Peng, Siyi Wanggou, Qi Yang, Robert Du Yang Zhang, Leiming Wang, Xiufang Ren, Haoyue Qi, Yu Shi, Madeline N. Hayes, Brian Ciruna, Jüri Reimand, Xinyu Liu, Xi Huang (2025). Fluid shear stress activates a targetable mechano-metastatic cascade to promote medulloblastoma metastasis. Nature Biomedical Engineering, Accepted.

[6] Jerry J. Fan, Anders W. Erickson, Julia Carrillo-Garcia, Xian Wang, Patryk Skowron, Xian Wang, Xin Chen et al. (2025). A forward genetic screen identifies potassium channel essentiality in SHH medulloblastoma maintenance. Developmental Cell.

[7] Xiaorong Hong, Bingrui Xu, Gong Li, Fan Nan, Xian Wang, Qinghua Liang, Wenbo Dong et al. "Optoelectronically navigated nano-kirigami microrotors." Science Advances 10, no. 17 (2024): eadn7582.

[8] Wentian Tang, Xin Chen, Xian Wang, Min Zhu, Guanqiao Shan, Tiancong Wang, Wenkun Dou, Jintian Wang, Junhui Law, Zheyuan Gong, Sevan Hopyan, Xi Huang, Yu Sun. (2023). Indentation Induces Instantaneous Nuclear Stiffening and Unfolding of Nuclear Envelope Wrinkles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 120(36): e2307356120.

[9] Junhui Law, Jiangfan Yu, Wentian Tang, Zheyuan Gong, Xian Wang, Yu Sun. (2023). Micro/nanorobotic Swarms: From Fundamentals to Functionalities. ACS Nano. 17(14): 12971-12999.

[10] Yaozhen Hou, Huaping Wang, Rongxin Fu, Xian Wang, Jiangfan Yu, Shuailong Zhang, Qiang Huang, Yu Sun, Toshio Fukuda. (2023). A Review on Microrobots Driven by Optical and Magnetic Fields. Lab on a Chip.

[11] Xian Wang, Zheyuan Gong, Tiancong Wang et al. (2023). Mechanical Nanosurgery of Chemoresistant Glioblastoma Using Magnetically Controlled Carbon Nanotubes. Science Advances. 9(13): eade5321.

[12] Xin Chen, Ali Momin, Siyi Wanggou, Xian Wang, Hyun-Kee Min, Wenkun Dou, Zheyuan Gong, Jade Chan, Weifan Dong, Jerry J Fan, Yi Xiong, Kamilia Talipova, Hongyu Zhao, Yuki X Chen, Kelly Veerasammy, Adam Fekete, Sachin A Kumar, Hongwei Liu, Qi Yang, Joe Eun Son, Zhengchao Dou, Malini Hu, Parnian Pardis, Kyle Juraschka, Laura K Donovan, Jiao Zhang, Vijay Ramaswamy, Hayden J Selvadurai, Peter B Dirks, Michael D Taylor, Lu-Yang Wang, Chi-chung Hui, Rinat Abzalimov, Ye He, Yu Sun, Xuejun Li, Xi Huang. (2022). Mechanosensitive Brain Tumor Cells Construct Blood-Tumor Barrier to Mask Chemosensitivity. Neuron. 111(1): 30-48.

[13] Guanqiao Shan, Changsheng Dai, Zhuoran Zhang, Xian Wang, Yu Sun. (2022). Robotic Blastocyst Biopsy. IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics.

[14] Junhui Law*, Xian Wang*, Mengxi Luo, Liming Xin, Xingzhou Du, Wenkun Dou, Tiancong Wang, Guanqiao Shan, Yibin Wang, Peng Song, Xi Huang, Jiangfan Yu, Yu Sun. (2022). Microrobotic Swarms for Selective Embolization. Science Advances. 8(29): eabm5752.

[15] Guanqiao Shan, Changsheng Dai, Hang Liu, Xian Wang, Wenkun Dou, Zhuoran Zhang, Yu Sun. (2022). 3D Morphology Measurement for Blastocyst Evaluation from All Angles. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. 2022/12/26

[16] Ali Momin, Shahrzad Bahrampour, Hyun-Kee Min, Xin Chen, Xian Wang, Yu Sun, Xi Huang. (2021). Channeling Force in the Brain: Mechanosensitive Ion Channels Choreograph Mechanics and Malignancies. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences. 42(5): 367-384.

