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)

41 - 60 of 139 works

2020

Journal Article

Short-term exposure to ZnO/MCB persistent free radical particles causes mouse lung lesions via inflammatory reactions and apoptosis pathways

Zhang, Xing, Gu, Wenyi, Ma, Zhongliang, Liu, Yun, Ru, Hongbo, Zhou, Jizhi, Zang, Yi, Xu, ZhiPing and Qian, Guangren (2020). Short-term exposure to ZnO/MCB persistent free radical particles causes mouse lung lesions via inflammatory reactions and apoptosis pathways. Environmental Pollution, 261 114039, 114039. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114039

Short-term exposure to ZnO/MCB persistent free radical particles causes mouse lung lesions via inflammatory reactions and apoptosis pathways

2020

Journal Article

Nanostructuring a widely used antiworm drug into the lipid-coated calcium phosphate matrix for enhanced skin tumor treatment

Movahedi, Fatemeh, Wu, Yilun, Gu, Wenyi and Xu, Zhi Ping (2020). Nanostructuring a widely used antiworm drug into the lipid-coated calcium phosphate matrix for enhanced skin tumor treatment. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 3 (7), 4230-4238. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.0c00313

Nanostructuring a widely used antiworm drug into the lipid-coated calcium phosphate matrix for enhanced skin tumor treatment

2020

Journal Article

Therapeutic delivery of polymeric tadpole nanostructures with high selectivity to triple negative breast cancer cells

Bobrin, Valentin A., Lin, Yanling, He, Jianwei, Qi, Yan, Gu, Wenyi and Monteiro, Michael J. (2020). Therapeutic delivery of polymeric tadpole nanostructures with high selectivity to triple negative breast cancer cells. Biomacromolecules, 21 (11) acs.biomac.0c00302, 4457-4468. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c00302

Therapeutic delivery of polymeric tadpole nanostructures with high selectivity to triple negative breast cancer cells

2020

Journal Article

Enhanced prevention of breast tumor metastasis by nanoparticle‐delivered vitamin E in combination with interferon‐gamma

Wu, Yilun, Liu, Jianping, Movahedi, Fatemeh, Gu, Wenyi, Xu, Tiefeng and Xu, Zhi Ping (2020). Enhanced prevention of breast tumor metastasis by nanoparticle‐delivered vitamin E in combination with interferon‐gamma. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 9 (6) 1901706, 1901706. doi: 10.1002/adhm.201901706

Enhanced prevention of breast tumor metastasis by nanoparticle‐delivered vitamin E in combination with interferon‐gamma

2020

Journal Article

Bioinformatics-based screening of key genes for transformation of liver cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma

Jiang, Chen Hao, Yuan, Xin, Li, Jiang Fen, Xie, Yu Fang, Zhang, An Zhi, Wang, Xue Li, Yang, Lan, Liu, Chun Xia, Liang, Wei Hua, Pang, Li Juan, Zou, Hong, Cui, Xiao Bin, Shen, Xi Hua, Qi, Yan, Jiang, Jin Fang, Gu, Wen Yi, Li, Feng and Hu, Jian Ming (2020). Bioinformatics-based screening of key genes for transformation of liver cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma. Journal of Translational Medicine, 18 (1) 40, 40. doi: 10.1186/s12967-020-02229-8

Bioinformatics-based screening of key genes for transformation of liver cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma

2020

Journal Article

Bisphosphonate stabilized calcium phosphate nanoparticles for effective delivery of plasmid DNA to macrophages

Sun, Bing, Gillard, Marianne, Wu, Yanheng, Wu, Peihong, Xu, Zhi Ping and Gu, Wenyi (2020). Bisphosphonate stabilized calcium phosphate nanoparticles for effective delivery of plasmid DNA to macrophages. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 3 (2) acsabm.9b00994, 986-996. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.9b00994

Bisphosphonate stabilized calcium phosphate nanoparticles for effective delivery of plasmid DNA to macrophages

2020

Journal Article

Cancer stemness contributes to cluster formation of colon cancer cells and high metastatic potentials

Kapeleris, Joanna, Zou, Hong, Qi, Yan, Gu, Yushu, Li, Jingyun, Schoning, Jennifer, Monteiro, Michael J. and Gu, Wenyi (2020). Cancer stemness contributes to cluster formation of colon cancer cells and high metastatic potentials. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 47 (5) 1440-1681.13247, 838-847. doi: 10.1111/1440-1681.13247

