Qingguo Xu, D.Phil., is a Blick Scholar Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics, and Pharmaceutical Engineering Program, with joint appointment in Biomedical Engineering, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics and Massey Cancer Center at the Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Xu received B.E and M.E. in Polymer Materials and Engineering from Tianjin University in China, and D.Phil. in Materials Science from the University of Oxford. Dr. Xu worked as a Process Scientist in Unilever R&D center in England and received postdoc training from the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine before his faculty position. Dr. Xu has experience in materials science, drug delivery, nanotechnology, and physiochemical characterization of mucosal and tissue barriers to drug delivery systems. A significant portion of his current work has involved the design and development of new methods for safe, effective drug delivery to treat various eye diseases, lung diseases and opioid use disorders. His lab focuses on translational medical research, and he is an inventor on more than 15 pending patent applications or awarded patents. Xu runs active research program with multiple NIH and FDA grants (total cost ~ $10 million). Xu has won prestigious awards, including 2018 Powe Junior Faculty Award, 2019 CRS Ocular Delivery Young Investigator, 2024 CAB-Mid-Career Investigator Award, 2019-2024 VCU Blick Scholar, 2023 VCU National/International Recognition Award (NIRA). 

Qingguo Xu, D.Phil., focuses his research program focuses on applying engineering principles to advance the understanding of biological barriers to drugs and foreign body immune responses to biomaterials within the context of disease physiology, while developing cutting-edge nanotherapeutic-based treatments for ocular (eye) disorders, opioid use disorder (drug abuse), lung infections and other diseases.

• D.Phil. (Materials Science), University of Oxford, 2009
• M.A. (Materials Science), Tianjin University, China, 2004
• B.A. (Polymer Materials and Engineering), Tianjin University, China, 2002

Postgraduate Training

• Postdoctoral fellow, Ophthalmology (Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine), 2013

• Xu Research Group

• Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University (2021-present) 
• Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, VCU (2017-2021) 
  Blick Scholar, Virginia Commonwealth University  (2019-present) 
• Affiliate Faculty Member, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, VCU (2020-present) 
• Member, Institute for Structural Biology, Drug Discovery and Development (ISB3D), School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University (2019-present)
• Affiliate Faculty Member, Department of Ophthalmology, and Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Virginia
• Commonwealth University (2017-present) 
• Research Associate, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2013-2017) 
• Process Scientist, Unilever R&D at Colworth, Bedford, United Kingdom (2008-2010)