Professor
Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Room 360 Science Centre
(852) 3943 6165
(852) 2603 5057
Education
| 1999 | B.Sc. | Nanjing University |
| 2002 | M.S. | Nanjing University |
| 2006 | Ph.D. | Stanford University |
Position
| Since 2021.8 | Professor, Department of Chemistry, Professor (by courtesy), School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| 2015-2021 | Associate Professor (by courtesy), School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| 2015-2021 | Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| 2009-2014 | Assistant Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| 2007-2008 | Research Associate, Howard Hughes Medical Institute |
| 2007-2008 | Postdoctoral scholar, California Institute of Technology |
Research Interests
Bioorganic chemistry, chemical and synthetic biology
We apply chemistry to biomedicine (Chem4BioMed) and synthetic biology (Chem4SynBio).
| 1 | Site-selective antibody reactions and immunotherapies Residue-specific (cysteine, tyrosine, and lysine, etc.) reactions of antibodies (and other proteins) in vitro and in cells, and their applications in immunotherapies |
| 2 | Liquid-liquid phase separation and applications Engineering liquid coacervates of proteins, peptides, and small molecules through liquid-liquid phase separation; application of molecular coacervates in biomedicine and synthetic biology; multienzyme complexes to form synthetic metabolon (synthetic organelles) for enhanced natural product biosynthesis |
| 3 | Exosomes and recombinant collagen biomaterials for tissue regeneration Engineering exosomes, extracellular vesicles, and cells for targeted therapy of cartilage damage; recombinant collagen-based biomaterials for skin regeneration |
Recent Publications
For the complete publication list, click here or Google Scholar
| 1 | Chen, H. †; Xu, Z†.; Bao, Y. †; Shiri, F. †; Yuan, D.; Hu, Y.; Li, B.; Zeng, B.; Li, X.; Kong, H.; Wang, Z.; Lau, W. C.-Y.; Lin, Z.*; Xia, J.* Bioorthogonal Reaction of o-Quinone with Furan-2(3H)-one for Site-Selective Tyrosine Conjugation and Construction of Bispecific Antibody Complexes. Adv. Sci.. 2025, DOI: 10.1002/advs.202417260 |
| 2 | Bao, Y.†; Xu, Z.†; Cheng, K.*; Li, X.; Chen, F.; Yuan, D.; Zhang, F.; Audrey Run-yu Che, A. R.-Y.; Zeng, X.; Zhao, Y.-D.*; Xia, J.* Staudinger Reaction-Responsive Coacervates for Cytosolic Antibody Delivery and TRIM21-Mediated Protein Degradation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 3830-3839. |
| 3 | Kong, H.†; Xie, X.†; Bao, Y.; Zhang, F.; Bian, L.; Cheng, K*.; Zhao, Y.-D.*; Xia, J.* Phase-separated spiropyran coacervates as dual-wavelength-switchable reactive oxygen generators. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202419538. |
| 4 | Zhang, L.; Chen, Y.; Feng, D.; Xing, Z.; Wang, Y.; Bai, Y.; Shi, D.; Li, H.; Fan, X.; Xia, J.*; Wang, J.* Recombinant Collagen Microneedles for Transdermal Delivery of Antibacterial Copper-DNA Nanoparticles to Treat Skin and Soft Tissue Infections. J. Controll. Release 2025, 379, 191-201. |
| 5 | Chen, H.;† Bao, Y;† Li, X.; Chen, F.; Sugimura, R.; Zeng, X.; Xia, J.* Cell surface engineering by phase-separated coacervates for antibody display and targeted cancer cell therapy Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202410566. |
| 6 | Li, B.; Yuan, D.; Chen, H.; Wang, X.; Liang, Y.; Wong, C.T.T.*; Xia, J.* Site-Selective Antibody-Lipid Conjugates for Surface Functionalization of Red Blood Cells and Targeted Drug Delivery J. Controll. Release 2024, 370, 302-309. |
| 7 | Zhang, H.; Yan, W.; Wang, J.; Xie, S.; Tao, W. A.; Lee, C.-W.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, G.; Liu, Y.; Wei, D.; Hu, J.; Liu, H.; Liu, F.; Nie, Y.; Chen, X.; Xu, H.*; Xia, J.*; Wang, S.* Surface functionalization of exosomes for chondrocyte-targeted siRNA delivery and cartilage regeneration J. Controll. Release 2024, 369, 493-505. |
| 8 | Han, Y.; Jiang, H.; Huang, C.; Wu, X.; Ouyang, Y.; Chen, H.; Lan, D.; Wang, Y.; Zheng, B.; Xia, J.* Enzymatic Interfacial Conversion of Acylglycerols in Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Hydrogel Microparticles J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2024, 661, 228-236. |
