Qu receives 2022 SUNY Chancellor’s Award in Scholarship and Creative Activities

The award recognizes outstanding academic and creative achievements across a broad spectrum of scholarly and artistic fields. Recipients of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities are university faculty members who consistently go above and beyond their teaching and professional duties to make extraordinary contributions to their respective fields.

Qu has redefined cutting edge methodologies and advanced scientific knowledge impacting the way cancer, infection and heart disease are diagnosed and treated. His research focuses on protein and drug analysis using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to discover new knowledge and develop novel research techniques that are applied throughout the field of clinical and pharmaceutical proteomics. His lab is one of the top labs in the world addressing label-free proteomics for large-scale analysis; he is also a world leader in the field of characterization of antibody therapeutics using LC/MS.

Most significant is the launch of his cutting-edge protein analysis tool “IonStar,” the first ever proteomics quantification method capable of reproducible, high-quality measurement of a large number of proteins in large biological cohorts, crucial benchmarks for pharmaceutical and clinical investigations. IonStar analysis has been used in more than 70 large-scale proteomic investigations, leading to advances in the treatment of chronic heart disease, traumatic brain injury and pathways for drug development in cancer treatment.

He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers and has been invited to present at many national and international meetings including the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) world congress and an invited lightening talk and Cancer Moonshot talk. He is the recipient of the Thermo Scientific Research Award, Outstanding Contribution Award for Medicinal Analysis, Beijing Conference and Exhibition on Instrumental Analysis Annual Meeting and a University at Buffalo Exceptional Scholar Sustained Achievement Award. He has also served as a grant reviewer for numerous federal agencies as well as international partners and associations and has been an invited member of international task forces addressing critical pharmaceutical and clinical issues.

Qu’s innovative work in developing novel protein biotherapeutic platforms has been a key component in transforming the fields of LC-MS-based quantification of biotherapeutics and marker proteins. His unique and high impact research, scholarship and teaching will allow him to continue to address the global need for innovative strategies to support ultra-sensitive bioanalysis.