About

Mingming Wu is a Professor and the Principal Investigator of the Biofluidics Lab at Cornell University, with an office located in Riley Robb Hall. She is a field member of several departments including Biological and Environmental Engineering, Biophysics, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. Her research group focuses on understanding the physical and biological mechanisms underlying cancer cell invasion, tumor microenvironments, and chemotaxis using microfluidic devices and dynamic imaging techniques. The lab investigates how factors such as sugar glycation of the 3D collagen extracellular matrix (ECM) and compressive forces influence tumor cell and tumor spheroid invasion, as well as the role of chemokines in cancer cell chemoinvasion within ECM microenvironments. The group also explores the mechanical changes to the extracellular matrix induced by radiation and their effects on immune cell function in tumor elimination. Through these interdisciplinary approaches, Professor Wu's lab aims to advance the understanding of tumor metastasis and cancer progression by integrating principles from biofluidics, biological flows, and fluid instability.

Research topics

• Composite material
• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Organic chemistry
• Anatomy
• Biochemistry
• Environmental chemistry
• Medicine
• Chemical engineering
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Pathology
• Ecology
• Cell biology
• Biomedical engineering
• Environmental science

Selected publications

• Near-ambient temperature synthesis of NaA zeolite membranes towards high-efficiency ethanol dehydration pervaporation and ammonia separation

  Journal of Membrane Science · 2026-03-19

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Direct genome-scale screening of Gluconobacter oxydans B58 for rare earth element bioleaching

  Communications Biology · 2025-04-29 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  The transition to a sustainable energy economy will require an enormous increase in the supply of rare earth elements (REEs). Bioleaching offers a promising alternative to conventional hydrometallurgical methods for REE extraction from low-grade ores. However, exploiting this potential remains challenging due to large gaps in our understanding of the genetics involved, and inadequate biological tools to address them. We generated a highly non-redundant whole-genome knockout collection for the bioleaching microbe Gluconobacter oxydans B58, reducing redundancy by 85% compared to the previous best collection. This new collection was directly screened for bioleaching neodymium from a synthetic monazite powder, identifying 89 genes important for bioleaching, 68 of which have not previously been associated with this mechanism. We conducted bench-scale experiments to validate the extraction efficiency of promising strains: 8 demonstrated significant increases in extraction by up to 111% (δGO_1598, disruption of the gene encoding the orotate phosphoribosyltransferase enzyme PyrE), and one strain significantly reduced it by 97% (δGO_1096, disruption of the gene encoding the GTP-binding protein TypA). Notable changes in pH were only observed for 3 strains, suggesting an important role for non-acid mechanisms in bioleaching. These findings provide valuable insights into further enhancing REE-bioleaching by G. oxydans through genetic engineering.

  PublisherDOI

• Supercritical ethane processing of ZIF-71 membrane towards superior H2/SF6 separation

  Journal of Membrane Science · 2025-10-21 · 1 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• Motion-robust proton density fat fraction and T2* mapping in supraclavicular adipose tissue using radial stack-of-stars imaging

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  article

  Motivation: The supraclavicular (SCV) fossa, potentially containing brown adipose tissue, is an interesting target for metabolic studies. However, residual respiratory motion can induce B0 fluctuations, complicating MRI measurements. Goal(s): To compare proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and T2* mapping precision using cartesian and radial acquisitions. Approach: Simulations and repeated in vivo scans were performed with both cartesian and radial acquisition techniques. Results: Radial acquisitions demonstrated fewer artifacts and produced more stable PDFF and T2* maps compared to cartesian acquisitions. Impact: Our analysis provides evidence that choosing a radial stack-of-stars acquisition over cartesian sampling improves precision of proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and T2* mapping. This potentially improves investigation of dynamic changes in brown adipose in an activation paradigm.

  PublisherDOI

• Microstructure Optimization of the MIP-177-LT Membrane for Highly Efficient Uranium Separation from Seawater

  Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research · 2025-06-27 · 1 citations

  article

  Although it has been valued as a major chemical separation technology to change the world, high-efficiency separation of UO22+ from seawater remains a pivotal challenge to date. In this study, we prepared a c-oriented MIP-177-LT membrane on a tubular substrate through epitaxial growth. Benefiting from 11 Å sized pores along the c axis, the rejection rate of UO22+ ions reached 98.3%, which was much higher than those of other metal ions (e.g., 4–6% for Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+; 41% for Fe3+). Through combination with 3 Å sized channels along the b axis, the water permeance reached as high as 63.4 L·m–2·h–1·bar–1, revealing great potential in practical uranium separation from seawater.

