Chengyi Tu, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Professor Schools Medical School | Graduate School Departments Internal Medicine | Biomedical Engineering Graduate Programs Biomedical Engineering, Cell and Molecular Biology Biography Dr. Chengyi Tu received multidisciplinary training in stem cell differentiation, tissue engineering, omics analysis, and cardiac biology. He received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied how biophysical and biochemical cues influence stem cell differentiation and maturation into cardiovascular lineages. He then completed postdoctoral training at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, focusing on modeling cardiomyopathies using engineered heart tissues, particularly diseases that are difficult to model using conventional approaches. At Stanford, Dr. Tu developed the first in vitro model of tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (TIC) using a novel engineered tissue platform. This work uncovered a previously unknown mechanism of tachycardia-induced cardiac dysfunction and opened new directions for therapeutic discovery. Dr. Tu is now an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine at UTSW, with a secondary appointment in Biomedical Engineering. We are a multidisciplinary research lab that applies engineering techniques and stem cell technologies to create in vitro biomimic models for human heart disease. We use human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients to generate cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs). This methodology allows us to understand how patient genetics drives cardiac disorders in a dish. Moreover, iPSC-CMs can be utilized to create 3D engineered heart tissues (EHTs), which more closely mimic the environment of the human heart. In addition, biophysical and biochemical stimulations can be applied further to simulate the complex pathophysiological niche of a diseased heart. This patient-specific preclinical model enables us to elucidate the pathogenesis of both acquired and genetic cardiomypathies and test for candidate therapeutics. Tu Lab @ Division of Cardiology, Internal Medicine Education Graduate School (2018), Biomedical Engineering Research Interest disease modeling, cardiovascular precision medicine, tissue engineering, multiomics Publications Featured Publications Nitrate accumulation and transformation processes within a karst conduit system: Insights from hydrochemistry, stable isotopes, metagenomics, and tracer tests. Dong H, Ren K, Lan J, Peng C, Pan X, Tu C, Song C, Zhang W, Cao J, Environ Res 2026 Nov 309 Pt 2 125870 Cell Village Captures Populational Heterogeneity of Sunitinib Cardiotoxicity. Kojic A, Liu Y, Belbachir N, Tu C, Shen M, Caudal A, Meharwade T, Belbachir M, Ford K, Sallam K, Wu JC, Circ Res 2026 Oct Modeling Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes. Yu B, Ren L, Liu Y, Tu C, Kojic A, Dai Y, Venkateshappa R, Shen M, Zhao SR, Wu JC, Circulation 2026 Sep 154 13 1261-1264 Targeting an atypical G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway for cardiac fibrosis therapy. Zhang H, Shivnaraine RV, Ren L, Thai PN, Janicot R, Zhu W, Huang R, Siepe DH, Tu C, Liu W, Maziarz M, Deutsch JC, Liu Y, Liu C, Shin DH, Kim H, Chandy M, Kalocsay M, Chiamvimonvat N, Garcia-Marcos M, Kobilka BK, Wu JC, Science 2026 Sep 393 6818 eaej5896 Contrasting Energetic Pathways and Successional Trajectories of Soil Food Webs in Natural Succession and Reforestation-Based Restoration. Zhang A, Tu C, Frouz J, Luo R, Wang L, Pang X, Eisenhauer N, Potapov AM, Glob Chang Biol 2026 Sep 32 9 e71127 International variations in chronic kidney disease patients' pain experience and its management. Raina R, Nair N, Kumar R, Doshi K, Alencar-de Pinho N, Tu C, Bieber B, Liabeuf S, Combe C, Reichel H, Argyropoulos C, Guedes M, Pecoits-Filho R, Clin Kidney J 2026 Jan 19 1 sfaf346 Impact of resource availability and conformity effect on sustainability of common-pool resources. Tu C, Chen R, Pan X, Fan Y, Guo J, Fundam Res 2025 Sep 5 5 2309-2317 Validating and Using Cardiac NAMs for Toxicity Screening and Drug Development. Pierson JB, Bahinski A, Berridge B, Bramham D, Bourcier T, Chaudhary KW, Eldridge S, Kanda Y, Mattes WB, Oliphant J, Pang L, Savtchenko A, Siegel J, Simpson N, Tu C, Wange R, Wu JC, Yang X, Int J Toxicol 2025 Sep 10915818251375348 Modeling heart rhythm using human engineered heart tissues. Tu C, Caudal A, Liu Y, Narayan SM, Wu JC, Nat Protoc 2025 Aug Response of an obligate CAM plant to competition and increased watering intervals. Fan J, Wang Z, Tu C, Lv Z, Liu S, Fan Y, Physiol Plant 2025 177 1 e70093 Results 1-10 of 40 1 2 3 4 Next Last Honors & Awards Stanford Cardiovascular Institute Best Manuscript Award (2024) NIH Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00) (2023) AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2020) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Heart Association (2020) Biomedical Engineering Society (2020)
