I studied for the undergraduate physics in Shanghai, China, and completed a (graduate) Diploma in Science in Physics (with Distinction) at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

From 1987 to 1992, I completed the MSc and PhD research at the Physics and Biophysics Department, Massey University (Palmerston North, New Zealand) under Professor Paul T. Callaghan. The topics of my thesis were "Static and Dynamic Imaging using Magnetic Field Gradients" (MSc, with Distinction) and "Dynamic NMR Microscopy" (PhD). My dissertation projects were to develop microscopic magnetic resonance imaging (µMRI) and to study complex molecular motions in fluid flows and vascular flows in live plants. I co-authored 12 journal papers during my graduate studies, including one paper in Nature (Nature 336 (6197), 399-402, 1988). Most significantly, we were the first to propose the concept of q-space as the reciprocal space for molecular motion, and used the combined k-space and q-space in MRI measurement of molecular motion (J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum., 21, 820-822, 1988). The concept of q-space in my projects is the precursor of and mathematically/physically equivalent to Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Diffusion-weighted MRI. This link should lead you to my talk at the 2017 meeting on the history of Diffusion MRI, with the stories of how I/we made the q-space MRI working at the time.

From 1992 to 1994, I was a Postdoctoral Associate at Biotechnology Program, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA), where my research work was directed more toward the biomedical applications.

I joined the physics faculty at Oakland University in 1994 August, as an Assistant Professor of Physics (1994 -1999). I was a tenured Associate Professor of Physics from 1999 to 2005. I currently have the rank of Professor of Physics (since 2005) at Oakland University. I also have the adjunct appointments at the Center for Biomedical Research (CBR) and the Oakland University William Beaumont Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) at Oakland University.

While my background is in microscopic MRI (µMRI) and NMR/MRI physics, I have extensive experience in combining µMRI with other microscopic imaging techniques (including polarized light microscopy (PLM), Fourier-transform infrared imaging (FTIRI), microscopic computer tomography (µCT), and biomechanical imaging) to study a number of important engineering, biological and biomedical problems.

My major research effort at OU is the multidisciplinary microscopic imaging study of articular cartilage and its degradation associated with arthritis, which has been continuously funded since January 1999 by a number of 5-year R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

On Nov 16, 2016, the Royal Society of Chemistry (Cambridge, UK) has published a book on which I served as the lead Editor. The title of this 24-chapter book is “Biophysics and Biochemistry of Cartilage by NMR and MRI”. This is a unique book providing a contemporary snapshot of the roles NMR and MRI play in the current understanding of the biophysics and biochemistry of articular cartilage. As a treatise on cartilage research, it is the first book of its kind (ISBN 978-1-78262-133-1).