  PublisherDOI

• Author response for "A microfluidic rheometer for tumor mechanics and invasion studies"

  2025-07-17

  peer-reviewSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• In situ synthesis of ultrathin MOF-808 membranes exhibiting superior antibiotic desalination

  Journal of Membrane Science · 2025-03-17 · 5 citations

  article1st author
  PublisherDOI

• The influence mechanism of radiation shielding functional ceramsite on the performance and microstructure of UHPC

  Case Studies in Construction Materials · 2025-05-23 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  With the widespread application of nuclear energy technology, there is a growing demand for radiation-shielding building materials. Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) stands out among many building materials for its superior mechanical properties and durability, but the issues of its significant shrinkage and insufficient radiation-shielding performance remain unresolved. This study explores the impact of radiation-shielding functional aggregate (RSFA), a form of barium aluminosilicate ceramsite, on the mechanical properties, durability, and microstructure of UHPC. The shielding effectiveness against gamma and neutron radiation was evaluated using the XCom program. The results show that the mechanical properties of UHPC decreases with the substitution of RSFA for ilmenite sand. When the replacement of RSFA is 70%, the strength of UHPC can still reach 121.2 MPa. The addition of RSFA enhances chloride resistance, carbonation resistance, and impermeability. Microstructural analysis revealed that the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) around RSFA exhibits a dense structure with superior micro-mechanical properties. At a replacement level of 50%, RSFA effectively demonstrates its internal curing effects. The gamma-ray shielding performance of UHPC decreases with the incorporation of RSFA, which can be predicted through XCom calculations. The neutron shielding performance of UHPC is enhanced by the addition of RSFA. However, the effective neutron removal cross-section calculations and experimental results yielded opposing outcomes, indicating that the neutron absorption behavior of UHPC is complex and requires further research.

  PublisherDOI

• Eliminating lattice defects in UiO-66-NH2 membrane towards high-precision desalination

  Advanced Membranes · 2025-01-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Zirconium-based MOF membranes exhibit significant potential in energy-efficient desalination. Nevertheless, framework defect elimination, which represents an effective protocol to enhance their molecular sieving capacity and operation stability, remains highly challenging to date. In this study, we proposed a framework defect patching strategy to prepare robust UiO-66-NH 2 membrane with Zr 6 O 4 (OH) 4 (OAc) 12 cluster source towards high-efficiency desalination. Ion sieving results indicated that increasing reaction temperature and ratio of ligand to Zr 6 O 4 (OH) 4 (OAc) 12 cluster contributed to framework defect elimination. UiO-66-NH 2 membranes prepared under optimized conditions exhibited superior metal ion rejection rate (Al 3+ : 97.7 ​%) and operation stability over 20 days. Particularly, their water/NaCl separation performance well exceeded majority of reported polycrystalline 3D membranes, offering promising prospects for modulating molecular diffusion kinetics in MOF pores.

  PublisherDOI

• Harmful algal bloom species <i>Microcystis aeruginosa</i> releases thiamin antivitamins to suppress competitors

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-04-17

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract In environmental ecosystems, vitamin concentrations are often exceedingly low (1, 2) and auxotrophy, or reliance on exogenous vitamin or vitamin precursors, is widespread (3–5). We show here that the widespread harmful algal bloom (HAB) species Microcystis aeruginosa, threatening freshwater aquatic ecosystems globally, releases a complex mixture of thiamin antivitamins, including bacimethrin and methoxythiamin, which induce thiamin deficiency in the benign model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . Putative biosynthetic genes for bacimethrin were upregulated in M. aeruginosa when grown in co-culture resulting in greater production of bacimethrin. Bacimethrin, methoxythiamin, oxidized forms of thiamin and methoxythiamin, and a novel structural homolog of bacimethrin were all found at elevated levels in the co-culture exometabolome extracts and were all inhibitory to the growth of C. reinhardtii individually at very low concentrations and as a mixture in culture medium extracts. The thiamin-requiring mutant C. reinhardtii , CC-25, was much more sensitive to bacimethrin and methoxythiamin than the wildtype. Thiamin addition largely rescued the inhibitory effects of exposure to antivitamins in both the wildtype and mutant strain. Finally, we determined that bacimethrin is present in aquatic environments and is elevated during Microcystis blooms. Thus, allelopathic suppression of competitors, particularly those that are auxotrophic for thiamin, by M. aeruginosa via the production of antivitamins in environments where thiamin availability is low, could help this species to become dominant and form blooms.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• A 4D Traction Force Microscope for the mapping of cellular mechanical stresses

  NIH · $311k · 2010–2013

• Microfluidic platform for solid tumor mechanics and invasion

  NIH · $3.4M · 2017–2027

• A 4D Traction Force Microscope for the mapping of cellular mechanical stresses

  NIH · $183k · 2010–2014

• "Physical and Chemical Cues that Guide Sperm Migration"

  NIH · $880k · 2012–2016

• A 3D microfluidic platform for quantitative assessments of tumor cell migration

  NIH · $347k · 2010–2012

Frequent coauthors

• Changshun Ruan

  Chongqing University

  76 shared

• Yi Liu

  Dalian University

  62 shared

• Taotao Ji

  Dalian University

  57 shared

• Jiahui Yan

  Dalian University of Technology

  53 shared

• Yanwei Sun

  39 shared

• Haobo Pan

  Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology

  36 shared

• Wenjing Hu

  Southeast University

  32 shared

• Shengyan Meng

  Dalian University

  28 shared

Labs

• Biofluidics LabPI

  The Biofluidics Lab conducts research on various aspects of fluid dynamics and their applications in biology and medicine.

Education

• PhD, Physics

  Ohio State University

  1992