Rate My Professor Zimei Wu

Professor Zimei Wu is a Professor in the School of Pharmacy within the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland. She earned her PhD from the University of Otago in 2005 and her MSc from China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, China, in 1999. Her career trajectory includes serving as a Senior Research Scientist at the Bomac Mastitis Research Center (later NZ Bayer), based at the University of Otago from 2006 to 2009, and as a Junior Research Fellow in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Otago from 2000 to 2002. Prior to her doctoral studies, she received a Visiting Scholarship from China Pharmaceutical University, funded by the University of Otago in 1999. Wu teaches and conducts research across all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences, with a major focus on developing innovative, translatable strategies for delivering therapeutics, including RNA and DNA, to their targets by overcoming biological barriers to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Her work emphasizes nanomedicines targeting disease hallmarks such as cancer pathways, the blood-tumour barrier, and the blood-brain barrier. Key research areas include cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, transcytosis, liposomes, exosomes, extracellular vesicles, pH-sensitive and redox-sensitive systems, and in situ solidifying controlled release formulations.

Professor Wu has supervised numerous PhD and Masters students, with many theses achieving recognition, such as those on the Dean’s List of Excellence. She serves as Course Director for PHARMACY 750: Pharmaceutical Formulation since 2010 and PHARMACY 789: Research Project - BPharm (Hons) since 2023, and has been Programme Lead for BPharm (Hons). Notable awards include Past President of the Controlled Release Society New Zealand Chapter (2015-2017), Honorary Professor at the School of Pharmacy, Yantai University since 2013, Best Teacher prize from pharmacy undergraduates in 2013, and NZ-China Scientists Exchange Award from the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2009. She holds editorial roles as Associate Editor of the Journal of Liposome Research, Guest Editor for Pharmaceutical Research's Special Issue on Cytoplasmic Delivery of Bioactives (2022), and serves on editorial boards for Pharmaceutical Research, Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, Biomaterials Science, and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology. Committee involvements encompass Treasurer of the NZ Association of Breast Cancer Research since 2017, Faculty International Committee since 2015, and School's Education Committee since 2010. Key publications include 'Mechanisms and biomaterials in pH-responsive tumour targeted drug delivery: a review' (2016), 'Intranasal delivery of Huperzine A to the brain using lactoferrin-conjugated N-trimethylated chitosan surface-modified PLGA nanoparticles for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease' (2018), 'Redox-sensitive and hyaluronic acid functionalized liposomes for cytoplasmic drug delivery to osteosarcoma in animal models' (2017), 'Strategies to enhance drug delivery to solid tumors by harnessing the EPR effects and alternative targeting mechanisms' (2022), and 'Intranasal delivery of rotigotine to the brain with lactoferrin-modified PEG-PLGA nanoparticles for Parkinson’s disease treatment' (2016).