Cancer stemness contributes to cluster formation of colon cancer cells and high metastatic potentials

2019

Journal Article

Prognostic role of upregulated P300 expression in human cancers: a clinical study of synovial sarcoma and a meta-analysis

Liu, Zihan, He, Yonglai, Lian, Xiaojuan, Zou, Hong, Huang, Yalan, Wang, Ning, Hu, Jianming, Cui, Xiaobin, Zhao, Jin, Zhang, Wenjie, Gu, Wenyi, Pang, Lijuan and Qi, Yan (2019). Prognostic role of upregulated P300 expression in human cancers: a clinical study of synovial sarcoma and a meta-analysis. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 18 (4), 3161-3171. doi: 10.3892/etm.2019.7906

Prognostic role of upregulated P300 expression in human cancers: a clinical study of synovial sarcoma and a meta-analysis

2019

Journal Article

PD-L1 distribution and perspective for cancer immunotherapy-blockade, knockdown, or inhibition

Wu, Yilun, Chen, Weiyu, Xu, Zhi Ping and Gu, Wenyi (2019). PD-L1 distribution and perspective for cancer immunotherapy-blockade, knockdown, or inhibition. Frontiers in Immunology, 10 (AUG) 2022, 2022. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02022

PD-L1 distribution and perspective for cancer immunotherapy-blockade, knockdown, or inhibition

2019

Journal Article

Membrane-tethered Notch1 exhibits oncogenic property via activation of EGFR–PI3K–AKT pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Zheng, Yang, Wang, Zhao, Xiong, Xianbin, Zhong, Yi, Zhang, Wei, Dong, Yibo, Li, Jialiang, Zhu, Zaiou, Zhang, Wei, Wu, Heming, Gu, Wenyi, Wu, Yunong, Wang, Xiang and Song, Xiaomeng (2019). Membrane-tethered Notch1 exhibits oncogenic property via activation of EGFR–PI3K–AKT pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 234 (5) jcp.27022, 5940-5952. doi: 10.1002/jcp.27022

Membrane-tethered Notch1 exhibits oncogenic property via activation of EGFR–PI3K–AKT pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma

2019

Journal Article

Silencing PD-1 and PD-L1 with nanoparticle-delivered small interfering RNA increases cytotoxicity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

Wu, Yanheng, Gu, Wenyi, Li, Jiang, Chen, Chen and Xu, Zhi Ping (2019). Silencing PD-1 and PD-L1 with nanoparticle-delivered small interfering RNA increases cytotoxicity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Nanomedicine, 14 (8), 955-967. doi: 10.2217/nnm-2018-0237

Silencing PD-1 and PD-L1 with nanoparticle-delivered small interfering RNA increases cytotoxicity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

2019

Journal Article

Cervical cancer cell lines are sensitive to sub-erythemal UV exposure

Gu, Wenyi, Sun, Surong, Kahn, Andrew, Dacus, Dalton, Wendel, Sebastian O., McMillan, Nigel and Wallace, Nicholas A. (2019). Cervical cancer cell lines are sensitive to sub-erythemal UV exposure. Gene, 688, 44-53. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2018.11.079

Cervical cancer cell lines are sensitive to sub-erythemal UV exposure

2019

Journal Article

Insluin and epithelial growth factor (EGF) promote programmed death ligand 1(PD-L1) production and transport in colon cancer stem cells

Chen, Mingshui, Sharma, Aditi, Lin, Yanling, Wu, Yanheng, He, Qi, Gu, Yushu, Xu, Zhi Ping, Monteiro, Michael and Gu, Wenyi (2019). Insluin and epithelial growth factor (EGF) promote programmed death ligand 1(PD-L1) production and transport in colon cancer stem cells. BMC Cancer, 19 (1) 153, 153. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-5364-3

Insluin and epithelial growth factor (EGF) promote programmed death ligand 1(PD-L1) production and transport in colon cancer stem cells

2019

Journal Article

High and long-term antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli via synergy between the antibiotic penicillin G and its carrier ZnAl layered double hydroxide

Li, Mengxue, Sultanbawa, Yasmina, Xu, Zhi Ping, Gu, Wenyi, Chen, Weiyu, Liu, Jianyong and Qian, Guangren (2019). High and long-term antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli via synergy between the antibiotic penicillin G and its carrier ZnAl layered double hydroxide. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 174, 435-442. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2018.11.035

