Pengju Li, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Pengju Li earned his B.Eng. in Materials Science and Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with highest honors. He joined the Ph.D. program in Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago in 2020. Under the mentorship of Prof. Bozhi Tian, his research helped shape the emerging field of photoelectroceuticals—an approach that merges semiconductor physics, electrochemistry, and bioengineering to enable light-controlled bioelectronic modulation. This work opens new pathways for translational neuromodulation and cardiac therapies. As a postdoctoral scholar in the Brangwynne Lab, Pengju is now pivoting toward molecular biology and biophysics, leveraging his background in cell and tissue modulation to investigate intracellular condensates and phase-separation–driven organization. He is interested in elucidating how these phase-separation processes regulate cellular function and dysfunction, and how their dysregulation contributes to aging and disease.