About

Lu Lu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Yale University. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Brown University and has academic experience as an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania from 2021 to 2023. His research focuses on the intersection of data science, applied mathematics, and engineering, with involvement in multiple faculties including the Institute for Foundations of Data Science, the Wu Tsai Institute, and the Center for Algorithms, Data, and Market Design at Yale. Lu Lu's work emphasizes the development of mathematical and computational methods to address complex problems in data science and related fields, contributing to the advancement of theoretical and applied aspects of these disciplines.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Gynecology
• Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Genetics
• Internal medicine
• Immunology
• Materials science
• Pathology
• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Obstetrics
• Cancer research

Selected publications

• Mutational signature-based classification uncovers emerging oral cancer subtypes with distinct molecular patterns

  International Journal of Oral Science · 2026-04-24

  articleOpen access

  Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) are well-established risk factors for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). However, the incidence of oral cancer, particularly in the mobile tongue, has been rising in non-smoker/non-drinker and HPV-negative patients, suggesting the emergence of a new clinical entity. To understand in molecular terms this subtype of oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (OCSCC) with no-identified risk factor (NIRF), we analyzed the available public head and neck cancer multi-omics data. We identified mutational signatures that stratified 253 OCSCC and 94 laryngeal cancer cases, used as tobacco-only-related controls, according to their clinico-pathological characteristics. We show that tobacco, depending on the anatomical site, triggers distinct mutational processes and further demonstrate that the single-base-substitution (SBS) signature SBS16 in OCSCC is associated with tobacco smoking, reflecting the combined effects of smoking and drinking. Importantly, we identified a tongue cancer-enriched NIRF OCSCC subgroup exhibiting significantly increased endogenous clock-like mutagenesis, while another NIRF subgroup manifested with elevated apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC)-associated mutagenesis. Both NIRF OCSCC subgroups harbored specific cancer driver mutations and distinct methylation patterns, which differed from those observed in OCSCC linked to traditional HNSCC risk factors, reflecting unique molecular programs underlying disease development. Specifically, NIRF-OSCC exhibited pronounced immune evasion strategies and antimicrobial transcriptomic responses. Our study presents the first molecular and genomic characterization of the emerging NIRF OCSCC subtype likely driven by increased endogenous mutagenesis and responses to microbial insults. These findings warrant future detailed investigations into etiology and have implications for clinical management and cancer prevention.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Associations of psychological capital latent profiles with depression and anxiety: A cross-sectional study in Chinese college students

  Public Health · 2026-04-13 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Latent profiles of environmental awareness in Chinese college students: effects of psychological capital and digital engagement

  Frontiers in Psychology · 2026-05-14

  articleOpen access

  Introduction This study aimed to identify distinct environmental awareness profiles among Chinese university students through latent profile analysis (LPA) and to examine how psychological capital and sociocultural factors predict the profile membership. Methods Cross-sectional data from 1,107 undergraduates (73% female; average age of 20 years old) were collected using validated Chinese versions of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-26) and New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP-15) via the Questionnaire Star platform in Zhengzhou, China. LPA classified respondents based on 15 valid items of the NEP scale, followed by binary logistic regression analyzing demographic/psychological predictors for environmental awareness profiles. Results LPA identified two latent profiles of environmental awareness: Low (Environmentally unengaged, 49.5%) and High (Holistically engaged, 50.5%), with no severe common method bias in the study data. Logistic regression showed that male students had a significantly lower probability of high awareness than females (OR = 0.519, 95%CI: 0.389–0.693); students with leadership roles had a higher probability of high environmental awareness (OR = 1.348, 95%CI: 1.043–1.743); daily internet usage hours (OR = 2.158, 95%CI: 1.742–2.672) and psychological capital (OR = 1.018, 95%CI: 1.012–1.024, a 1.8% increase per unit) were significantly positive predictors of high environmental awareness. Birthplace had no significant effect on profile membership. Conclusions Environmental awareness heterogeneity in university students in China reflects synergistic influences of demographic traits, behavioral patterns (daily internet use), psychological resources (PsyCap), and social roles (leadership with positive effects) in environmental awareness. Environmental-related digital exposure and psychological capital are key intervention points for improving college students' environmental awareness.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Early‐Life Exposure to Bisphenol A Damaged Pancreas That May Increase Offspring Sensitivity to High‐Fat Diets

