People

Feifan Zhang

Assistant Professor of Economics, Duke Kunshan University

Email: feifan.zhang@duke.edu

His research focus is the intersection among game theory, optimization and business decisions. He is especially interested in how to design optimal mechanisms under adverse selection, moral hazard and information asymmetry. His teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include microeconomics, mathematical economics and game theory.

His work “Setbacks, Shutdowns and Overruns” was published in Econometrica. He has been a member of the Society of INFORMS, POMS, MSOM, ASSA and ES Society since 2020.

Zhang has a B.A. in economics from Zhejiang University. He also received M.A. in economics and Ph.D in economics from Duke University, where he also served as a research associate since 2022.

Huaxiong Huang

Professor of Mathematics, Duke Kunshan University, Co-Director of the Zu Chongzhi Center

Email: huaxiong.huang@dukekunshan.edu.cn

Professor Huang Huaxiong received his BSc in mathematics from Fudan University and PhD from the Institute of Applied Mathematics at the University of British Columbia.

Professor Huang Huaxiong is one of the leading industrial applied mathematicians in Canada with an international reputation. His research covers a wide range of topics, including fluid mechanics and scientific computing, with applications in finance, biology, physiology and medicine. He has published over 100 papers and serves on the editorial board of several academic journals.

Professor Huang Huaxiong was a JSPS visiting fellow at the University of Tokyo, a three-time Erskine Visiting Fellow at the University of Canterbury, and a visiting Professor at the University of Paris VI. He was a recipient of the Canadian Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society-Fields Institute Industrial Mathematics Prize, and a lifetime fellow of the Fields Institute for Research in the Mathematical Sciences, where he served as the Deputy Director between 2016 and 2019.

Italo Simonelli

Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, Duke Kunshan University

Email: italo.simonelli@dukekunshan.edu.cn

His primary research interests lie in the fields of probability, statistics, combinatorics and graph theory. His teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include data science and discrete mathematics. He is the co-author of two books, “Bonferroni-type Inequalities with Applications” (Springer’s Applied Probability Series, 1996) and “Products of Random Variables: Applications to Problems of Physics and to Arithmetical Functions” (Marcel Dekker, 2004). He also has had papers published in leading academic journals including Annals of Probability, SIAM Journal of Discrete Mathematics, Theory and Decisions, and Journal of Multivariate Analysis. Simonelli has a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Temple University, Philadelphia. Before joining Duke Kunshan, he was a professor of mathematics at McDaniel College, Westminster, U.S. Previously he was an associate professor of mathematics at Texas A&M University, Commerce.

Jian-Guo Liu

Professor of Physics, and Mathematics, Duke University, Professor of Physics, and Mathematics, Duke Kunshan University, Co-Director of the Zu Chongzhi Center

Email: jian-guo.liu@duke.edu

He has B.S. and M.S. in Fudan University (China), and a Ph.D. in University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Liu is a Fellow of American Mathematical Society. His research interest includes applied mathematics, partial differential equations, kinetic theory, computational fluid dynamics, numerical analysis, nonlinear dynamics, fluid dynamics, complex fluids, emergent behavior and self-organization, etc.

Jianbo Yue

Professor of Biology, Duke Kunshan University

Email: jianbo.yue@dukekunshan.edu.cn

Jianbo Yue’s research focuses on cell signaling related to autophagy, endosomal trafficking, metastasis, anticancer immunity, Ca2+ and reactive oxygen species (ROS). His research group established a high-content drug screening platform, and identified and/or synthesized many potent and specific modulators of autophagy or/and endosomal trafficking. His group also established both cell and animal models to evaluate the ability of these compounds to modulate viral infection, tumor metastasis and anti-cancer immunity. Jianbo founded two Biotech startup companies (6J Biotech and VBT Biotech), focusing on developing novel anti-metastatic or antiviral drugs, respectively.
Yue has been actively participating in undergraduate and graduate teaching. At DKU (2022-), he teaches Experimental Methods in Functional Genomics (BIOL403) and Integrated Biology (BIOL110). At the City University of Hong Kong (2014-2022), he taught Cellular Pathology, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Hematology, and Animal Physiology. At the University of Hong Kong (2008-2014), he taught Physiology & Pathophysiology, and Cell Biology.
Jianbo graduated from Sichuan University with a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry (1987-1991), Peking University with an M.Sc. degree in genetics (1991-1994) and Pennsylvania State University with a Ph.D. degree in pharmacology (1995-2000). After postdoc training at Stanford University (2001-2017), he moved to the University of Hong Kong to start his independent academic career as an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology. He later joined the City University of Hong Kong as an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences.