Personal profile
Personal profile
Professor Lei Fu received his B.Sc. and M. Sc. degrees in Chemistry from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Stanford University under the direction of Dr. James P. Collman. He joined Pharmacyclics Inc. (then acquired by AbbVie), California in 1998 as a scientist and then group leader. He led the drug discovery development, process research on anti-cancer and anti-cardiovascular diseases. He has been a Summer visiting scholar in the Department of Chemistry, Stanford University since 2009, and a scientific consultant to several pharmaceutical companies.Dr. Lei Fu has been a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at Shanghai Jiao Tong University since March of 2006. The research in his group interfaces chemistry and medicine. His principal interests are 1) drug discovery and development; 2) process research on drug APIs and related substances; 3) traditional Chinese medicines as botanical cosmeceuticals; 4) medical devices as targeted drug delivery systems and 5) human hibernation studies using biomimetic models of cytochrome c oxidase. Dr. Fu teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, including Principles of Medicinal Chemistry, Comprehensive Pharmacy, Presenting Science, Chemistry and Pharmacology for layman etc.Dr. Fu is an adjunct Professor at Roosevelt University and Santa Clara University in the US, also an Editor of Bioorganic Chemistry (Elsevier) and Pharmaceutical Fronts (Thieme).Dr. Fu has over 70 peer-reviewed publications mainly in drug discovery. Several of them were published in Science, PNAS, Chemical Reviews, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Journal of American Chemical Society, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Accounts of Chemical Research, Journal of Organic Chemistry and European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. He holds more than 20 US and China Patents.Dr. Fu invented two cosmeceutical products containing traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and licensed to German companies, Henkel and Beiersdorf, respectively.Dr. Fu initiated a collaborative research project with Ethiopia Addis Ababa University, Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT-Africa, supported by the World Bank and State government), on the development of Africa local medicinal herbal and establishment of Africa herbal pharmacopeia.
Research interests
Human Hibernation Studies using Biomimetic Models of Cytochrome c Oxidase.
Medical Devices as Targeted Drug Delivery Systems
Traditional Chinese Medicines as Botanical Cosmeceuticals
Process Research on Drug APIs and Related Substances
Drug Discovery and Development for Metabolic and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Experience
Professor, Executive Dean (2023.09 to present) Academy of Pharmacy, XJTLU
Professor, Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching (2020.12 to 2023.08) Academy of Pharmacy, XJTLU
Associate Dean, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry (2006.3-2020.11)School of Pharmacy ,Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Co-Founder, Director (2005.3-2008.12)ND Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Shanghai, China
Principal Investigator and Group Leader (1998.11-2005.1)Pharmacyclics, Inc. Sunnyvale, California., USA
Postdoctoral Research Associate (1997.3-1998.10)Department of Chemistry ,Stanford University, California
Invited Scientist (1990.9-1993.8)Department of Chemistry ,Free University Berlin, Germany
Lecturer (1987.9-1990.8)Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Related documents
Education/Academic qualification
Post doc. Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (1998)
Ph.D. Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (1997)
M.Sc. Nuclear and Radiochemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (1987)
B.Sc. Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (1984)
Research areas
- Drug Discovery
- Metabolic Diseases
- Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Mitochondrial Dysfuction
- Chronic Diseases
Keywords
- Q Science (General)
Person Types
- Staff
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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RFIS: Investigating the Genetic Interaction of Phasmarhabditis Nematodes as a Potential Biological Control Agent against Angiostrongylus Transmission in Gastropods
