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Dr Lining Ju

Conjoint Lecturer
Heart Research Institute
School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

Member of the Charles Perkins Centre


Website Heart Research Institute
Cheng Zhu lab at Georgia Tech
National Heart Foundation

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Biographical details

Dr Arnold Lining Ju was a National Heart Foundation of Australia Postdoctoral Fellow with Paul Korner Innovation Award (top ranked applicant) at the Heart Research Institute and a lecturer at the Charles Perkins Centre in the University of Sydney. He completed his Ph.D. studies with SigmaXi best thesis honor on biomedical engineering and biomechanics at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Emory University, GA, USA in 2008-2013. In early 2014, Dr. Ju moved to Australia to pursue postdoctoral studies in NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow Prof Shaun Jackson’s lab applying mechanobiology approaches to understanding molecular causes of thrombosis in cardiovascular diseases and complications in diabetes. Since my PhD in 2013-Dec, he has published his biomedical engineering works in quality journals including Nature Materials, Nature Communications (x3), eLife (x2), Science Advances, PNAS, J Biol Chem, Mol Biol Cell, Blood, and Biophysical J across the disciplines of mechanobiology, biomechanical engineering, haematology and cardiovascular diseases.

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Research interests

I have always been fascinated with the universal forces that make things move and behave the way they do at any scale. My early fascination grew into an intellectual need to explain these phenomena, underpinning my interest in mechanical and biomedical engineering. It was my father’s heart attack in the first year of my PhD, where his blood vessels were occluded by clots, that taught me the shear force of blood flow has a critical effect. I was convinced that my research should solve real-world problems. These days I apply my expertise to understand how some specialised proteins in our blood can actually sense force to enable the development of new treatments and preventative measures that will reduce the loss of life.

I have developed a state-of-the-art biomechanical nanotool (Biomembrane force probe ‘BFP’, >US$500K) and established the first of its kind in Australia to study mechanobiology in cardiovascular systems, in particular to investigate how haemodynamic force in blood flow regulates platelet thrombotic functions at the Charles Perkins Centre and Heart Research Institute. This nanotool represents a significant departure from traditional biological studies of protein-protein and cell-cell interactions after prolonged incubation and is uniquely suitable for studying these interactions in rapidly circulating blood where these interactions occur repeatedly, but very briefly. It allows me to carve out an exciting niche to study thrombotic diseases (such as heart attack and stroke) in a more physiologically relevant environment, leading to new diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

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Current projects

Recently, I have been working with Profs Shaun Jackson, Cheng Zhu and the colleagues at University of Sydney, Monash, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University and the Scripps Institute identified a previously unrecognised compression force-sensing mechanism utilised by platelets to regulate the adhesive function of platelet integrin receptor. This biomechanical adhesive function is dysregulated in diabetes, leading to a shear-specific enhancement in integrin-mediated platelet adhesion and aggregation in vitro and in vivo. In the context of thrombosis and cardiovascular diseases, we found dysregulation of this compressive force-sensing mechanism may represent a distinct diabetic prothrombotic phenotype that is resistant to commonly employed antiplatelet therapies: aspirin and clopidogrel. Importantly, we have defined a new therapeutic approach to reduce the compressive forcesensing and biomechanical integrin activation – through inhibition of the type I PI 3-Kinase 110. This may ultimately lead to a new treatment to combat the fatal thrombotic disease for patients with diabetes. Reflecting the significance, we recently published this in Nature Communications.

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Awards and honours

2019 The NIH PCTC Cardiovascular Bioengineering Symposium ECR/MCR Award.
2018 Australian Society of Biophysics (ASB) Young Biophysicist Award Finalist
2018 Australian Vascular Biology Society (AVBS) Achievement and Career Development Awards.
2018 The Cardiac Society of Australia (CSANZ) Outstanding Early Career Cardiovascular Researcher
2018 Heart Research Institute Best Publication Award. Conferred by NSW Minister for Health
2017 Sydney Local Health District - Annual Health Research Infrastructure Award (AHRIA) Conferred by NSW Minister for Health
2017 The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Kanematsu Research Award.
2017 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Young Investigator Award
2016 Sydney Medical School Nigel Clarke Award for the Most Outstanding Early Career Researcher
2015 Heart Research Institute Blackmores Young Achiever Award.
2015 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Young Investigator Award.
2015 Thrombosis & Haemostasis Society of Australia and New Zealand Travel Grant.
2014 Sigma Xi Best Ph.D. Thesis Award.
2013 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Young Investigator Award.
2012 American Society of Hematology Achievement Award

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International links

Australia

((University of Technology Sydney)) Professor Dayong Jin, Institute for Biomedical Materials and Devices,

Australia

((Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, UNSW)) Professor Boris Martinac, Mechanobiology Laboratory

China

(Institute of Biophysics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing) Dr Jizhong Lou

