Dr. Ling-Hsien Tu is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at National Taiwan Normal University, a position she has held since August 2024. Dr. Tu’s academic journey began with her Ph.D. in Chemistry, which she earned from Stony Brook University, New York, in August 2014. Her doctoral research focused on "Formation and Inhibition of Islet Amyloid in Type 2 Diabetes", under the guidance of Dr. Daniel P. Raleigh. Before joining National Taiwan Normal University, Dr. Tu gained valuable postdoctoral experience at the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica. She was a Distinguished Postdoctoral Scholar starting in January 2015. Dr. Tu’s research interests primarily revolve around amyloid formation, a complex process involving the polymerization of monomeric peptides or proteins into unbranched fibrils. Her work extends beyond understanding the underlying mechanisms of amyloid formation to developing therapeutic strategies. These strategies include the use of natural compounds, polymers, and nanomaterials to prevent amyloid formation. Additionally, her research group is actively engaged in identifying fluorescent molecules that can effectively distinguish different aggregated states.

My research interests mainly focus on amyloid formation, an unusual process in which hundreds to thousands of monomeric peptides or proteins polymerize into long, starch-like but unbranched fibrils. In addition to understanding the mechanism of amyloid formation, we have also developed therapeutic strategies, including the use of natural compounds, polymers, and nanomaterials, to prevent amyloid formation. On the other hand, we were developing methods that could be utilized to detect amyloids.