Chaoqun Dong
220 S.W. Mudd
Mail Code 4703
Chaoqun Dong’s research focuses on developing soft intelligent bioelectronics for advanced neural interfaces. By integrating innovations in functional materials and soft robotic actuators with bioelectronics, Dong creates soft multifunctional devices that can morph their shape and sense conditions within the human body. The devices enable intimate, adjustable, and minimally invasive neural interfaces and high-precision, closed-loop neuromodulation. Her interdisciplinary research brings together techniques from materials science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, microengineering, and neural engineering.
Research Interests
SOFT FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, BIOELECTRONIC MEDICINE, NEURAL INTERFACES, SOFT ROBOTICS AND ACTUATORS, BIOMATERIALS, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, BIOSENSORSNeurological conditions, such as epilepsy, brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, are the leading causes of disability and premature death. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these disorders affect 1 in 3 people worldwide, creating an urgent need for new treatments. Dong is tackling this challenge by developing soft, implantable neuroelectronic devices with sensing and actuation capabilities. These devices reduce invasiveness and foreign body response, making neural interfaces safer and more effective. Ultimately, her work aims to translate advancements in neuroelectronics into improved understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological disorders.
Dong received her Ph.D. in the Institute of Materials from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2021, where she developed soft fibers and smart textiles capable of energy harvesting, self-powered mechanical sensing and microfluidic sensing. She then joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Cambridge as a postdoc fellow. She was awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Early Postdoc Mobility Fellowship in 2021 and a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2023. At Cambridge, she pioneered the combination of electrochemical actuators with bioelectronics. She achieved implantable nerve cuffs that can change shape and wrap around nerves at voltages below 1 V, eliminating the need for surgical sutures or adhesives in nerve interfaces.