[17] Changsheng Dai, Liming Xin, Zhuoran Zhang, Guanqiao Shan, Tiancong Wang, Kaiwen Zhang, Xian Wang, Lap-Tak Chu, Changhai Ru, Yu Sun. (2020). Design and Control of a Piezo Drill for Robotic Piezo-Driven Cell Penetration. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 5: 339-345.

[18] Yonit Tsatskis, Robyn Rosenfeld, Joel D Pearson, Curtis Boswell, Yi Qu, Kyunga Kim, Lacramioara Fabian, Ariz Mohammad, Xian Wang, Michael I Robson, Karen Krchma, Jun Wu, João Gonçalves, Didier Hodzic, Shu Wu, Daniel Potter, Laurence Pelletier, Wade H Dunham, Anne-Claude Gingras, Yu Sun, Jin Meng, Dorothea Godt, Tim Schedl, Brian Ciruna, Kyunghee Choi, John RB Perry, Rod Bremner, Eric C Schirmer, Julie A Brill, Andrea Jurisicova, Helen McNeill. (2020). Nemp Supports Metazoan Fertility and Mechanical Resistance of the Nuclear Envelope via Interactions With Lem Domain Proteins. Science Advances. 6: eabb4591.

[19] Min Zhu, Hirotaka Tao, Mohammad Samani, Mengxi Luo, Xian Wang, Sevan Hopyan, Yu Sun. (2020). Spatial Mapping of Tissue Properties in Vivo Reveals a 3D Stiffness Gradient in the Mouse Limb Bud. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 4781-4791.

[20] Guanqiao Shan, Zhuoran Zhang, Changsheng Dai, Xian Wang, Lap-Tak Chu, Yu Sun. (2020). Model-Based Robotic Cell Aspiration: Tackling Nonlinear Dynamics and Varying Cell Sizes. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 5: 173-178.

[21] Xian Wang, Li Wang, Wenkun Dou, Zongjie Huang, Qili Zhao, Manpreet Malhi, Jason T Maynes, Yu Sun. (2020). Electrical Impedance-Based Contractile Stress Measurement of Human iPSC-Cardiomyocytes. Biosensors & Bioelectronics: 1-10.

[22] Xian Wang, Junhui Law, Mengxi Luo, Zheyuan Gong, Jiangfan Yu, Wentian Tang, Zhuoran Zhang, Xueting Mei, Zongjie Huang, Lidan You, Yu Sun. (2020). Intracellular Manipulation and Measurement With Multipole Magnetic Tweezers. ACS Nano. 1-17.

[23] Changsheng Dai, Zhuoran Zhang, Yuchen Lu, Guanqiao Shan, Xian Wang, Qili Zhao, Changhai Ru, Yu Sun. (2019). Robotic Manipulation of Deformable Cells for Orientation Control. IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[24] Hirotaka Tao, Min Zhu, Kimberly Lau, Owen KW Whitley, Mohammad Samani, Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao Chen, Noah A Hahn, Weifan Liu, Megan Valencia, Min Wu, Xian Wang, Kelli D Fenelon, Clarissa C Pasiliao, Di Hu, Jinchun Wu, Shoshana Spring, James Ferguson, Edith P Karuna, R Mark Henkelman, Alexander Dunn, Huaxiong Huang, Hsin-Yi Henry Ho, Radhika Atit, Sidhartha Goyal, Yu Sun, Sevan Hopyan. (2019). Oscillatory Cortical Forces Promote Three Dimensional Cell Intercalations That Shape the Mandibular Arch. Nature Communications.

[25] Zhuoran Zhang*, Xian Wang*, Jun Liu, Changsheng Dai, Yu Sun. (2019). Robotic Micromanipulation: Fundamentals and Applications. Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems. 2: 11.1–11.23.

[26] Jian Wu, Zhipeng Xu, Xian Wang, Li Wang, Huadong Qiu, Kechao Lu, Wenhong Zhang, Qing Feng, Jun Chen, Lei Yang. (2019). Cadmium-Sensitive Measurement Using a Nano-Copper-Enhanced Carbon Fiber Electrode. Sensors.

[27] Wesley Johnson, Changsheng Dai, Jun Liu, Xian Wang, Devin K Luu, Zhuoran Zhang, Changhai Ru, Chao Zhou, Min Tan, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Yan Peng, Jun Luo, Yu Sun. (2018). A Flexure-Guided Piezo Drill for Penetrating the Zona Pellucida of Mammalian Oocytes. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. 65: 678-686.

