# Jianping Fu
**Jianping Fu**
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Mechanobiology, microfluidics, stem-cell, and embryo models[2](https://bme.umich.edu/people/fu-jianping/) |
| Signature work | 2010 Nature Methods paper on geometrically modulated elastomeric substrates, first author[3](https://news.umich.edu/new-insights-into-how-stem-cells-determine-what-tissue-to-become/) |
| Best-known recent work | First full stem-cell model of the early human central nervous system, Nature, February 2024, corresponding author[4](https://news.umich.edu/human-stem-cells-coaxed-to-mimic-the-very-early-central-nervous-system/) |
| Service | [1](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/pdf/CV_web.pdf) |
| Fellowships | AAAS, AIMBE, RSC, ASME, IAMBE, and BMES[5](https://events.umich.edu/event/146731) |
## Education and career
Fu received a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the [University of Science and Technology of China](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-science-and-technology-of-china) in 2000 and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 2002.[2](https://bme.umich.edu/people/fu-jianping/)
According to his University of Michigan research portal profile, he is a member of the Center for Cell Plasticity and Organ Design and the Weil Institute for Critical Care Research.[6](https://experts.umich.edu/1250-jianping-fu/grants)
## Representative work
According to a University of Michigan News report, his 2010 *Nature Methods* paper "Mechanical regulation of cell function with geometrically modulated elastomeric substrates" ([doi:10.1038/nmeth.1487 on which he was first author in [Christopher Chen](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-chen)'s group at Penn with support from the NIH and the AHA, showed that substrate stiffness alone can direct stem-cell fate. The work was conducted in Christopher S. Chen's bioengineering group at Penn and supported by the NIH and the [American Heart Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-heart-association).[3](https://news.umich.edu/new-insights-into-how-stem-cells-determine-what-tissue-to-become/)
Later work built on that mechanobiological foundation. His group's 2018 *Nature Materials* paper on mechanics-guided embryonic patterning of neuroectoderm from human pluripotent stem cells extended geometric and mechanical control into models of early human development, and his research on stem cell-based embryo models includes publications in *Nature Materials* (2017), *Nature Communications* (2017), and *Nature* (2019).[7](https://isscr2024.eventscribe.net/ajaxcalls/presenterInfo.asp?PresenterId=1812976)
## Microfluidic platforms for stem-cell differentiation
The platform behind the 2010 result was an array of "microposts," hair-like projections made of the elastic polymer polydimethylsiloxane. Adjusting the height of the posts adjusted the rigidity of the surface: human mesenchymal stem cells grown on the scaffold differentiated into bone on stiffer regions and into fat on more flexible ones.[3](https://news.umich.edu/new-insights-into-how-stem-cells-determine-what-tissue-to-become/) Differentiation could be predicted as early as day 1 of culturing, the first demonstration of such early prediction.[3](https://news.umich.edu/new-insights-into-how-stem-cells-determine-what-tissue-to-become/)
The same microengineering logic, applied with fluidic gradients rather than mechanical ones, produces patterned tissue models. In the laboratory's integrated approach, micro/nanoengineering, and genetic and synthetic biology tools are combined with mechanobiology, stem cell biology, and developmental biology.[8](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/)
## Human embryo and neural tube models
In February 2024, a team from the University of Michigan, the [Weizmann Institute of Science](https://www.edgepedia.org/weizmann-institute-of-science), and the University of Pennsylvania reported in *Nature* the first stem cell culture method that produces a full model of the early stages of the human central nervous system, with Fu as corresponding author.[4](https://news.umich.edu/human-stem-cells-coaxed-to-mimic-the-very-early-central-nervous-system/) The human pluripotent stem cell-based, microfluidic neural tube-like structure recapitulates neural patterning along both the rostral–caudal and dorsal–ventral axes in a three-dimensional tubular geometry, something prior organoid and bioengineered models failed to achieve; the University of Michigan release states that no previous model had reproduced all three sections of the embryonic brain and spinal cord simultaneously.