Biography
The goal of our research is to advance the healthcare revolution from a “hospital-centric” model to “human-centric” model by developing AI-embedded wearable biosensors. To achieve this, we focus on the development of organic and hydrogel bioelectronics, featured with tissue-compatible mechanics, high biocompatibility, low-cost manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, we are pioneering bioinspired artificial intelligence (bio-AI) by leveraging emerging bioelectronic hardware such as organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) and hydrogel transistors as transformative building blocks. Our work encompasses the synthesis, processing, and fabrication of soft electronic materials and devices; the characterization and optimization of their performance (including reliability and stability); and the creation of innovative soft biowearables and AI architectures from the bottom up.
Dr. Shiming Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Hong Kong, where he leads the Wearable, Intelligent, and Soft Electronics (WISE) research group. He is also a principal investigator at the State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (SKLPB) at HKU Medicine School, affiliated with HKU SBME, and HKU Shenzhen Hospital. Before joining HKU, he spent three years at UCLA as a postdoctoral scholar and group leader in bioelectronics, eventually being promoted to an affiliated faculty member. Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. with a Best Thesis Award from École Polytechnique, Université de Montréal, and his B.E. and M.E. degrees as an Outstanding Graduate from Jilin University, China.
He serves as a guest editor for esteemed journals such as Advanced Science, Soft Science, and IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement and is on the advisory boards of several other journals, including Advanced Electronic Materials, Biosensors, and Diagnostic and Therapeutic Devices. He is a technical committee member of IEEE Biomedical Devices in the Electron Device Society. Dr. Zhang has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in bioelectronics by Advanced Science (2022) and an “Emerging Investigator” by the Journal of Materials Chemistry C (2022). His accolades include being named a “Vanier Canada Scholar” by the Canadian Federal Government, an “Outstanding International Student” by the Quebec Government, and an “Outstanding Student Abroad” by the Chinese Government.
Students trained under Dr. Zhang’s guidance have achieved numerous prestigious awards, including the Gold Award at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (2023), the Championship in the HKAES University Pitch Competition (2022), the MRS Best Presentation Award (2021, 2025), the IEEE EMB Student Project Award (2021), and multiple InnoShow Awards (2021, 2022, and 2023) from the HKU Innovation Academy.
Related Links
Selected Publications
- Liu. D, Tian. X, Bai. J, Wang. Y, Zhang. S* et al., Increasing the dimensionality of transistors with hydrogels. Science 2025, Cover.
- Huang. H, Chen. X, Malliaras. G & Zhang. S* et al., The rise of hydrogel transistors. Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering 2025.
- Liu. D, Bai. J, Tian. X, Zhang. S* et al., A Wearable In-sensor Computing Platform based on Stretchable Organic Electrochemical Transistors. Nature Electronics 2024.
- Bai. J, Liu. D, Tian. X, Xu. A, Zhang. S* et al., Coin-sized, fully integrated, and minimally invasive continuous glucose monitoring system based on organic electrochemical transistors. Science Advances 2024.
- Zhang. S, and Cicoira. F.*, Flexible self-powered biosensors. Nature 2018.