[28] Changsheng Dai, Zhuoran Zhang, James Huang, Xian Wang, Changhai Ru, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Junyan Zhang, Sergey Moskovtsev, Clifford Librach, Keith Jarvi, Yu Sun. (2018). Automated Non-invasive Measurement of Single Sperm’s Motility and Morphology. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging.

[29] Xian Wang, Qili Zhao, Li Wang, Jun Liu, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Changhai Ru, Yu Sun. (2018). Effect of Cell Inner Pressure on Deposition Volume in Microinjection. Langmuir. 34(35): 10287-10292.

[30] Zhensong Xu, Yi Zheng, Xian Wang, Nadine Shehata, Chen Wang, Yu Sun. (2018). Stiffness Increase of Red Blood Cells During Storage. Microsystems & Nanoengineering. : 1-6.

[31] Zhuoran Zhang, Changsheng Dai, Xian Wang, Changhai Ru, Khaled Abdalla, Sahar Jahangiri, Clifford Librach, Keith Jarvi, Yu Sun. (2018). Automated Laser Ablation of Motile Sperm for Immobilization. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. : 323-329.

[32] Xian Wang, Zhuoran Zhang, Hirotaka Tao, Jun Liu, Sevan Hopyan, Yu Sun. (2018). Characterizing Inner Pressure and Stiffness of Trophectoderm and Innercell Mass of Blastocysts. Biophysical Journal. :2443-2450.

[33] Xian Wang, Haijiao Liu, Min Zhu, Changhong Cao, Zhensong Xu, Yonit Tsatskis, Kimberly Lau, Chikin Kuok, Tobin Filleter, Helen McNeill, Craig A Simmons, Sevan Hopyan, Yu Sun. (2018). Mechanical Stability of the Cell Nucleus: Roles Played by the Cytoskeleton in Nuclear Deformationand Strain Recovery. Journal of Cell Science. : 1-10.

[34] Zhuoran Zhang, Changsheng Dai, James Huang, Xian Wang, Jun Liu, Changhai Ru, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Junyan Zhang, Sergey Moskovtsev, Clifford Librach, Keith Jarvi, Yu Sun. (2018). Robotic Immobilization of Motile Sperm for Clinical Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[35] Jun Liu, Zhuoran Zhang, Xian Wang, Haijiao Liu, Qili Zhao, Chao Zhou, Min Tan, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Yu Sun. (2017). Automated Robotic Measurement of 3D Cell Morphologies. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. : 499-505.

[36] Xian Wang, Mengxi Luo, Han Wu, Zhuoran Zhang, Jun Liu, Zhensong Xu, Wesley Johnson, Yu Sun. (2017). A 3D Magnetic Tweezer System for Intra-Embryonic Navigation and Measurement. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. : 240-247.

[37] Zhensong Xu, Yi Zheng, Xian Wang, Nadine Shehata, Chen Wang, Shaorong Xie, Yu Sun. (2017). Stiffening of Sickle Cell Trait Red Blood Cells Under Simulated Strenuous Exercise Conditions. Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

[38] Zhuoran Zhang, Jun Liu, Xian Wang, Qili Zhao, Chao Zhou, Min Tan, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Yu Sun. (2017). Robotic Pick-And-Place of Multiple Embryos for Vitrification. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 2: 570-576.

[39] Jun Liu, Zhuoran Zhang, Xian Wang, Haijiao Liu, Qili Zhao, Chao Zhou, Min Tan, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Yu Sun. (2016). Automated robotic measurement of 3-D cell morphologies. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2(2), pp.499-505.

[40] Zhuoran Zhang, Jun Liu, Xian Wang, Qili Zhao, Chao Zhou, Min Tan, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Yu Sun. (2016). Robotic pick-and-place of multiple embryos for vitrification. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2(2), pp.570-576.

[41] Zhensong Xu, Yi Zheng, Xian Wang, Nadine Shehata, Chen Wang, Shaorong Xie, Yu Sun. (2016). Stiffening of sickle cell trait red blood cells under simulated strenuous exercise conditions. Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2(1), pp.1-7.