[9](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07204-7) • [4](https://news.umich.edu/human-stem-cells-coaxed-to-mimic-the-very-early-central-nervous-system/) The structure was used to study neuronal lineage development, revealing pre-patterning of axial identities of neural crest progenitors and functional roles for neuromesodermal progenitors and the caudal gene CDX2 in spinal cord and trunk neural crest development.[9](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07204-7) The team also developed dorsal–ventral patterned, forebrain-like structures mimicking development of the human pallium and subpallium.[9](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07204-7)
The embryo models from the group recapitulate key developmental landmarks, including amniotic cavity formation, amniotic ectoderm-epiblast patterning, primordial germ cell specification, germ layer organization, yolk sac formation, and primitive hematopoiesis.[5](https://events.umich.edu/event/146731)
## Honors, service and recognition
He is an elected Fellow of AAAS, AIMBE, the Royal Society of Chemistry, ASME, IAMBE, and BMES.[5](https://events.umich.edu/event/146731)
## Recent developments
The period since 2023 has been prolific. In 2024, alongside the Nature neural tube model, Fu co-authored "Toward developing human organs via embryo models and chimeras" in *Cell* (vol. 187, pp. 3194–3219),[1](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/pdf/CV_web.pdf) a review of the rapid progress of stem cell-based embryo models and interspecies chimeras.[10](https://me.engin.umich.edu/news-events/news/jianping-fu-discusses-rapid-progress-towards-regenerative-medicine/) The same year brought a human pluripotent stem cell-based somitogenesis model using microfluidics in *Cell Stem Cell* (vol. 31, pp. 1113–1126).[1](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/pdf/CV_web.pdf) In 2026 the lab published a transgene-free human peri-gastrulation embryo model presenting trilaminar embryonic disc-, amnion-, and yolk sac-like structures in *Nature Cell Biology* (vol. 28).[8](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/) An NIH grant supporting "A Fully Patterned Human Neural Tube Model Using Microfluidics" runs from 15 August 2023 to 31 May 2028.[6](https://experts.umich.edu/1250-jianping-fu/grants) The laboratory's current themes include modeling early post-implantation development, modeling neurodevelopment, mechanobiology of pluripotent stem cells, and cell mechanics, and mechanotransduction.[8](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/)
## References
1. [Jianping Fu, Curriculum Vitae (Integrated Biosystems and Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Michigan)](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/pdf/CV_web.pdf)
2. [Jianping Fu, Ph.D., University of Michigan Biomedical Engineering faculty page](https://bme.umich.edu/people/fu-jianping/)
3. [New insights into how stem cells determine what tissue to become, University of Michigan News](https://news.umich.edu/new-insights-into-how-stem-cells-determine-what-tissue-to-become/)
4. [Human stem cells coaxed to mimic the very early central nervous system, University of Michigan News](https://news.umich.edu/human-stem-cells-coaxed-to-mimic-the-very-early-central-nervous-system/)
5. [Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series, speaker bio, University of Michigan Events](https://events.umich.edu/event/146731)
6. [Jianping Fu, University of Michigan research portal](https://experts.umich.edu/1250-jianping-fu/grants)
7. [Jianping Fu, ISSCR 2024 Annual Meeting presenter bio](https://isscr2024.eventscribe.net/ajaxcalls/presenterInfo.asp?PresenterId=1812976)
8. [Integrated Biosystems and Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Michigan](https://me-web.engin.umich.edu/ibbl/)
9. [A patterned human neural tube model using microfluidic gradients, Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07204-7)
10. [Jianping Fu discusses rapid progress towards regenerative medicine, Michigan Engineering](https://me.engin.umich.edu/news-events/news/jianping-fu-discusses-rapid-progress-towards-regenerative-medicine/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineers and computer scientists › Engineers and materials scientists › Researchers in bioengineering, synthetic biology, DNA nanotechnology, and biomedical devices › Lab-on-a-chip and microfluidics*
*Initially written Sep 20, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license