China

(Peking University, College of Engineering, Beijing) Prof Shiyi Chen

United States

((Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City)) Professor Rodger McEver, Cardiovascular Biology Research Program

United States

((University of California, Berkeley)) Asst/Professor Srigokul Upadhyayula, Advanced BioImaging Center

United States

(Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia) Profs Cheng Zhu, Larry McIntire, Wilbur Lam and Hang Lu

United States

(Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts) Asst/Prof Srigokul Upadhyayula

United States

(The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, California) Prof Zaverio Ruggeri and Dr Yunfeng Chen

United States

(University of Washington, Seattle, Washington) Prof Jing-fei Dong

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Selected grants

2019

  • Mechanobiology: a new model of integrin activation by membrane tension; Ju L; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA).
  • Mechanobiology underlying the the sticky clot problem of diabetes; Ju L; Charles Perkins Centre/Early-Mid Career Researcher Seed Funding grant.
  • Volumetric imaging facility: observing the cell in its native environment; Jin D, Gibson B, Van Oijen A, Hugenholtz P, Jackson S, Hutchinson M, Baker M, Harry E, Huang X, Asadnia M, Warkiani M, Garcia-Bennett A, Gu M, Ju L, Whan R; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF).

2018

  • Towards a novel 'mechanomedicine' against the sticky clot problem of diabetes by targeting oxidoreductase ERp5; Chiu J, Ju L; Charles Perkins Centre/Early-Mid Career Researcher Seed Funding grant.
  • Develop high-throughput single cell analysis for diabetic platelet prothrombotic phenotype; Ju L; National Heart Foundation of Australia/Collaboration and Exchange Award.

2017

  • Deep profiling of platelet hyperactive phenotypes in diabetes; Ju L; National Heart Foundation of Australia/Postdoctoral Fellowships (Biomedical, Clinical, Public Health, Health Services).
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Selected publications

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Book Chapters

  • Ju, L., Chen, Y., Rushdi, M., Chen, W., Zhu, C. (2017). Two-Dimensional Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interaction by Force Probes. In Cosima T Baldari, Michael L Dustin (Eds.), The Immune Synapse: Methods and Protocols, (pp. 231-258). New York: Springer. [More Information]

Journals

  • Ren, W., Wen, S., Tawfik, S., Su, Q., Lin, G., Ju, L., Ford, M., Ghodke, H., Van Oijen, A., Jin, D. (2018). Anisotropic functionalization of upconversion nanoparticles. Chemical Science, 9(18), 4352-4358. [More Information]
  • Xu, X., Wang, Y., Adili, R., Ju, L., Spring, C., Jin, J., Yang, H., Neves, M., Chen, P., Yang, Y., Jackson, S., et al (2018). Apolipoprotein A-IV binds (alpha)IIb(beta)3 integrin and inhibits thrombosis. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1-18. [More Information]
  • Butera, D., Passam, F., Ju, L., Cook, K., Woon, H., Aponte-Santamaria, C., Gardiner, E., Davis, A., Murphy, D., Bronowska, A., Jackson, S., Hogg, P., et al (2018). Autoregulation of von Willebrand factor function by a disulfide bond switch. Science Advances, 4(2), 1-12. [More Information]
  • Su, Q., Ju, L. (2018). Biophysical nanotools for single-molecule dynamics. Biophysical Reviews, 10(5), 1349-1357. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., McFadyen, J., Al-Daher, S., Alwis, I., Chen, Y., Tonnesen, L., Maiocchi, S., Coulter, B., Calkin, A., Felner, E., Yuan, Y., Schoenwaelder, S., Jackson, S., et al (2018). Compression force sensing regulates integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3) adhesive function on diabetic platelets. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1-16. [More Information]
  • Passam, F., Chiu, J., Ju, L., Pijning, A., Jahan, Z., Mor-Cohen, R., Yeheskel, A., Kolsek, K., Tharichen, L., Aponte-Santamaria, C., Hogg, P., et al (2018). Mechano-redox control of integrin de-adhesion. eLife, 7, 1-22. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., Zhu, C. (2017). Benchmarks of Biomembrane Force Probe Spring Constant Models. Biophysical Journal, 113(12), 2842-2845. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., Chen, Y., Li, K., Yuan, Z., Liu, B., Jackson, S., Zhu, C. (2017). Dual Biomembrane Force Probe enables single-cell mechanical analysis of signal crosstalk between multiple molecular species. Scientific Reports, 7(14185), 1-12. [More Information]
  • Chen, Y., Ju, L., Rushdi, M., Ge, C., Zhu, C. (2017). Receptor-mediated cell mechanosensing. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 28(23), 3134-3155. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., Chen, Z., Xue, L., Du, X., Zhu, W. (2016). Cooperative unfolding of distinctive mechanoreceptor domains transduces force into signals. eLife, 5, 1-24. [More Information]
  • Chen, Y., Liu, B., Ju, L., Hong, J., Ji, Q., Chen, W., Zhu, C. (2015). Fluorescence biomembrane force probe: Concurrent quantitation of receptor-ligand kinetics and binding-induced intracellular signaling on a single cell. Journal of Visualized Experiments, August 2015(102), 1-13. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., Lou, J., Chen, Y., Li, Z., Zhu, C. (2015). Force-Induced Unfolding of Leucine-Rich Repeats of Glycoprotein Ibalpha Strengthens Ligand Interaction. Biophysical Journal, 109(9), 1781-1784. [More Information]
  • Samson, A., Ju, L., Ah KIm, H., Zhang, S., Maclean, J., Sturgeon, S., Sobey, C., Jackson, S., Schoenwaelder, S. (2015). MouseMove: an open source program for semi-automated analysis of movement and cognitive testing in rodents. Scientific Reports, 5, 1-11. [More Information]

