{"620538":{"#nid":"620538","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Younan Xia: 2019 Sigma Xi Sustained Research Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has named \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nanocages.com\/\u0022\u003EYounan Xia\u003C\/a\u003E as the recipient of the 2019 Sigma Xi \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sigmaxi.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-sigma-xi-research-awards\/\u0022\u003ESustained Research Award\u003C\/a\u003E. Xia has joint appointments in three Georgia Tech academic units: the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe award recognizes Xia\u0026rsquo;s sustained outstanding research at the intersection of biomedical research and nanotechnology and the original and important contributions he has made to advance these fields. Among them are gold nanocages for medicine and molecular imaging and electrospun nanofibers for regenerative medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003EGold Nanocages\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGold nanocages are multifunctional materials consisting of single-crystal nanoboxes with empty interiors, porous walls, and unique properties. For example, they have extraordinarily strong absorption and scattering capabilities, which can be optimized to the transparent window of soft tissues. For this reason, gold nanocages are superb contrast agents for imaging tissues by tomography. By incorporating a radioactive isotope (Au-198) in the gold nanocages, Xia enabled their use for real-time, in-vivo imaging.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026ldquo;Xia\u0026rsquo;s research is truly revolutionary and unique, elegantly combining important elements of biomedical engineering, materials sciences, and chemistry and to address some of the key problems faced by our society.\u0026rdquo; \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGold nanocages can also absorb and convert near-infrared light to heat efficiently. When gold nanocages are delivered into a tumor, their ability to heat up when lit by near-IR light offers a way to kill cancer cells. The hollow interiors and porous walls of gold nanocages also make them ideal delivery vehicles for controlled and localized release of therapeutic agents in response to external stimuli such as near-infrared irradiation or high-intensity focused ultrasound.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003EElectrospun Nanofibers\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2002, Xia first demonstrated the use of electrospinning to fabricate composite and ceramic nanofibers. This advance opened a world of opportunities for innovation based on electrospun nanofibers, including their use as scaffolds for regenerative medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENumerous honors and awards reflect the tremendous impact of Xia\u0026rsquo;s research. He received the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/597804\u0022\u003EMaterials Research Society Medal\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/590054\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Outstanding Faculty Research Author Award\u003C\/a\u003E in 2017. In 2014, he was named \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/311561\u0022\u003EFellow of the American Chemical Society\u003C\/a\u003E (ACS) for outstanding contributions to chemistry.\u0026nbsp; The year before, he received the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.acs.org\/content\/acs\/en\/funding-and-awards\/awards\/national\/bytopic\/acs-award-in-the-chemistry-of-materials.html\u0022\u003E 2013 ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/599807\u0022\u003E2017\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/georgia-tech-researchers-2018-highly-cited-researchers-list\u0022\u003E2018\u003C\/a\u003E, Xia was listed among the most highly cited researchers by Clarivate Analytics. He was ranked one of the Top 10 Chemists in the World from 1999\u0026minus;2009 by Times Higher Education, and one of the Top 100 Materials Scientists and Chemists in the World from 2000\u0026minus;2010 by Thomson Reuters.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Xia\u0026rsquo;s research is truly revolutionary and unique, elegantly combining important elements of biomedical engineering, materials sciences, and chemistry and to address some of the key problems faced by our society,\u0026rdquo; a colleague says. \u0026ldquo;He has an outstanding track record in terms of creativity, originality, productivity, quality, sustainability, and external funding.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;I am indebted to my group members, present and former, for their tremendous efforts and dedication to scientific research,\u0026rdquo; Xia says. \u0026ldquo;Over the past 20 some years, I have learned a lot from my interactions with all of them. Many of the research ideas simply originated from our weekly meetings and\/or their unexpected observations during experiments.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Advancing biomedical research and nanotechnology"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has named \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nanocages.com\/\u0022\u003EYounan Xia\u003C\/a\u003E as the recipient of the 2019 Sigma Xi \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sigmaxi.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-sigma-xi-research-awards\/\u0022\u003ESustained Research Award\u003C\/a\u003E. Xia has joint appointments in three Georgia Tech academic units: the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The award recognizes Xia\u0026rsquo;s sustained outstanding research at the intersection of biomedical research and nanotechnology and the original and important contributions he has made to advance these fields.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech recognizes Xia\u2019s sustained outstanding research at the intersection of biomedical research and nanotechnology. "}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2019-04-17 13:55:19","changed_gmt":"2019-04-17 13:57:11","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"620537":{"id":"620537","type":"image","title":"Younan Xia","body":null,"created":"1555508665","gmt_created":"2019-04-17 13:44:25","changed":"1555508665","gmt_changed":"2019-04-17 13:44:25","alt":"","file":{"fid":"236279","name":"2019 Younan Xia.4x5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2019%20Younan%20Xia.4x5.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2019%20Younan%20Xia.4x5.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":137542,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2019%20Younan%20Xia.4x5.jpg?itok=JbO7BKt3"}}},"media_ids":["620537"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/georgia-tech-researchers-2018-highly-cited-researchers-list","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers in 2018 Highly "},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/599807","title":"Georgia Tech Faculty in 2017 Highly Cited Researchers List"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/597804","title":"Younan Xia to Receive 2017 Materials Research Society Medal"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/590054","title":"Younan Xia: Outstanding Faculty Research Author Award"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/311561","title":"Younan Xia Named 2014 Fellow of the American Chemical Society"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"181036","name":"2019 Georgia Tech Awards"},{"id":"181052","name":"Sigma Xi Sustained Research Award"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}