Dr Wenyi Gu
Dr

Wenyi Gu

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 64168

Background

Dr. Wenyi Gu’s early education was conducted in China which include his undergraduate and master’s degrees in veterinary medicine. In 1996, he migrated to Australia and pursued his PhD study in biochemistry & molecular biology at the Australian National University (ANU). After a short period of work at John Curtin Medical School ANU as a junior scientist, he moved to Brisbane in 2001 for his post-doc at the University of Queensland and currently a post-doctoral research fellow at AIBN. He held a Peter Doherty Fellowship (2006-2009) and was further supported by NHMRC to spend 7 months at Harvard University as a visiting fellow in 2008. Since his post-doctoral research he has been working in the area of using RNAi to treat viral diseases and cancers. He also has a strong background in immunology and vaccine development.

Availability

Dr Wenyi Gu is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Biochemistry and cell biology Biological Sciences Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Cancer therapy (excl. chemotherapy and radiation therapy) Cell development, proliferation and death Clinical sciences Gene and molecular therapy Gene expression (incl. microarray and other genome-wide approaches) Genetics Immunology Infectious diseases Medical biochemistry - nucleic acids Medical biochemistry and metabolomics Medical biotechnology Medical microbiology Medical molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins Microbiology Molecular targets Nanobiotechnology Nanomaterials Oncology and carcinogenesis Solid tumours Tumour immunology Virology

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University

Research interests

  • Rational design and delivery of small RNAs for effective cancer gene therapies

    Major research focus is on RNA interference (RNAi) based gene therapy and cancer therapy. Closely associated with this focus, research areas such as oncogenes, cancer stem cells, targeted delivery systems, cancer cell biomarkers, and cancer immunotherapy are also covered. My recent research is more concentrated on RNAi delivery with nano-particles and on identifying therapeutic targets for cancer stem cells and exploring novel therapeutic approaches including using small RNAs or chemotherapeutic drugs or nature compounds to inhibit cancer stem cell growth.

Research impacts

Dr. Gu's research focus is on RNA interference (RNAi) based gene therapy and cancer therapy. Closely associated with this focus, he also interests in subjects such as oncogenes, cancer stem cells, targeted delivery, cancer cell biomarkers, and cancer immunotherapy. His recent research more focuses on RNAi delivery with nano-particles and on identifying therapeutic targets for cancer stem cells and exploring novel therapeutic approaches to inhibit cancer stem cell growth. His discovery that RNAi induces immunity to tumour antigens has led to a whole new field of biomedical research – that is the relationship between RNAi and acquired immune responses, and the role of RNAi techniques as specific and effective vaccine development tools for cancers and other diseases. This discovery has not only underpinned a high quality publication in PNAS USA but also an international patent that has been licensed by the world’s largest RNAi company, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals USA. Building on this, his recent research confirms that RNAi therapy has a profound effect on cancer stem cells (Gu et al 2011). More recently, he worked with his colleagues on RNAi therapy on osteoarthritis, which led to a high quality paper published by Nature Communication.

Search Professor Wenyi Gu’s works on UQ eSpace

139 works between 2003 and 2025
All (139) Journal Article (132) Book Chapter (3) Conference Publication (3) Other Outputs (1)

21 - 40 of 139 works

2023

Journal Article

17‐β‐estradiol reduces surface PD‐L1 expression in estrogen receptor‐positive breast cancer but not type 1 endometrial cancer cells

Li, Hongzhuo, Gu, Wenyi, Jeffery, Penny and Chen, Chen (2023). 17‐β‐estradiol reduces surface PD‐L1 expression in estrogen receptor‐positive breast cancer but not type 1 endometrial cancer cells. Clinical and Translational Medicine, 13 (7) e1330, e1330. doi: 10.1002/ctm2.1330

17‐β‐estradiol reduces surface PD‐L1 expression in estrogen receptor‐positive breast cancer but not type 1 endometrial cancer cells

2023

Journal Article

Delivery of miR-34a-5p by folic acid-modified β-cyclodextrin-grafted polyethylenimine copolymer nanocarriers to resist KSHV

Li, Fangling, Cao, Dongdong, Gu, Wenyi, Cui, Lin, Qiu, Zhongpeng, Liu, Zhiyong, Li, Dongmei and Guo, Xuhong (2023). Delivery of miR-34a-5p by folic acid-modified β-cyclodextrin-grafted polyethylenimine copolymer nanocarriers to resist KSHV. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 6 (12), 10826-10836. doi: 10.1021/acsanm.3c02162

Delivery of miR-34a-5p by folic acid-modified β-cyclodextrin-grafted polyethylenimine copolymer nanocarriers to resist KSHV

2023

Journal Article

Bioinformatics-based identification of CircRNA-MicroRNA-mRNA network for calcific aortic valve disease

