Dan Luo
Professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering
Dan Luo is a Professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. He works with DNA and RNA as both generic and genetic materials.
Education
Doctorate
The Ohio State University
1997
Bachelor of Science
University of Science and Technology of China
1989
Recent Research
Nucleic acids play a critical role in living organisms as the carriers of genetic information. The Luo Lab has been using DNA as a true polymer and has developed generic DNA materials, including tree-shaped DNA, DNA gels, and DNA-nanoparticle hybrid assemblies. With these novel DNA materials, Professor Luo’s group is exploring real-world applications from biology to materials in diagnostics, pharmaceutics, protein production, drug delivery, cell culture, and optoelectronics.
Awards & Honors
- Cornell Outstanding Educator for having most influenced a Merrill Presidential Scholar (2015) Cornell University
- College Fellow (2013) American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering
- Outstanding Accomplishments in Basic Research (2012) Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Diagnostics Award recipient (2011) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Plenary speaker, 2nd Nano Today Conference (2011) Nano Today
Courses Taught
Professor Luo’s teaching emphasizes active learning, and students are exposed to real-world problems and solutions. His current course is BEE 7600 Nucleic Acid Engineering, where students learn the structure-property-function relationship of nucleic acids.
- ENGRI 1337: Introduction to Biological Engineering
- BEE 5951: Master of Engineering Design Project
- BME 5920: Performance of Design Project
- BEE 4990: Undergraduate Research
Contact Information
211 Riley-Robb Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
dl79 [at] cornell.edu
Dan in the news

News
The Cornell China Center (CCC) has announced six new grant awards, totaling $140,000, to support research by Cornell faculty teams partnering with researchers in China.
- School of Integrative Plant Science
- Plant Biology Section
- Biological and Environmental Engineering

Multimedia
News
Watch this video about how Cornell researchers are developing biodegradable plastics and gels by using DNA from fish, onions, algae and other organic matter.
- Biological and Environmental Engineering
- Plants
- Biology