The Center for Living Electronics and Adaptive Neurotherapeutics (CLEAN) is a research center at Zhejiang University, working at the intersection of the life sciences, materials science, chemistry, electronic information and medicine. Its goal is to develop a new generation of living electronics and adaptive neurotherapeutics. Instead of only implanting prefabricated electronic devices into the body, the center uses materials chemistry, in situ polymerisation and bioelectronics to let electronic materials form directly inside living tissue, creating soft, stable and dynamically responsive interfaces. The result is electronic materials that do not merely sit in the body but grow within it, coupling to the nervous system so that neural function can be recorded, programmed and, eventually, treated.
The nervous system processes information, learns and regulates the body through ion transport, electron transfer, chemical signalling and network activity. How to build a stable, controllable and functionally meaningful link between artificial electronic materials and a living system, starting from the materials and the chemistry, remains one of the central open questions in bioelectronics, brain science and health. Current neural interfaces connect externally fabricated electrodes to tissue but still face problems with material-tissue mismatch, long-term interface stability, cell-scale control and precise intervention in neural circuits.
CLEAN uses high-performance organic conducting polymers and mixed ionic-electronic conductors as its material basis and “living electronics” as its core scientific paradigm. The center investigates how electronic materials form in situ in the living environment, how they couple functionally to cells and tissue, and the mechanisms by which materials modulate neural function. Drawing on Zhejiang University’s strengths in polymer science, materials, chemistry, electronic information and medicine, CLEAN brings together expertise in living electronic interfaces, cell physiology, neural circuits, neuromorphic intelligence and AI-driven materials research. The resulting platform spans materials design, the construction of living interfaces, mechanistic analysis and the validation of system function.
Jianguo Mei, Ph.D.Qiushi Chair Professor, Department of Polymer Science and EngineeringDirector, Center for Living Electronics and Adaptive NeurotherapeuticsInstitute of Fundamental and Transdisciplinary ResearchThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of MedicineZhejiang University
The three core research directions form a progression from materials to living function and on to system-level modulation, and the center also explores the potential of related materials for neuromorphic sensing, photo-response and information processing.
Together, these provide the material and mechanistic basis for building living electronic interfaces.
Together, these explore the mechanisms and rules that lead from material properties to changes in neural function.
Research starts with scenarios that have measurable electrophysiological markers, such as epilepsy-related abnormal neural activity, and then evaluates whether it can be extended to Parkinson's disease and other models of neural dysfunction; functional improvement in disease models is a research goal to be verified by experiment, not a presumed clinical outcome.
The artificial retina and in-sensor vision sensors are pursued as an extension of these material and device capabilities, not as a core task of the initial neuromodulation program.
CLEAN carries out cross-scale, coordinated measurement and modulation research along the chain of electronic materials, electrochemistry and the nervous system. It is building five interlocking experimental platforms that together establish a chain of evidence from material formation and action, through changes in cell physiology and neural circuit responses, to behavioural outcomes.
Whole-blood components catalyze formation of an n-doped conducting polymer in living animal models. The resulting interface responds to near-infrared light and enables reversible control of neuronal excitability through coupled thermal and ionic effects.
A two-terminal n-doped polymer device changes the sign of its photoresponse at low operating voltage. Electrode asymmetry and doping control support retina-inspired visual processing, including image enhancement and trainable classification in device arrays.
Light controls ion insertion in organic electrochemical transistors to create programmable synaptic conductance. A device array combines optical sensing, memory and processing, demonstrating a retina-inspired approach to facial recognition at low operating voltage.
This account examines organic materials that conduct both ions and electrons, connecting electrochromic operation with emerging artificial-retina devices. It reviews relevant material and device concepts and identifies opportunities for further iono-optoelectronic research.
Building on Zhejiang University's multidisciplinary research platforms, CLEAN is committed to the deep integration of chemistry, materials, electronics, the life sciences and medicine, and to exploring original new bioelectronic technologies with potential for clinical translation. CLEAN looks forward to exploring the boundary between life and electronics with you.
Research directions include:
CLEAN values professional expertise, but a researcher's character matters more than the techniques already mastered.