Song, Linghong, Wang, Yubing, Feng, Yufei, Peng, Hao, Wang, Chengyan, Duan, Juncang, Liu, Kejian, Shen, Xihua, Gu, Wenyi, Qi, Yan, Jin, Shan and Pang, Lijuan (2023). Bioinformatics-based identification of CircRNA-MicroRNA-mRNA network for calcific aortic valve disease. Genetics Research, 2023 8194338, 1-12. doi: 10.1155/2023/8194338

Bioinformatics-based identification of CircRNA-MicroRNA-mRNA network for calcific aortic valve disease

2023

Journal Article

Parthenolide inhibits proliferation of cells infected with Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus by suppression of the NF-κB signaling pathway

Li, Ying, Xu, Huiling, Tan, Xiaohua, Cui, Qinghua, Gu, Wenyi, Pan, Zemin, Yang, Lei, Wu, Shuyuan, Wang, Xiaolu and Li, Dongmei (2023). Parthenolide inhibits proliferation of cells infected with Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus by suppression of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Archives of Virology, 168 (2) 39, 39. doi: 10.1007/s00705-022-05626-0

Parthenolide inhibits proliferation of cells infected with Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus by suppression of the NF-κB signaling pathway

2022

Journal Article

RGD-coated polymer nanoworms for enriching cancer stem cells

Gu, Yushu, Bobrin, Valentin, Zhang, Dayong, Sun, Bing, Ng, Chun Ki, Chen, Sung-Po R., Gu, Wenyi and Monteiro, Michael J. (2022). RGD-coated polymer nanoworms for enriching cancer stem cells. Cancers, 15 (1) 234, 234. doi: 10.3390/cancers15010234

RGD-coated polymer nanoworms for enriching cancer stem cells

2022

Journal Article

Emodin inhibits invasion and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via regulating autophagy-mediated degradation of snail and β-catenin

Qin, Binyu, Zeng, Zhili, Xu, Jianliang, Shangwen, Jing, Ye, Zeng Jie, Wang, Shutang, Wu, Yanheng, Peng, Gongfeng, Wang, Qi, Gu, Wenyi and Tang, Ying (2022). Emodin inhibits invasion and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via regulating autophagy-mediated degradation of snail and β-catenin. BMC Cancer, 22 (1) 671, 1-17. doi: 10.1186/s12885-022-09684-0

Emodin inhibits invasion and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via regulating autophagy-mediated degradation of snail and β-catenin

2022

Journal Article

Inhibition of colon cancer K-RasG13D mutation reduces cancer cell proliferation but promotes stemness and inflammation via RAS/ERK pathway

Qi, Yan, Zou, Hong, Zhao, XiaoHui, Kapeleris, Joanna, Monteiro, Michael, Li, Feng, Xu, Zhi Ping, Deng, Yizhen, Wu, Yanheng, Tang, Ying and Gu, Wenyi (2022). Inhibition of colon cancer K-RasG13D mutation reduces cancer cell proliferation but promotes stemness and inflammation via RAS/ERK pathway. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13 996053, 1-16. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.996053

Inhibition of colon cancer K-RasG13D mutation reduces cancer cell proliferation but promotes stemness and inflammation via RAS/ERK pathway

2022

Journal Article

Integrated microarray for identifying the hub mRNAs and constructed miRNA-mRNA network in coronary in-stent restenosis

Song, Linghong, Feng, Yufei, Tian, Feng, Liu, Xiaoang, Jin, Shan, Wang, Chengyan, Tang, Wuyue, Duan, Juncang, Guo, Na, Shen, Xihua, Hu, Jianming, Zou, Hong, Gu, Wenyi, Liu, Kejian and Pang, Lijuan (2022). Integrated microarray for identifying the hub mRNAs and constructed miRNA-mRNA network in coronary in-stent restenosis. Physiological Genomics, 54 (10), 371-379. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00089.2021

Integrated microarray for identifying the hub mRNAs and constructed miRNA-mRNA network in coronary in-stent restenosis

2022

Journal Article

PD-L1-targeted co-delivery of two chemotherapeutics for efficient suppression of skin cancer growth

Movahedi, Fatemeh, Liu, Jie, Sun, Bing, Cao, Pei, Sun, Luyao, Howard, Christopher, Gu, Wenyi and Xu, Zhi Ping (2022). PD-L1-targeted co-delivery of two chemotherapeutics for efficient suppression of skin cancer growth. Pharmaceutics, 14 (7) 1488, 1488. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14071488

PD-L1-targeted co-delivery of two chemotherapeutics for efficient suppression of skin cancer growth

2022

Journal Article

miR-34a-5p inhibits the malignant progression of KSHV-infected SH-SY5Y cells by targeting c-fos