[42] Vivek Venkatachalam, Ni Ji, Xian Wang, Christopher Clark, James Kameron Mitchell, Mason Klein, Christopher J Tabone, Jeremy Florman, Hongfei Ji, Joel Greenwood, Andrew D Chisholm, Jagan Srinivasan, Mark Alkema, Mei Zhen, Aravinthan DT Samuel. (2016). Pan-neuronal imaging in roaming Caenorhabditis elegans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(8), pp.E1082-E1088.

Conferences

[1] William Ronan, Zhaokai Wang, Xian Wang. (2025). Quantifying Aleatoric Uncertainty for Mobile Robot Object Detection. Proceedings of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering International Congress, May 25-28, Montreal, Canada

[2] Ruicheng Li, Cun Wang, Zhaokai Wang, Xian Wang. (2025). Effects of Microbubble Size and Acoustic Pressure on Mechanical Stimulation within Viscoelastic Tissue. The 39th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Biomaterials Society in Kingston, Ontario May 21-23, 2025

[3] Zhaokai Wang, Syed Ali Raza Bukhari, Diancheng Li, Matthew A. Robertson, Yongjun Lai, Xian Wang. (2024). A Needle Biopsy Inspired Microcatheter for Rapid Tissue Mechanical Measurement. International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (μTAS 2024), Montreal, Canada

[4] Xian Wang, Xin Chen, Savo Bajic, Yu Sun, Xi Huang. (2023). A computation model of the multi-layer brain-tumor-blood barrier structure under mechanical load. Biophysical Journal. 2023 Biophysical Society Meeting, San Diego, United States of America (285a)

[5] Xian Wang, Tiancon Wang, Guanqiao Shan, Junhui Law, Changsheng Dai, Zhuoran Zhang, Yu Sun. (2020). Robotic Control of a Magnetic Swarm for On-Demand IntracellularMeasurement. Proceedings of IEEE ICRA 2020. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Pairs (Virtual), France

[6] Mengxi Luo, Junhui Law, Xian Wang, Liming Xin, Guanqiao Shan, Mitesh Badiwala, Xi Huang, Yu Sun. (2020). Robotic Swarm Control for Precision and On-Demand Embolization. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Pairs (Virtual), France

[7] Xian Wang, Changhong Cao, Jingcheng Shan, Yakun Zhao, Tobin Filleter, Yu Sun. (2020). Direct Characterization of Stress-Strain Relationship for Quantifying Single Cell Elasticity. 2020 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, United States of America

[8] Zhuoran Zhang, Changsheng Dai, Xian Wang, Changhai Ru, Khaled Abdalla, Sahar Jahangiri, Clifford Librach, Keith Jarvi, Yu Sun. (2019). Automated Laser Ablation of Motile Sperm for Immobilization. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Montreal, Canada

[9] Changsheng Dai, Zhuoran Zhang, Yuchen Lu, Guanqiao Shan, Xian Wang, Qili Zhao, Yu Sun. (2019). Robotic Orientation Control of Deformable Cells. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Montreal, Canada

[10] Li Wang*, Xian Wang*, Qili Zhao, Wenkun Dou, Manpreet Malhi, Teng Cui, Jason T Maynes, Yu Sun. (2018). Correlating Electrical Impedance with Contractile Stress of hiPSC-Cardiomyocytes. International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (μTAS 2018), Kaohsiung, Taiwan

[11] Z. Zhang, C. Dai, J. Huang, Xian Wang, J. Zhang, S. Moskovtsev, C. Librach, K. Jarvi, Y. Sun. (2018). Robotic immobilization of Motile Sperm. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Brisbane, Australia

[12] Changsheng Dai, Zhuoran Zhang, James Huang, Xian Wang, Wenlong Meng, Junyan Zhang, Sergey Moskovtsev, Clifford Librach, Keith Jarvi, Yu Sun. (2018). Automated Non-Invasive Measurement of Complete Sperm Motility and Morphology Parameters. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Brisbane, Australia

[13] Xian Wang, Mengxi Luo, Clement Ho, Zhuoran Zhang, Qili Zhao, Changsheng Dai, Yu Sun. (2018). Robotic Intracellular Manipulation: 3D Navigation and Measurement insidea Single Cell. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Brisbane, Australia

[14] Xian Wang, Mengxi Luo, Zhensong Xu, Devin Luu, Huayan Pu, Shaorong Xie, Yu Sun. (2017). Microfabricated In-Chip Magnetic Tweezers for Intra-Embryonic Measurement. International Conference on Solid State Sensors and Actuators (TRANSDUCERS), Kaohsiung, Taiwan