High and long-term antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli via synergy between the antibiotic penicillin G and its carrier ZnAl layered double hydroxide

2019

Journal Article

Undo the brake of tumour immune tolerance with antibodies, peptide mimetics and small molecule compounds targeting PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint at different locations for acceleration of cytotoxic immunity to cancer cells

Gu, Wenyi, Wang, Lihui, Wu, Yanheng and Liu, Jun-Ping (2019). Undo the brake of tumour immune tolerance with antibodies, peptide mimetics and small molecule compounds targeting PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint at different locations for acceleration of cytotoxic immunity to cancer cells. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 46 (2), 105-115. doi: 10.1111/1440-1681.13056

Undo the brake of tumour immune tolerance with antibodies, peptide mimetics and small molecule compounds targeting PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint at different locations for acceleration of cytotoxic immunity to cancer cells

2019

Journal Article

Modifying layered double hydroxide nanoparticles for tumor imaging and therapy

Li, Li, Li, Bei, Gu, Wenyi and Xu, Zhi Ping (2019). Modifying layered double hydroxide nanoparticles for tumor imaging and therapy. Clays and Clay Minerals, 67 (1), 72-80. doi: 10.1007/s42860-019-0006-z

Modifying layered double hydroxide nanoparticles for tumor imaging and therapy

2019

Journal Article

Enhancing PD-1 gene silence in T lymphocytes by comparing the delivery performance of two inorganic nanoparticle platforms

Wu, Yanheng, Gu, Wenyi, Li, Li, Chen, Chen and Xu, Zhi (2019). Enhancing PD-1 gene silence in T lymphocytes by comparing the delivery performance of two inorganic nanoparticle platforms. Nanomaterials, 9 (2) 159, 159. doi: 10.3390/nano9020159

Enhancing PD-1 gene silence in T lymphocytes by comparing the delivery performance of two inorganic nanoparticle platforms

2019

Journal Article

Enhanced combination cancer therapy using lipid-calcium carbonate/phosphate nanoparticles as a targeted delivery platform

Wu, Yilun, Gu, Wenyi and Xu, Zhi Ping (2019). Enhanced combination cancer therapy using lipid-calcium carbonate/phosphate nanoparticles as a targeted delivery platform. Nanomedicine, 14 (1), 77-92. doi: 10.2217/nnm-2018-0252

Enhanced combination cancer therapy using lipid-calcium carbonate/phosphate nanoparticles as a targeted delivery platform

2018

Journal Article

Cervical Screening by Pap Test and Visual Inspection Enabling Same-Day Biopsy in Low-Resource, High-Risk Communities

Tao, Lin, Amanguli, A., Li, Feng, Wang, Ying Hong, Yang, Lan, Mohemaiti, Meiliguli, Zhao, Jin, Zou, Xiao Guang, Saimaiti, Abudukeyoumu, Abudu, Mirensha, Maimaiti, Mikairemu, Chen, Shi Yan, Abudukelimu, Ruxianguli, Maimaiti, Ayinuer, Li, Shu Gang, Zhang, Wei, Aizimu, Ayinuer, Yang, An Qiang, Wang, Ju, Pang, Li Juan, Cao, Yu Guang, Gu, Wen Yi and Zhang, Wen Jie (2018). Cervical Screening by Pap Test and Visual Inspection Enabling Same-Day Biopsy in Low-Resource, High-Risk Communities. Obstetrics and gynecology, 132 (6), 1421-1429. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002973

Cervical Screening by Pap Test and Visual Inspection Enabling Same-Day Biopsy in Low-Resource, High-Risk Communities

2018

Journal Article

The pathways for layered double hydroxide nanoparticles to enhance antigen (cross)-presentation on immune cells as adjuvants for protein vaccines

Yan, Shiyu, Xu, Kewei, Li, Li, Gu, Wenyi, Rolfe, Barbara E. and Xu, Zhi P. (2018). The pathways for layered double hydroxide nanoparticles to enhance antigen (cross)-presentation on immune cells as adjuvants for protein vaccines. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 9 (SEP) 1060, 1060. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.01060

The pathways for layered double hydroxide nanoparticles to enhance antigen (cross)-presentation on immune cells as adjuvants for protein vaccines

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

For media enquiries about Dr Wenyi Gu's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au