Wu, Shuyuan, Wu, Zhaofu, Xu, Huiling, Zhang, Jinli, Gu, Wenyi, Tan, Xiaohua, Pan, Zemin, Cao, Dongdong, Li, Dongmei, Yang, Lei, Li, Dongmei and Pan, Yuanming (2022). miR-34a-5p inhibits the malignant progression of KSHV-infected SH-SY5Y cells by targeting c-fos. PeerJ, 10 e13233, e13233. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13233

miR-34a-5p inhibits the malignant progression of KSHV-infected SH-SY5Y cells by targeting c-fos

2021

Journal Article

Prognostic and therapeutic TILs of cervical cancer—current advances and future perspectives

Tang, Ying, Zhang, Anne X. J., Chen, Guangyu, Wu, Yanheng and Gu, Wenyi (2021). Prognostic and therapeutic TILs of cervical cancer—current advances and future perspectives. Molecular Therapy - Oncolytics, 22, 410-430. doi: 10.1016/j.omto.2021.07.006

Prognostic and therapeutic TILs of cervical cancer—current advances and future perspectives

2021

Journal Article

Water-borne nanocoating for rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses

Bobrin, Valentin A., Chen, Sung-Po, Grandes Reyes, Carlos Fitzgerald, Sun, Bing, Ng, Chun Ki, Kim, Youry, Purcell, Damian, Jia, Zhongfan, Gu, Wenyi, Armstrong, Jason W., McAuley, Julie and Monteiro, Michael J. (2021). Water-borne nanocoating for rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. ACS Nano, 15 (9), 14915-14927. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.1c05075

Water-borne nanocoating for rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses

2021

Journal Article

ATP stabilised and sensitised calcium phosphate nanoparticles as effective adjuvants for a DNA vaccine against cancer

Sun, Bing, Zhao, Xiaohui, Gu, Wenxi, Cao, Pei, Movahedi, Fatemeh, Wu, Yanheng, Xu, Zhi Ping and Gu, Wenyi (2021). ATP stabilised and sensitised calcium phosphate nanoparticles as effective adjuvants for a DNA vaccine against cancer. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 9 (36), 7435-7446. doi: 10.1039/d1tb01408k

ATP stabilised and sensitised calcium phosphate nanoparticles as effective adjuvants for a DNA vaccine against cancer

2021

Journal Article

Mechanisms of cancer stem cell senescence: current understanding and future perspectives

Zhang, Da‐yong, Monteiro, Michael J., Liu, Jun‐Ping and Gu, Wen‐yi (2021). Mechanisms of cancer stem cell senescence: current understanding and future perspectives. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 48 (9) 1440-1681.13528, 1185-1202. doi: 10.1111/1440-1681.13528

Mechanisms of cancer stem cell senescence: current understanding and future perspectives

2021

Journal Article

Encapsulating anti-parasite benzimidazole drugs into lipid-coated calcium phosphate nanoparticles to efficiently induce skin cancer cell apoptosis

Movahedi, Fatemeh, Gu, Wenyi, Soares, Christiane Pienna and Xu, Zhi Ping (2021). Encapsulating anti-parasite benzimidazole drugs into lipid-coated calcium phosphate nanoparticles to efficiently induce skin cancer cell apoptosis. Frontiers in Nanotechnology, 3 693837. doi: 10.3389/fnano.2021.693837

Encapsulating anti-parasite benzimidazole drugs into lipid-coated calcium phosphate nanoparticles to efficiently induce skin cancer cell apoptosis

2021

Journal Article

Cytokine-induced killer cells/dendritic cells and cytokine-induced killer cells immunotherapy for the treatment of esophageal cancer: a meta-analysis

Yuan, Xin, Zhang, An Zhi, Ren, Yi Lin, Wang, Xue Li, Jiang, Chen Hao, Yang, Lan, Liu, Chun Xia, Liang, Wei Hua, Pang, Li Juan, Gu, Wen Yi, Li, Feng and Hu, Jian Ming (2021). Cytokine-induced killer cells/dendritic cells and cytokine-induced killer cells immunotherapy for the treatment of esophageal cancer: a meta-analysis. Medicine, 100 (13) e24519, 1-13. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000024519

Cytokine-induced killer cells/dendritic cells and cytokine-induced killer cells immunotherapy for the treatment of esophageal cancer: a meta-analysis

2021

Journal Article

Mannose-functionalized biodegradable nanoparticles efficiently deliver DNA vaccine and promote anti-tumor immunity

