Hugh Fan worked for
Sarnoff Corporation from 1995 to 2000. In 2000, he became principal scientist at
Aclara Biosciences. In 2003, he joined the
University of Florida (UF) as an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. He was tenured in 2008. Hugh Fan became a full professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2013 and held the position until July 2024, when he became a distinguished professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UF. Hugh Fan has been a member of the UF Health Cancer Center (since 2005) and a member of the Emerging Pathogens Institute (since 2008). He has been an affiliate professor at the Department of Chemistry since 2012 and an affiliate professor at the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering since 2004. He was a
Humboldt Visiting Professor at the Fraunhofer Institute of Biomedical Engineering in 2010, and an
E.T.S. Walton Fellow at the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute at
Dublin City University in 2009. In 2014, Hugh Fan was named a
University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professor.
Research and inventions Hugh Fan is known for his pioneering work in microfluidics in early 1990s which is often credited for helping establish microfluidics as a research field and for popularizing the subject in academia, industry and governmental agencies. His research work spans
microfluidics,
biomedical microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS), sensors,
cancer and
medical diagnostics, and
pathogen and virus detection. Hugh Fan's work has significantly contributed to the development of
lab-on-a-chip technologies and
microfluidic devices for various biomedical applications. He has been working on developing microfluidic devices, which are small, chip-like devices used for medical and scientific purposes. Instead of using
antibodies to capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which are cancer cells found in the blood, he uses special DNA or RNA sequences called
aptamers. These
aptamers can bind specifically to different types of CTCs. By attaching these aptamers to the channels in his microfluidic devices, he could isolate different kinds of CTCs based on the specific aptamers used. This method offers an alternative to using antibodies for detecting and studying cancer cells.
Patents • C. Y. Wu, X. Jiang, M. Pan, J. Lednicky, A. D. Theodore, Z. H. Fan, N. Afshar-Mohajer, “Bioaerosol detection systems and methods of use”, U.S. Patent 11,845,997, 2023. • Z. H. Fan, X. Jiang., T. B. Tilly, J. Lednicky, C-Y. Wu, “Apparatus and Method for Performing Microorganism Detection”, U.S. patent application, 2021/0230533 A1, 2021. • C. Y. Wu, X. Jiang, M. Pan, J. Lednicky, A. D. Theodore, Z. H. Fan, N. Afshar-Mohajer, “Bioaerosol detection systems and methods of use”, U.S. Patent 10,859,473, 2020. • Z. H. Fan, J. Zhang, “Antibody and aptamer ensemble for cell isolation and enrichment”, U.S. Patent 10,466,243 B2, 2019. • Z. H. Fan, K. Jackson, "Apparatuses and methods for high-throughput protein synthesis", U.S. Patent 10,214,713 B2, 2019. • S. E. McBride; S. C. Cherukuri; R. Kumar; J. A. Ladd; Z. H. Fan; B. L. Bentz; P. J. Zanzucchi; “Apparatus for separating molecules”,
US Patent 6,296,752, 2001. • T. L. Fare; Z. H. Fan; P. J. Heaney, “Flow control in microfluidics devices by controlled bubble formation”,
US Patent 5,992,820, 1999. • S. C. Cherukuri; R. R. Demers; Z. H. Fan; A. W. Levine; S. E. McBride; P. J. Zanzucchi, “Method and system for inhibiting cross-contamination in fluids of
combinatorial chemistry device”,
US Patent 5,980,704, 1999. • P. J. Zanzucchi; S. C. Cherukuri; S. E. McBride; R. R. Demers; A. W. Levine; B. J. Thaler; R. L. Quinn; P. L. Braun; W. Chiang; Z. H. Fan; S. A. Lipp; J. R. Matey, “Liquid distribution system”,
US Patent 5,846,396, 1998. • Z. H. Fan; A. W. Levine; S. C. Cherukuri; S. A. Lipp, “Field-assisted sealing”,
US Patent 5,747,169, 1998. • S. C. Cherukuri; R. R. Demers; Z. H. Fan; A. W. Levine; S. E. McBride; P. J. Zanzucchi, “Method and system for inhibiting cross-contamination in fluids of combinatorial chemistry device”,
US Patent 5,603,351, 1997. == Selected publications ==