[15] Xian Wang, Mengxi Luo, Han Wu, Zhuoran Zhang, Jun Liu, Zhensong Xu, Wesley Johnson, Yu Sun. (2017). Three-Dimensional Robotic Control of a 5-Micrometer Magnetic Bead forIntra-Embryonic Navigation and Measurement. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Singapore

Books

[1] Yu Sun, Xian Wang, Jiangfan Yu. (2022). Field-Driven Micro and Nano Robots for Biology and Medicine. Published, Springer Nature

[2] Haojian Lu, Xian Wang, Shailong Zhang. (2023). Untethered Small-scale Robots for Biomedical Applications. Published, Elsevier

Book Chapters

[1] Xian Wang. (2023). Conclusions. Untethered Small-scale Robots for Biomedical Applications: 141-143. Elsevier.

[2] Jintian Wang, Xian Wang, Y. Sun. (2023). Cellular Mechanical Measurement by Magnetic Micro/Nanorobots. Robotics for Cell Manipulation and Characterization: 120-130.

[3] Xian Wang, Jintian Wang, Tiancong Wang, Y. Sun. (2023). Magnetic Micro/Nanorobots for Intracellular and Intraembryonics Measurement. Untethered Small-scale Robots for Biomedical Applications: 37-47. Elsevier.

[4] Guanqiao Shan, Changsheng Dai, Zhuoran Zhang, Xian Wang, Yu Sun. (2023). Introduction of Robotics for Cell Manipulation and Characterization. Robotics for Cell Manipulation and Characterization: 3-17. Academic Press.

[5] Xian Wang, Tiancong Wang, Zhuoran Zhang, Y. Sun. (2022). Biophysical Measurement of Cellular and Intracellular Structures Using Magnetic Tweezers. Field-Driven Micro and Nanorobots for Biology and Medicine: 269-284.

Team

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Team dq21 Fri, 01/19/2024 - 16:01

Principle Investigator

Xian Wang, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, ��˴�Ƭ

Faculty Member, Ingenuity Labs Research Institute, ��˴�Ƭ

Associate Member, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute, ��˴�Ƭ

Vice Chair, Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering Micro and Nanotechnology Technical Committee

Graduate Students

Annabel Zhaokai Wang

Ph.D. student

MASc. Edinburgh University, United Kingdom

B.Eng. Beijing Jiao Tong University, China

Ruicheng Li

Ph.D. student

M.Eng. ��˴�Ƭ, Canada

B.Eng., ��˴�Ƭ, Canada

Chukwudozie (Dozie) Ubosi

MASc student (Co-supervised with Prof. Yongjun Lai)

B.Eng, University of Guelph, Canada

Cun Wang

MASc student

Data Scientist, IBM Consulting, 2021-2023

MA Melbourne University, Australia

B.Sc University of Toronto, Canada

Eric Sass

MASc. Student, Co-supervised with Prof. Matthew Robertson and Prof. Xiaying Xin

B.Eng, ��˴�Ƭ, Canada

Antonio Morales

MASc. student, co-supervised with Prof. Matthew Robertson

B.Eng., ��˴�Ƭ, Canada

Zimo Li

M.Eng. student

B.Eng., ��˴�Ƭ

Undergraduate Students

Tiffany Yu

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Bachelor of Health Science, ��˴�Ƭ

Coleman Farvolden

Undergraduate research student, ��˴�Ƭ, Canada

César Martínez García

Mitacs Globalink Research Intern, Mexico

Yik Sze Woo

Undergraduate research assistant, ��˴�Ƭ, Canada

Alumni

Hao Xue, MEng thesis student 2025, now a System Design Engineer at Toronto

Zimo Li, UG Thesis Student 2025, now a Graduate student at ��˴�Ƭ

Naser AI-Obeidat, UG Thesis Student 2025, now a Graduate student at ��˴�Ƭ, Vector Scholarship in AI

Jaedyn Smail, UG Thesis Student 2025, L.M. Arkley Price Winner for her thesis!

Eric Sass, UG Thesis Student 2025, now a Graduate student at ��˴�Ƭ

Avery Thomsen, UG Thesis Student 2025

William Ronan, Research Assistant 2024, now a Graduate student at The University of British Columbia

Amina Najib, USRA 2024, Volunteer at the Burma Children’s Medical Fund

Aiden Fallah, USRA 2023, now a Graduate student at the University of Toronto

Joshua Malone, UG research assistant 2023

Good luck in your career!