Character first: Be a person of integrity and warmth before anything else.
Be honest with data and take responsibility for your results, neither avoiding failure nor changing how you interpret the data to reach the result you hoped for. Research is built first of all on integrity.
Be interested in research itself, not only in research as a job.
When a result surprises you, you want to know why.
When a question has no answer yet, you are willing to keep exploring.
We value curiosity, not only the knowledge you already have.
Hold a general mission or goal in life.
Ask questions, not only carry out experiments.
Whatever your role, understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Put forward your own ideas for improving experiments and research directions.
CLEAN is a highly interdisciplinary team, so communication matters.
Explain your ideas clearly, and listen carefully to the views of others.
Work independently, and work as part of a team.
Share your own experience, and learn from others.
Real interdisciplinary research does not simply bring people from different fields together; it means understanding problems together and solving them together.
Be willing to embrace risk and uncertainty.
Original research rarely goes smoothly.
Persevere through setbacks, analyse what went wrong, think again, but, when necessary, also know when to let go.
CLEAN is an interdisciplinary research center, so we do not expect everyone to have exactly the same background: people from chemistry, materials science, electronic engineering, biomedicine, neuroscience and artificial intelligence can each approach the same problem from a different angle here.
For high-level talent and research professors of the Hundred Talents Program. In line with the goals of each stage, the center will recruit or develop interdisciplinary researchers with backgrounds in neural electrophysiology, systems neuroscience, neural signal analysis and preclinical research.
The university provides salary, start-up research funding and other support according to the circumstances of each appointment and the relevant policies; appointments depend on university approval and the applicable recruitment procedures.
For outstanding early-career researchers who have received or are about to receive a doctorate. Postdocs carry out independent research while advancing major projects together with the team, and are encouraged to develop their own research direction over time.
We especially welcome applicants with backgrounds in organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, materials science, organic electronics, bioelectronics, electrochemistry, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, electronic engineering and related fields. Experience with conducting polymers, organic synthesis, polymer synthesis, electrochemistry, device fabrication, biological experiments or neuroscience research is an advantage.
Prof. Mei's research group is also recruiting postdoctoral researchers, with a focus on organic synthesis, conjugated polymers, and electrochemical materials and devices.
For researchers with substantial research experience who want a long-term career in research. Full-time research scientists take on the design and implementation of important research projects, build stable technical and research expertise in one direction, and can gradually take on the roles of project leader, topic leader or core team member.
Their research tasks centre on the preparation and characterisation of living electronic materials, photo-electrochemistry and cell physiology experiments, neural signal acquisition and analysis, neural circuit validation and the related data processing.
We especially welcome outstanding Ph.D. holders who can do independent research, early-career researchers with postdoctoral experience, researchers with expertise in materials, chemistry, devices, bioelectronics or neuroscience, and researchers who want to pursue original interdisciplinary research over the long term.
For young people with a bachelor's or master's degree who want to enter research. Research assistants take part in materials synthesis, device fabrication, characterisation, biological experiments and the daily research work of the laboratory.
We do not expect research assistants to master every experimental skill from the start. If you are careful, reliable and willing to learn, and genuinely interested in research, you are welcome to join us.
Research assistants who do well and wish to continue their studies are encouraged to go on to a doctorate or to become long-term research staff.
Laboratory technical staff support the center's research team: they keep the experimental platforms running, support the building of the key shared platforms, and help make large instruments openly shared and usable across teams.
Admission through the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Institute of Fundamental and Transdisciplinary Research of Zhejiang University.
The center trains graduate students around real interdisciplinary scientific questions, so that they can work across materials synthesis, electron and ion transport, device characterisation and the validation of physiological function; shared projects, joint supervision and standardised experimental platforms build a team that combines clear disciplinary expertise with the ability to collaborate across scales.
Apply through Zhejiang University's formal admissions procedures.
Please send the following to Prof. Jianguo Mei's email address, with "Application to CLEAN" and the type of position you are applying for in the subject line.
Location: Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University (Hangzhou).
Salary: according to Zhejiang University's talent management policies.
jgmei@zju.edu.cn
