NeuraConnect Lab - Taotao Wu

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Short Biography:

Dr. Taotao Wu is an Assistant Professor at the School of Chemical, Material, and Biomedical Engineering (CMBE) at the University of Georgia. His research centers on utilizing computational models, animal models, and human data to gain a comprehensive understanding of traumatic brain injury and its treatment. Previously he was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. David Meaney at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, Dr. Wu developed a unique approach that combines principles in injury biomechanics, finite element analysis, network neuroscience, and neuroimage analysis to bridge the gap between the mechanical response and brain functional response during TBI. He earned his Ph.D. with Dr. Jeff Crandall and Dr. Matthew B. Panzer at the University of Virginia Center for Applied Biomechanics in 2019, where his dissertation research integrated human and animal data to study the biomechanical tolerance of brain injury, which was subsequently adopted by the international standardization organization (ISO) for the assessment of vehicle safety. Over his career, Taotao has been awarded multiple honors and awards, including the Outstanding Research Presentation award of the Year and Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the University of Virginia.

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, 2014-2019
Master of Science in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, 2011-2014
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering/Transportation Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, 2007-2011

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MAJOR RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Assistant Professor, University of Georgia, 2023-Present
Faculty, UGA Institute of Bioinformatics; UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center; UGA Precision One Health Center, 2023-Present
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, 2020-2023
Graduate Student & Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Virginia, 2014-2019
Research Assistant, Tsinghua University, 2010-2011

HONORS AND AWARDS

Winner of the 2022 Best Personal Academic Websites Contest, Academic Designer LLC, 2022
MAE Outstanding Research Presentation of the Year (Ph.D.), UVA, awarded annually to one student, 2019
MAE Outstanding Graduate Student, UVA, 2019
MAE Distinguished Fellowship, UVA, 2019
United States Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM) Travel Award, 2018
Second prize in the 5th National Competition of Transport Science and Technology for Students, China, 2010
Scholarship for academic excellence, Beijing Forestry University, awarded annually to top 5%students, 2008-2011
Excellent volunteer of the XXIX Beijing Olympic, Beijing Forestry University, 2008

REVIEW EDITOR

Journal of Neurotrauma; Computers in Biology and Medicine; Annals of Biomedical Engineering; Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering; Acta Biomaterialia; Journal of Biomechanical Engineering; Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology; Scientific Reports; Biomarker Insights; National Neurotrauma Symposium; Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress; American Journal of Emerging Scholars (Associate editor – Engineering).

PRESENTATIONS
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Symposium, 2023
National Neurotrauma Symposium, 2023
The University of Georgia, IOB Seminar, 2023
New Jersey Institute of Technology, BME Seminar, 2023
The State University of New York at Buffalo, BME Seminar, 2023
The University of Georgia, CMBE Seminar, 2023
International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, 2022
National Neurotrauma Symposium, 2022
National Capital Area TBI Research Symposium, 2020
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Symposium, 2019
National Capital Area TBI Research Symposium, 2019
U.S. National Congress for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 2018
Joint Symposium of the International and National Neurotrauma Societies, 2018
World Congress on Computational Mechanics, 2018
Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine Student Symposium. 2015
Injury Biomechanics Symposium, 2015

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Biomedical Engineering Society
National Neurotrauma Society
International Research Council on Biomechanics of Injury (Scientific Review Committee)

CONTACT

Taotao Wu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Georgia

[email protected]

Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering

716A, Boyd Research and Education Center, 200 D. W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA 30602