Andrus, P. (PI), Fu, L. (Team member) & Zhou, X. (Team member)
1/01/26 → 31/12/26
Project: Governmental Research Project
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Jiangsu Province Higher Education Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy Nanoformulation (Construction)
Ruan, G. (PI), Lee, M. H. (Team member), Wu, Q. (Team member), Lu, T. (Team member), Xu, P. (Team member), Loo, S. (Team member), Sun, Y. (Team member), Kam, A. (Team member), Liu, X. (Team member), Wen, X. (Team member), Zhang, J. (Team member), Wang, M. (Team member), Xu, M. (Team member), Cheng, K. (Team member), Zhang, X. (Team member), Song, J. (Team member), Guo, B. (Team member), Wang, Y. (Team member), Wang, J. (Team member), Wu, S. (Team member), Yang, J. (Team member), Fu, L. (Team member), Zhang, J. (Team member), Qiao, Y. (Team member), Chen, Y. (Team member), Li, T. (Team member), Zhan, T. (Team member), Wan, Y. (Team member), He, Z. (Team member), Cheng, Y. (Team member), Leng, J. (Team member), Qi, M. (Team member), Ho, J. (Team member), Sun, Y. (Team member), Zhang, N. (Team member), Soe, H. M. S. H. (Team member), Ling, C. (Team member), Zhou, H. (Team member), Huang, D. (Team member) & Gu, J. (Team member)
1/07/24 → 30/06/27
Project: Governmental Research Project
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SIP High-quality Innovation Platform for chronic diseases
Fu, L. (PI), Zhang, X. (Team member), Liu, X. (Team member), Wang, R. (Team member), Li, Y. (Team member), Ruan, G. (Team member), Chen, J. (Team member), Zhang, J. (Team member), Lee, M. H. (Team member), Wang, Y. (Team member), Chen, Y. (Team member), Guo, J. (Team member), Hong, M. (Team member), Yue, Y. (Team member), Guo, H. (Team member), Xu, H. (Team member), Gu, J. (Team member), Yang, D. (Team member), Cheng, J. (Team member) & Wang, Y. (Team member)
1/09/22 → 30/08/26
Project: Governmental Research Project
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Leading talent in international disciplines
Fu, L. (PI)
7/01/22 → 31/08/27
Project: Internal Research Project
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Suppression of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Progression by Mitochondrial Respiration Inhibition
Fu, L. (PI)
1/01/23 → 31/12/25
Project: Internal Research Project
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Design, synthesis, and investigation of anti-Alzheimer's activity and molecular mechanisms of phosphatidylserine derivatives
Fu, L., 2026, In: European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Harnessing mitohormesis: A thiazole-based mitochondrial respiration inhibitor restores metabolic homeostasis in type 2 diabetes
Zhang, Y., Guo, J., Jin, J., Cheng, C. A., Hu, Y., Chen, S., Wang, C., Meng, X., Jiang, B., Jia, Z., Qiao, Y., Gu, J., Tyvoll, D. A., Collman, J. P. & Fu, L., 5 Aug 2026, In: Bioorganic Chemistry. 177, 109925.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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TPP-Thiazole Derivatives Ameliorate Psoriasiform Inflammation by Glycolysis Inhibition
Meng, X., Cheng, C. A., Zhang, Z., Qu, S., Zhang, A., Zhang, Y., Gu, J., Zhang, H., Ding, K., Fu, L., Lu, M., Huang, D. & Qiao, Y., Mar 2026, In: Molecules. 31, 6, 982.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
WormNet: An Automated Deep Learning Platform for Robust and High-Throughput C. elegans Behavior Analysis
Shi, Q., Shi, Y., Li, S., Fu, L., Gu, J., Qiao, Y., Sandall, I., Lim, E. G. & Song, P., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Benchmarking Sequence-Based Compound–Protein Interaction Prediction through Constructing a Debiased Data Set CDPN
Hao, Y., Li, B., Huang, D., Fu, L., Cao, Z. & Liu, X., 8 Dec 2025, In: Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling. 65, 23, p. 12737-12751 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
Activities
- 2 Editorial work
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Pharmaceutical Fronts (Journal)
Fu, L. (Member of editorial board)
2019 → 2025Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Editorial work
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Bioorganic Chemistry (Journal)
Fu, L. (Editor)
2017 → 2025Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Editorial work