Research

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Research dq21 Fri, 01/19/2024 - 16:01

Our research projects aim to advance microrobotic technologies to understand and to treat diseases.

Microrobots for Biology

To understand diseases, microrobots function as minimally invasive measurement tools that let us watch and perturb biology from the inside out. Actuated by combined magnetic–acoustic fields, the microrobots designed by our lab steer into hard-to-reach sites (e.g., brain tumors, lung nodules, GI tract) and used as precision probes to map the mechanical and biochemical microenvironment in space and time. For example, microrobots are controlled to measure how and understand cancer cells are mechanically different from healthy cells; how mechanical stimulation within our skull is affecting brain tumors; and how changes in mechanical properties can indicate lung cancers [Figure adapted from Wang et al., Science Robotics 2019].

Microrobots for Medicine

To treat diseases, microrobots represent a cutting-edge technology with transformative potential for diagnosis, treatment, and recurrence prevention. These miniature robots offer precise targeting and delivery of therapeutic agents to specific tissues or cells within the body, minimizing potential side effects and increasing treatment efficacy. Actuated by external fields, microrobots can navigate through anatomical-challenging structures and reach inaccessible areas (e.g., brain tumors). At the targeted disease region, these microrobots can be controlled to release therapeutic reagents or perform nano-scale surgery. Currently, we are working towards designing microrobots with more biocompatible materials, actuated by acoustic and magnetic combined field, with better delivery and controlled retrieval mechanisms. As research in microrobotics continues to advance, the translation of these innovative technologies from bench to bedside is poised to redefine the future of medicine. [Figure adapted from Wang et al. Science Advances 2023]

Microrobots for Novel Biomedical Applications

Leveraging its small size, we explore small-scale robots for applications in dental procedures and aesthetic medicine.

We current work with our industry partners to develop novel applications of microrobots, and always welcome more partners to join the force.

[Figure adapted from Nano Magazine 2023]

Overview

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Overview dq21 Fri, 01/19/2024 - 11:34

The development of small-scale robots (or microrobots), powered by magnetic, optical, electrical, and acoustic fields, has opened numerous possibilities in biomedicine. Various configurations of magnetic field generation systems have been devised to control single magnetic beads for mechanical force application in cellular structures, form robotic swarms for drug delivery, navigate magnetic bacteria for tumor penetration, and create microscale swimmers for biological barrier penetration, delivery, and detoxification. Electrical fields, which drive small-scale robots in unique modes of motion, have also been utilized to navigate bacterial-powered electrical sensing robots and drive DNA nanomotors. Optical field generation has facilitated cellular biophysical measurement and material patterning. Light has been employed as an actuator for small-scale robots in both hard and soft stimuli-response polymers. The small-scale robots have become a crucial platform technology in biophysical characterizations, drug delivery, and diagnosis.

Expertise: Microrobotics, Medical Robotics, Microtechnology, Cell Mechanics, Tumor Biophysics, Swarm Microrobot

Lab News

2025.08.12 Ruicheng, Cun, and Annabel gave poster presentations on their work at the Sinclair Cancer Research Institute Retreat. Dr. Xian Wang gave an invited talk on using microrobots to treat brain tumors. Congratulations on the amazing presentations, Ruicheng, Cun, and Annabel!

2025.07.19 Dr. Xian Wang gave an invited talk at The International Conference on Mechanobiology in Shanghai, China, and was nominated for "Young Scientist Award".

2025.07.17 Dr. Xian Wang gave an invited talk at NVIDIA, sharing our scientific applications of NVIDIA hardware.

2025.06.09. Invited by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Lundin Cancer Fund, Dr. Wang joined the discussion in Vancouver to explore the next priorities of glioblastoma treatment. Thanks, Mr. Lundin and the Lundin Family, for your investment in Glioblastoma treatment.

2025.05.29 Celebrating the 100th year of the Banting Discovery Award in memory of Dr. Banting for winning the Nobel Prize for their discovery of Insulin (one of the ��˴�Ƭ gifts from Canada to the world), Dr. Xian Wang and all other 99th cohort of Banting Discovery Awardees joined the celebration in Toronto, where the insulin was discovered.

