Fourteen faculty-led research projects received funding through Duke Kunshan University’s 2025 Summer Research Program Grant, the university’s most extensive initiative for internal research funding.
The selected proposals cover a wide range of fields, including biology, environmental science, chemistry, political theory and Chinese performance studies. Nearly a quarter of DKU’s eligible faculty submitted proposals, reflecting strong interest in the program’s second year since its launch in 2024.
“This year’s projects reflect the intellectual energy and global outlook of DKU’s faculty,” said Scott MacEachern, vice chancellor for academic affairs. “It’s exciting to see our researchers—from across the whole spectrum of academic research—pursuing work that advances knowledge and gives students meaningful opportunities to contribute.”
Joohyun Lee, assistant professor of biology, is leading a project on epigenetic regulation and gene expression under stress conditions. The research combines traditional molecular biology techniques with advanced computational methods. Thirteen DKU undergraduates are involved in the research, gaining hands-on experience in wet lab work and bioinformatics.
“The DKU Summer Research Program Grant has been instrumental in fostering groundbreaking research and supporting student success in molecular biology,” Lee said. “Our research primarily focuses on understanding the complex mechanisms of epigenetic regulation and their role in gene expression. This fundamental question has significant implications for understanding various biological processes and potential various applications.”
Lee noted that the program has helped prepare students for Ph.D. programs at top institutions in the U.S. One student, Yuxin Wang, received a Signature Work award and secured Ph.D. admission to Yale University with full scholarship and living stipend support.
Zuchuan Li, assistant professor of data and environmental science, is using deep learning and large-scale data from satellites and marine robots to reconstruct patterns of ocean respiration, a process that plays a major role in the decline of oxygen levels in ocean waters. As global warming drives ocean deoxygenation, his research seeks to fill key knowledge gaps about how aerobic respiration contributes to this decline and how ecosystems might respond to future climate scenarios.
“The overarching goal of this proposed study is to reconstruct and understand the ocean’s respiration through a combination of deep learning and big data acquired by satellites and robots,” Li said.
Shan Wang, assistant professor of psychology, is using computational modeling to examine age-related changes in rapid movement control, a function critical to everyday actions like catching an object or reacting to sudden changes. Her research aims to identify why some older adults experience more difficulty than others and quantify how much different factors—like alertness, processing speed and motor adaptability—contribute to the decline.
“In daily life, we constantly adjust our movements to react to a changing world—like catching a ball that suddenly swerves or grabbing a toddler’s hand as they dart away,” Wang said. “Older adults often find these quick adjustments harder, which is a common sign of aging. But aging affects everyone differently.”
By pinpointing the root causes of these changes, her work aims to support the development of more effective interventions that help older adults maintain independence and quality of life.
Kent Cao, assistant professor of art and archaeology, is taking a micro-historical approach to explore the lives and identities of ancient Chinese artisans—bronze casters, tomb builders and Buddhist sculptors—whose creative fingerprints remain largely undocumented in official histories.
“My project aims to challenge the prevailing elite-centered research paradigm on the rich and the powerful, and examines the lives, mindsets and personalities of craftsmen and artisans who directly shaped the material culture of ancient China,” Cao said. “Under the cover of these artisans’ heroic works, it is often their private doodles and scribbles that afford us a rare glimpse into their identities and personal expressions as living humans.”
Kim Hunter Gordon, assistant professor of Chinese and performance studies, is examining martial female roles in 19th-century Chinese theater, focusing on how male actors’ portrayals of these roles intersected with Manchu rule, gender norms and theatrical conventions.
“This project explores the historical background of martial female roles in Chinese theater,” Gordon said. “It asks how these role types relate to Manchu rule, gender norms and theatrical convention. I’m especially interested in how martial roles performed by male actors intersected with questions of ethnicity and legitimacy, and how their legacy shapes audience expectations today.”
The full list of funded faculty and projects includes:
- Kent Cao – “Craftsmen’s hand: Doodles, scribbles and the casual mind in ancient China”
- Titas Chakraborty – “Concubinage in the making of early colonial state in India”
- Kim Hunter Gordon – “Ethnicity, gender and power in 19th century theatre: The politics of cross-gender martial roles in Qing China”
- Zhenghui Huo – “Interpolation methods and mapping properties for operators in complex analysis”
- Joohyun Lee – “Epigenetic regulation of cadmium tolerance: Role of histone deacetylase 2A in plant stress response mechanisms”
- Peiyuan Li – “AI-driven extraction of Chinese genealogical data using fine-tuned LLMs”
- Zuchuan Li – “Learning to reconstruct the ocean’s respiration”
- Fan Liang – “Privacy at the crossroads: Understanding concerns, cynicism and management of online privacy in the digital era”
- Rui Liu – “Photoacid/base enabled red or NIR light triggered ketyl and amidyl radical generation by PCET”
- Rasoul Namazi – “The political thought of Ahmad Fardid: Archival investigation”
- Lie Philip Santoso – “Shifting opinions: The role of partisan cooperation in shaping policy preferences”
- Shan Wang – “Computational modelling of the motor-cognitive processes underpinning age-related changes in rapid online control”
- Shixin Xu – “Mathematical model of sweat gland function for noninvasive glucose monitoring”
- Tan Zhang – “Novel catalytic strategy for sustainable synthesis of nanocrystals”
Lee’s project also received additional support from DKU’s Wang-Cai Biochemistry Lab, with funding contributed by Professor Linfeng Huang.
The next call for proposals is expected in November, with a submission deadline in February 2026.
