Dr Wei Huang

Senior Lecturer

Address:
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD

Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 5796
Fax: +44 (0) 114 222 5700
Email: w.huang@sheffield.ac.uk

Qualifications

PhD, University of Sheffield, 2002

Profile

Dr. Wei Huang is a senior lecturer of environmental microbiology. After graduated from Tsinghua University (China) in 1998, he received a PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2002. His main research interests include: 1) Single cell Raman tweezers technology (e.g. study genetic functions of non-culturable microorganisms in ecosystem); 2) Microbial evolution (e.g. the role of gene transformation in evolution); 3) Synthetic biology (e.g. gene trapping & screening, biosensors and bioenergy). He is one of the pioneers who have utilised Raman micro-spectroscopy for the study of microbes at the single cell level, and this technology also helps to manipulate and sort non-culturable microbes, study cell-cell (nanoparticles) interactions and gene expression of single cells. He has published over 31 journal papers and 5 book chapters or proceedings. Overall, he has contributed to raising research grants from ERDF, EPSRC, BBSRC, NERC and CCLRC.

Activities and Distinctions

• Visiting Professor of Beijing Normal University (2010-2015)
• Member of American Society of Microbiology
• Member of Groundwater protection and restoration group (GPRG) and Cell-Mineral Interface Research Centre (CMI) in Sheffield
• Pioneer employing ultrasound to transfer DNA to bacterial cells
• One of pioneers studying microbes at single cell level using Raman micro-spectroscopy
• Developer of novel biosensors and gene trapping using Acinetobacter sp. ADP1 as a host, Patent No. WO2008/056144.

Selected Publications

• Huang WE, Ferguson A, Singer AC, Lawson K, Thompson IP, Kalin RM, Larkin MJ, Bailey MJ and Whiteley AS (2009) Resolving Genetic Functions within Microbial Populations: In Situ Analyses Using rRNA and mRNA Stable Isotope Probing Coupled with Single-Cell Raman-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 75 (1), January, pp 234-241. ISSN 0099-2240. DOI 10.1128/AEM.01861-08
• Huang WE, Ward A and Whiteley A (2009) Raman tweezers sorting of single microbial cells. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 1 (1), February, pp 44-49. ISSN 1758-2229. DOI 10.1111/j.1758-2229.2008.00002.x
• Song Y, Hahn T, Thompson I, Mason T, Preston G, Li G, Paniwnyk L and Huang WE (2007) Ultrasound mediated DNA transfer for bacteria. Nucleic acids research, 35 (19), October, ISSN 1362-4962. DOI 10.1093/nar/gkm710
• Huang WE, Stoecker K, Griffiths R, Newbold L, Daims H, Whiteley A and Wagner M (2007) Raman-FISH: Combining stable-isotope Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization for the single cell analysis of identity and function. Environmental Microbiology, 9 (8), August, pp 1878-1889. ISSN 1462-2912. DOI 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01352.x
• Huang WE, Wang H, Zheng H, Huang L, Singer AC, Thompson IP and Whiteley AS (2005) Chromosomally located gene fusions constructed in Acinetobacter sp. ADP1 for the detection of salicylate. Environmental Microbiology, 7 (9), September, pp 1339-1348. ISSN 1462-2912. DOI 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2005.00821.x
• Huang WE, Griffiths RI, Thompson IP, Bailey MI and Whiteley AS (2004) Raman Microscopic Analysis of Single Microbial Cells. Analytical Chemistry, 76 (15), August, pp 4452-4458. ISSN 0003-2700. DOI 10.1021/ac049753k

Grants

• Innovative A NERC Grant, 2010, PI, £13,125.
• Royal Society Research fund 2009/R2, PI, £14,637.
• EPSRC, Flashlight Synthetic Biology fund (EP/H04986X/1), £1.03M, 2010-2015, Shared with other 5 investigators (Ali Tavassoli, University of Southampton, Cleo Kontoravdi, Imperial College, Aline Miller, University of Manchester, Orkun S Soyer, University of Exeter, and Huabing Yin, University of Glasgow).
• EU grant ECOWATER (RFCR-CT-2010-00010), Euro 1.05M, 2010-2013, Shared with Corus Ltd and CSM. USFD PI, Euro 389,643.
• NERC grant, 2007. NE/F011938/1, PI, £60,395.
• Innovative B NERC Grant, 2006, £20,217 New Concept of Biosensors
• Innovative A NERC Grant, 2005 £5000, New Concept of Biosensors.
• CCLRC project 2006. £23,500, Using Raman Tweezers to Identify and Sort Key Prokaryotic Species in an Environmental Sample.
• CCLRC project 2005: £2000, Using Raman Tweezers to analyze and sort ¹³C-labelled bacteria.
• EPSRC 2006, £120,000. Intensified Integrated Bio-refinery. PI: Prof. Ian Thompson (Oxford).
• BBSRC, 2001, £245,000. Quantitative Visualisation of Biodegradation during Natural Attenuation of Organic Pollutants in Groundwater. PI: Prof. Steve Banwart.

Teaching

• Water and wastewater treatment
• Environmental Microbiology