| 9 | Pan, X.; Ye, F.; Ning, P.; Zhang, Z.; Li, X.; Zhang, B.; Wang, Q.; Chen, G.; Gao, W.; Qiu, C.; Wu, Z.; Li, J.; Zhu, L.; Xia, J.*; Gong, K.*; Du, Y.* Structural insights into ligand recognition and selectivity of the human hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor HCAR2 Cell Discov. 2023, 9, 118. |
| 10 | Liu, M.†, Wu, C. †,* Wang, R.; Qiu, J.; She, Z.; Qu, J.; Xia, J.* Modulating Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Nck Adaptor Protein against Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Infection ACS Cent. Sci. 2023, 9, 2358-2368. |
| 11 | Chen, H.; Wong, H.-C. F.; Qiu, J.; Li, B.; Yuan, D.; Kong, H.; Bao, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Xu, Z.; Tse, Y.-L. S.*; Xia, J.* Site-Selective Tyrosine Reaction for Antibody-Cell Conjugation and Targeted Immunotherapy Adv. Sci. 2023, 11, 2305012. |
| 12 | Bao, Y.; Chen, H.; Xu, Z.; Gao, J.; Jiang, L.; Xia, J.* Photo-Responsive Phase-Separating Fluorescent Molecules for Intracellular Protein Delivery Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202307045. |
| 13 | Xu, L.†; Xu, X.†; Liang, Y.; Wen, C.; Ouyang, K.; Huang, J.; Xiao, Y.; Deng, X.; Xia, J.*; Duan, L.* Osteoclast-Targeted Delivery of Anti-miRNA Oligonucleotides by Red Blood Cell Extracellular Vesicles. J. Controll. Release 2023, 358, 259-272. |
| 14 | Yuan, D.†; Zhang, Y.†; Lim, K. H.; Leung, S. K. P.; Yang, X.; Liang, Y.; Lau, W. C. Y.; Chow, K. T.*; Xia, J.* Site-Selective Lysine Acetylation of Human Immunoglobulin G for Immunoliposomes and Bispecific Antibody Complexes. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022,144, 18494-18503. |
| 15 | Wang, Y.†; Liu, M.†; Wei, Q.; Wu, W.; He, Y.; Gao, J.; Zhou, R.; Jiang, L.; Qu, J.; Xia, J.* Phase-Separated Multienzyme Compartmentalization for Terpene Biosynthesis in a Prokaryote Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, e202203909. |
| 16 | Wei, Q.†; Wang, Y.†; Liu, Z.†; Liu, M.; Cao, S.; Jiang, H.; Xia, J.* Multienzyme Assembly on Caveolar Membranes In Cellulo ACS Catalysis 2022, 12, 8372-8379. (†, equal contribution) |
| 17 | Liang, Y.; Xu, X.; Xu, L.; Ouyang, K.; Zhang, H.; Duan, L.; Xia, J.* Chondrocyte-Specific Genome Editing Enabled by Hybrid Exosomes for Osteoarthritis Treatment Theranostics 2022, 12, 4866-4878. |
| 18 | Wang, C.; Hong, T.; Cui, P.; Wang, J.*; Xia, J.* Antimicrobial peptides towards clinical application: delivery and formulation Advanced Drug Delivery Review, 2021, 175, 113818. |
| 19 | Liang, Y.; Duan, L.; Lu, J.; Xia, J.* Engineering exosomes for targeted drug delivery Theranostics 2021, 11, 3183-3195. |
| 20 | Qiu, J.; Nie, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Li, L.; Wang, R.; Wang, M.; Chen, S.; Wang, J.*; Li, Y.Q.*; Xia, J.* Safeguarding intestine cells against enteropathogenic Escherichia coli by intracellular protein reaction, a preventive antibacterial mechanism Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2020, 117, 5260-5268. |
| 21 | Xu, X.; Liang, Y.; Li, X.; Ouyang, K.; Wang, M.; Cao, T.; Li, W.; Liu, J.; Xiong, J.; Li, B.; Xia, J.*; Wang, D.*; Duan, L.* Exosome-Mediated Delivery of Kartogenin for Chondrogenesis of Synovial Fluid-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Cartilage Regeneration Biomaterials 2020, 269, 120539. |
| 22 | Liang, Y.; Xu, X.; Li, X.; Xiong, J.; Li, B.; Duan, L.*; Wang, D.*; Xia, J.* Chondrocyte-Targeted MicroRNA Delivery by Engineered Exosomes toward a Cell-Free Osteoarthritis Therapy ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 36938–36947 |
| 23 | Kang, W.; Ma, T.; Liu, M.; Qu, J.; Liu, Z.; Zhang, H.; Shi, B.; Fu, S.; Ma, J.; Lai, L.; He, S.; Qu, J.; Au, S. W-N.; Kang, B. H.; Lau, W. C. Y.; Deng, Z.; Xia, J.*, Liu, T.*. Modular enzyme assembly for enhanced cascade biocatalysis and metabolic flux Nat. Commun. 2019, 10, 4248. |
| 24 | Liu, Z.; Cao, S.; Liu, M.; Kang, W.; Xia, J.* Self-Assembled Multi-Enzyme Nanostructures on Synthetic Protein Scaffolds ACS Nano 2019, 13, 11343-11352. |
| 25 | Qu, J., Cao, S., Wei, Q., Zhang, H., Wang, R., Kang, W., Ma, T., Zhang, L., Liu, T., Au, W-N. S., Sun, F., Xia, J.* Synthetic Multienzyme Complexes, Catalytic Nanomachineries for Cascade Biosynthesis In Vivo. ACS Nano 2019, 13, 9895-9906. |