• Polymer/inorganic nanoparticle composite materials
• Molecular and nanoparticle self-assembly 
• Synthesis and phase behavior of colloidal particles    
• Cancer imaging and therapy 
• Programmable soft materials 
• Microfluidics

Google Scholar Citations>11000; H-index=46

1.Y. Yang, H.W. Pei, G.D. Chen, K.T. Webb, L.J.   Martinez-Miranda, Z.Y. Lu*, K. Liu*, Z.H. Nie*, Phase behaviors of colloidal analogues of bent-core liquid crystals, Sci. Adv., 2018, 4(5), eaas8829. 

2.K.K. Yang,Y.J. Liu, Y. Liu,   Q. Zhang, C.C. Kong, C.L. Yi, Z.J. Zhou, Z.T. Wang, G.F. Zhang, Y. Zhang, N.M. Khachab*, X.Y. Chen*, Z.H. Nie*, Cooperative assembly of magneto-nanovesicles with tunable wall thickness and permeability for MRI-guided drug delivery, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140(13), 4666-4677.

3.Y.J. Liu†, X.Y. Yang, Z.Q. Huang, Y. Liu, L. Deng, C.L. Yi, X.L. Sun, S.Y. Zhang, N.M. Khachab, X.Y. Chen*, Z.H. Nie*, Magneto-plasmonic Janus vesicles for magnetic field-enhanced photoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging of tumor, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2016, 55(49), 15297-15300.

4.Z.Q. Huang, Y.J. Liu, C.L. Yi, Y. Yang, L. Deng, N.M. Khashab, J.L. Gong*, Z.H. Nie*, Collapsed polymer-directed synthesis of multicomponent coaxial-like nanostructures, Nat. Commun., 2016, 7, 12147.

5.Z.Q. Huang, D. Raciti, L.Deng, C.L. Yi, Y.J. Liu, Q. Zhang, L. Zhang, N.M. Khashab, C. Wang, J.L. Gong*, Z.H. Nie*,Synthesis of platinum nanotubes and nanorings via simultaneous metal alloying and etching,  J. Am. Chem. Soc.,2016, 138 (20), 6332–6335

6.Y. Yang, G.D. Cheng, L. Martinez-Miranda, K. Liu,* Z.H. Nie*, Synthesis and liquid crystal behavior of bent silica rods, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 68−71.

7.Y.J. Liu, Y.C. Li, J. He, K. Duelge, Z.Y. Lu*, Z.H. Nie*, Entropy-driven pattern formation of hybrid vesicles assembled from binary molecular and colloidal amphiphiles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2014, 136, 2602−2610.

8.J. He, X.L. Huang, Y.C. Li, Y.J. Liu, T. Babu, Z.Y. Lu*, X.Y. Chen*, Z.H. Nie*, Self-assembly of amphiphilic plasmonic micellar architectures, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 7974–7984. 

9.J. He, Y. J. Liu, T. Babu, Z. J. Wei, Z.H. Nie*, Self-assembly of inorganic nanoparticle vesicles and tubules driven by tethered linear block copolymers, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2012, 134, 11342−11345. 

10.K. Liu, Z.H. Nie, N.N. Zhao, M. Rubinstein, E. Kumacheva, Step-growth polymerization of inorganic nanoparticles, Science. 2010, 329, 197-200.

11.Z.H. Nie, D. Fava, E. Kumacheva, S. Zou, G.C. Walker., M. Rubinstein, Self-assembly of metal-polymer analogues of amphiphilic triblock copolymers, Nat. Mater., 2007, 6, 609-614.  

• 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award, 3M Company (2014, 2015, 2016)  
• CMNS Board of Visitors Junior Faculty Award, University of Maryland (2014)
• ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator, American Chemical Society (2013) 
• NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2012)
• Research and Scholarship Award (RASA), UMD (2012)
• K. C. Wong Research Scholarship, K.C. Wong Foundation in Hong Kong (2011)
• NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canada (2009, 2010)
• CAGS/UMI Distinguished Dissertation Award, Canada (2009)
• Chair's Doctoral Prize in Chemistry, University of Toronto (2009) 
• Canada Research Chair Graduate Prize in Nanochemistry, Canada (2008)
• MSED/LANXESS Graduate Thesis Award, Chemical Institute of Canada (2008)       
• Honorable Finalist for the Frank J. Padden Award, American Physics Society (2008)  
• Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad, China (2007)
• Jim Guillet Chemistry Graduate Scholarship, University of Toronto (2007, 2008) 
• Colin Hahnemann Bayley Fellowship, University of Toronto (2005)

• Editorial board member 

Theranostics (IF=8.854)
Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group; IF=5.578)

• Guest Editor 

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Themed Collection: Interfacial Phenomena in (De)hydrogenation Reactions

• Proposal reviewer 

USA: ACS Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF); National Science Foundation (NSF); Department of Energy (DoE); US Army Research Office (ARO); Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA); National Institutes of Health (NIH); The Wellcome Trust (a global charitable foundation)

• International: Canada Research Chairs Program, Canada; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research; National Nature Science Foundation of China; Polish Foundation of Sciences; Irish Research Council; Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong; Cancer Research UK. 
• Journal reviewer

Nat. Chem., Nat. Commun., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Nano Lett., ACS Nano, Chem. Sci., Small, Adv. Mater., Nanoscale, Soft Matter, Nano Research, Anal. Chem., Chem. Comm., Biomaterials, Biomacromolecules, Macromol. Rapid Commun., Lab chip, Langmuir, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Theranostics, Prog. Polym. Sci., J. Phys. Chem., Adv. Funct. Mater., Polymer, Energy & Environmental Science