2018

  • Ren, W., Wen, S., Tawfik, S., Su, Q., Lin, G., Ju, L., Ford, M., Ghodke, H., Van Oijen, A., Jin, D. (2018). Anisotropic functionalization of upconversion nanoparticles. Chemical Science, 9(18), 4352-4358. [More Information]
  • Xu, X., Wang, Y., Adili, R., Ju, L., Spring, C., Jin, J., Yang, H., Neves, M., Chen, P., Yang, Y., Jackson, S., et al (2018). Apolipoprotein A-IV binds (alpha)IIb(beta)3 integrin and inhibits thrombosis. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1-18. [More Information]
  • Butera, D., Passam, F., Ju, L., Cook, K., Woon, H., Aponte-Santamaria, C., Gardiner, E., Davis, A., Murphy, D., Bronowska, A., Jackson, S., Hogg, P., et al (2018). Autoregulation of von Willebrand factor function by a disulfide bond switch. Science Advances, 4(2), 1-12. [More Information]
  • Su, Q., Ju, L. (2018). Biophysical nanotools for single-molecule dynamics. Biophysical Reviews, 10(5), 1349-1357. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., McFadyen, J., Al-Daher, S., Alwis, I., Chen, Y., Tonnesen, L., Maiocchi, S., Coulter, B., Calkin, A., Felner, E., Yuan, Y., Schoenwaelder, S., Jackson, S., et al (2018). Compression force sensing regulates integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3) adhesive function on diabetic platelets. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1-16. [More Information]
  • Passam, F., Chiu, J., Ju, L., Pijning, A., Jahan, Z., Mor-Cohen, R., Yeheskel, A., Kolsek, K., Tharichen, L., Aponte-Santamaria, C., Hogg, P., et al (2018). Mechano-redox control of integrin de-adhesion. eLife, 7, 1-22. [More Information]

2017

  • Ju, L., Zhu, C. (2017). Benchmarks of Biomembrane Force Probe Spring Constant Models. Biophysical Journal, 113(12), 2842-2845. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., Chen, Y., Li, K., Yuan, Z., Liu, B., Jackson, S., Zhu, C. (2017). Dual Biomembrane Force Probe enables single-cell mechanical analysis of signal crosstalk between multiple molecular species. Scientific Reports, 7(14185), 1-12. [More Information]
  • Chen, Y., Ju, L., Rushdi, M., Ge, C., Zhu, C. (2017). Receptor-mediated cell mechanosensing. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 28(23), 3134-3155. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., Chen, Y., Rushdi, M., Chen, W., Zhu, C. (2017). Two-Dimensional Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interaction by Force Probes. In Cosima T Baldari, Michael L Dustin (Eds.), The Immune Synapse: Methods and Protocols, (pp. 231-258). New York: Springer. [More Information]

2016

  • Ju, L., Chen, Z., Xue, L., Du, X., Zhu, W. (2016). Cooperative unfolding of distinctive mechanoreceptor domains transduces force into signals. eLife, 5, 1-24. [More Information]

2015

  • Chen, Y., Liu, B., Ju, L., Hong, J., Ji, Q., Chen, W., Zhu, C. (2015). Fluorescence biomembrane force probe: Concurrent quantitation of receptor-ligand kinetics and binding-induced intracellular signaling on a single cell. Journal of Visualized Experiments, August 2015(102), 1-13. [More Information]
  • Ju, L., Lou, J., Chen, Y., Li, Z., Zhu, C. (2015). Force-Induced Unfolding of Leucine-Rich Repeats of Glycoprotein Ibalpha Strengthens Ligand Interaction. Biophysical Journal, 109(9), 1781-1784. [More Information]
  • Samson, A., Ju, L., Ah KIm, H., Zhang, S., Maclean, J., Sturgeon, S., Sobey, C., Jackson, S., Schoenwaelder, S. (2015). MouseMove: an open source program for semi-automated analysis of movement and cognitive testing in rodents. Scientific Reports, 5, 1-11. [More Information]
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