Pingping Liang

Pingping Liang was born in a small village in China. She is a first-generation college student who studied chemistry education in her homeland and became a middle school teacher.

Pingping never imagined she would one day live abroad until her husband was accepted in the graduate program at FIU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Pingping quit her teaching job of three years and joined him in the fall of 2010. A year later, she decided to pursue her own doctoral degree in analytical chemistry.

Pingping’s research focuses on the development of biosensors to provide a simple, fast test for point-of-care or onsite drug screenings. Her goal is to create biosensor products that can be used in developing countries that lack sophisticated instruments and trained personnel.

Under the guidance of FIU Professor Yi Xiao, Pingping has published articles in top chemistry journals including the American Chemical Society Applied Materials & Interfaces. Her work has earned citation 20 times in less than two years. Additionally, she has given nine presentations at major research conferences. She was part of the team that helped secure a combination of five grants and two fellowships for FIU’s International Forensic Research Institute totaling the most National Institute of Justice awards given to a single institution in 2015. After graduation, Pingping hopes to secure a post-doctoral position to continue her research.