Sun, Bing, Zhao, Xiaohui, Wu, Yanheng, Cao, Pei, Movahedi, Fatemeh, Liu, Jie, Wang, Jingjing, Xu, Zhi Ping and Gu, Wenyi (2021). Mannose-functionalized biodegradable nanoparticles efficiently deliver DNA vaccine and promote anti-tumor immunity. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 13 (12), 14015-14027. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c01401

Mannose-functionalized biodegradable nanoparticles efficiently deliver DNA vaccine and promote anti-tumor immunity

2021

Journal Article

Calcium-bisphosphonate nanoparticle platform as a prolonged nanodrug and bone-targeted delivery system for bone diseases and cancers

Lin, Yanling, Villacanas, Maria G., Zou, Hong, Liu, Hangrui, Carcedo, Ines G., Wu, Yilun, Sun, Bing, Wu, Xiaoxin, Prasadam, Indira, Monteiro, Michael J., Li, Li, Xu, Zhi Ping and Gu, Wenyi (2021). Calcium-bisphosphonate nanoparticle platform as a prolonged nanodrug and bone-targeted delivery system for bone diseases and cancers. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 4 (3) acsabm.0c01455, 2490-2501. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.0c01455

Calcium-bisphosphonate nanoparticle platform as a prolonged nanodrug and bone-targeted delivery system for bone diseases and cancers

2021

Journal Article

High-efficiency adsorption of tetracycline by cooperation of carbon and iron in a magnetic Fe/porous carbon hybrid with effective Fenton regeneration

Gu, Wenyi, Huang, Xiaoyue, Tian, Yunhao, Cao, Min, Zhou, Liang, Zhou, Yi, Lu, Jian, Lei, Juying, Zhou, Yanbo, Wang, Lingzhi, Liu, Yongdi and Zhang, Jinlong (2021). High-efficiency adsorption of tetracycline by cooperation of carbon and iron in a magnetic Fe/porous carbon hybrid with effective Fenton regeneration. Applied Surface Science, 538 147813, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.147813

High-efficiency adsorption of tetracycline by cooperation of carbon and iron in a magnetic Fe/porous carbon hybrid with effective Fenton regeneration

2021

Journal Article

Synergistic inhibition of drug-resistant colon cancer growth with PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor BEZ235 and nano-emulsioned paclitaxel via reducing multidrug resistance and promoting apoptosis

Hu, Yali, Zhang, Kunpeng, Zhu, Xingyao, Zheng, Xiuyan, Wang, Chao, Niu, Xiao, Jiang, Teng, Ji, Xinhua, Zhao, Weilin, Pang, Lijuan, Qi, Yan, Li, Feng, Li, Li, Xu, Zhiping, Gu, Wenyi and Zou, Hong (2021). Synergistic inhibition of drug-resistant colon cancer growth with PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor BEZ235 and nano-emulsioned paclitaxel via reducing multidrug resistance and promoting apoptosis. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 16, 2173-2186. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S290731

Synergistic inhibition of drug-resistant colon cancer growth with PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor BEZ235 and nano-emulsioned paclitaxel via reducing multidrug resistance and promoting apoptosis

Past funding

  • 2017 - 2018
    Development of immunotherapy for viral-induced cancers
    Guangdong Tophealth Biotechnology Co. Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    Developing a mouse model of spontaneous hepatocyte carcinoma
    UQ Collaboration and Industry Engagement Fund - FirstLink
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    Bio-immunotherapy for cervical cancer
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2016
    siRNA-based Anti-Tumour Immunity
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2012
    Evolution and function of fragmented animal mitochondrial genomes
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Evolution and function of fragmented animal mitochondrial genomes (ARC Discovery Project administered by The University of the Sunshine Coast)
    University of the Sunshine Coast
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2013
    Novel photodynamic therapy for targeted skin cancer treatment: an integrated bionanotechnology
    Cancer Council Queensland
    Open grant
  • 2008
    MicroRNA analysis of cervical cancer HeLa cells resistant to gene silencing of human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 and E7 oncogenes
    NHMRC Travelling Award for Research Training
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2009
    The Role of RNA interference in the induction of immune responses
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2008
    Using siRNA and shRNA as antigen presentationenhancers for anti-tumour immunity
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2009
    Sensitise cervical cancer cells to shRNA-mediated gene silence
    NHMRC Training (Postdoctoral) Fellowship
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Wenyi Gu is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • Identifying therapeutic targets and developing targeted cancer therapies for cancer stem cells

  • Drug delivery with nanotechnology and RNA interference based thearpy

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Roles of surface expression of PD-L1 and the regulation by E2 in human endometrial and breast cancers

    Associate Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Translational meaning of the efficacy of immunotherapies as neoadjuvants to treat Head and Neck cancers.

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Merja Joensuu, Professor Michael Monteiro

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Roles of surface expression of PD-L1 and the regulation by E2 in human endometrial and breast cancers

    Associate Advisor

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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