2025.05.28 Will gave a fantastic talk on computer vision at the Congress of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, Montreal, Canada. Great to see Will again after he graduated and moved to UBC.

2025.05.22 Ruicheng gave an oral presentation (for the first time) at the Canadian Biomaterials Society Conference. Well done, Ruicheng, great seeing you shine. The whole lab showed up to support him.

2025.04.01 Congratulations to our thesis student and the Queen's Women's Lacrosse star Jaedyn Smail for winning the Marion Ross Trophy!

2025.03.08 Will's paper has been accepted by the 2025 Congress of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering!

2025.02.25 Ruicheng's paper has been accepted by the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Biomaterials Society as an Oral Presentation!

2025.01.03 We welcome Dozie Ubosi to join us as a MASc. student! Dozie will be co-supervised by Prof. Yongjun Lai. We welcome Jaedyn Smail, Eric Sass, and Avery Thomsen to start their undergraduate thesis with us, and Hao Xue to start his M.Eng thesis with us.

2024.12.06 Two capstone teams working with Dr. Wang and Dr. Surgenor have successfully presented their work at the showcase. Well done!

2024.10.11 We disclosured the first patent with technology coming from our lab!

2024.08.01 We welcome Avery Thomsen to join us as an undergraduate research assistant.

2024.07.09 Annabel's paper "A Needle Biopsy Inspired Microcatheter for Rapic Tissue Mechanical Measurement" was accepted by the 28th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (MicroTAS) to be held in October at Montreal, Canada.

2024.07.01 Dr. Wang gave two invited talks "Ferrofluid Microrobot for Material Delivery", and "Micro/Nano Materials for Tissue Mechanical Measurement", at the International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scale (MARSS) in Delft, Netherland.

2024.06.21 We continued to enjoy the summer of Kingston and had a "Multi-verse" Potluck with Prof. Amy Wu's and Prof. Matthew Robertson's Groups.

2024.05.13 We presented our collaborative work with Shanghai University on a Capsule Robot for Gastrointestinal Sampling, at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Yokohama, Japan.

2024.05.08 Dr. Xian Wang was awarded the prestigious Banting Discovery Award from Banting Discovery Foundation for his work in microrobotics.

2024.05.01 We welcome Michael De Miglio and William Ronan to join our group this summer. Michael will work with Dr. Wang to prepare measurement labs, and Will will work with Dr. Wang on the development of a new mechatronics course.

2024.04.22 Our lab was awarded an NSERC Discovery Grant and NSERC Discovery Grant Launch Supplement!

2024.04.04 Our lab was awarded a Research Opportunity Seed Fund by the Ingenuity Labs, together with Prof. Amy Wu, Prof. Keyvan Hashtrudi-Zaad, and Prof. Matthew Robert groups. We hope it will further foster our collaborations in medical robotics.

2024.02.28 Amina Najib was awarded an NSERC undergraduate research award. Congratulations, Amina!

2024.01.03 We welcome Cun Wang and Ruicheng Li to join our group as a master's student and an undergrad thesis student.

2023.12.07 Congratulations to Aiden, Ethan (M), Ethan (R), and Alex for successfully presenting their Capstone design project.

2023.11.11 Dr. Wang joined the CIHR-ICR Early Career Researcher workshop, sponsored by CIHR.

2023.11.10 Dr. Wang gave a talk at Dalhousie University. Thank you Prof. Jason Gu for hosting.

2023.10.09 Dr. Wang presented our research at the International Conference on Manipulation, Automation, and Robotics at Small Scales (MARSS) held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

2023.09.01 We welcome Zhaokai Wang to join our group as our first Ph.D. student!

2023.08.22 We co-hosted the "Ontario Symposium on Micro and Nanotechnology" with Prof. Yongjun Lai, and Prof. Carlos Escobedo. Our colleagues across the province have joined the event. Dr. Wang gave a talk during the symposium. Aiden and Josh won the best poster award.

2023.08.02 Our lab officially joined the Ingenuity Labs research institute. We look forward to collaborations at the Ingenuity Labs.

2023.07.11 Dr. Wang gave an invited talk at the "Southern Ontario Microscale Medical Robotics Symposium".

2023.05.01 We welcome our summer students Aiden and Josh to join our group. Congratulations to Aiden for being awarded an undergraduate student summer research fellowship.

2023.03.01 Dr. Xian Wang was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.