  Journal of Toxicology · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Previous studies have identified early life as a sensitive window for BPA exposure that may increase the risk of metabolic disease in adulthood. However, less attention has been paid to the effects of early‐life BPA exposure on the pancreas and its relationship to the development of metabolic diseases. In this study, we exposed females to 50 μg/kg/d BPA in drinking water from 6 days of gestation to weaning of offspring mice and administered a high‐fat diet after weaning of offspring mice. We found that early‐life BPA‐exposed male mice gained body weight, had downregulated pancreatic Ins1 , Pdx1 , and NeuroG3 gene expression, reduced β‐cell mass, and resulted in abnormalities in glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance, whereas no significant alterations were observed in females. Lipidomic analyses of mouse pancreas using high‐resolution mass spectrometry showed that early‐life BPA exposure significantly altered the pancreas of offspring males. Lipid profiles of mouse pancreatic ceramidase gene mRNA expression were upregulated, enzyme activity was enhanced, and pancreatic ceramides, especially long‐chain ceramides, were increased in abundance, the latter of which was closely correlated with the increased pancreatic MDA content as well as the decreased SOD enzyme activity. Taken together, our results suggest that early‐life BPA exposure may increase the susceptibility of mice to a high‐fat diet by altering pancreatic lipid metabolism in mice and that there are significant sex differences in this effect.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Integration of nanowire-confined electroporation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and electroactivation of peracetic acid for eliminating intracellular resistance genes

  Journal of Hazardous Materials · 2025-09-02

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Abstract RF1-01: Effect of a weight loss intervention (WLI) on metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in women with obesity and breast cancer: Results from the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) Trial (Alliance)

  Clinical Cancer Research · 2025-06-13

  article

  Abstract Background: Unfavorable metabolic and inflammatory parameters are associated with increased risk of recurrence, comorbidities, and cancer-specific and all-cause mortality in early-stage breast cancer. The BWEL trial (Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology A011401; NCT02750826) evaluates the impact of a lifestyle based WLI on invasive disease-free survival in 3180 women with stage II-III Her-2 negative breast cancer and a body mass index (BMI) of at least 27 kg/m2. Here we report the impact of the WLI on metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers. Methods: BWEL participants were randomized to a health education (HE) alone control arm (n=1489) or to a 2-year WLI plus HE (n=1491). The WLI was delivered through telephone-based health coaching and focused on caloric restriction and increased exercise. Participants underwent collection of fasting (confirmed by self-report) blood at baseline, 6 and 24 months. Serum levels of c-reactive protein (CRP), insulin, and leptin were assessed centrally using commercial ELISA assay kits at Yale School of Public Health. Samples were run in batches with all samples from an individual patient analyzed in a single batch. The absorbance was determined at the wavelength of 450 nm with a correct reference wavelength of 600 nm using a spectrometry (Biotek Instrument Inc, Winooski, Vermont). 10% of samples were run in duplicate, and a pooled serum sample was run in each plate for the calculation of intra-assay variation. Non-fasting samples were omitted from metabolic analyses. Summaries are reported as means (± standard deviation). Comparison of the mean changes from baseline between the treatment groups was determined with a two-sample t-test. Results: At baseline, average BMI was 34.5 (±5.7) kg/m2, average age was 53.4 years (±10.6), and 57% of participants were postmenopausal at the time of diagnosis. Most participants were White (80.3%); 12.8% identified as Black and 7.3% as Hispanic. Fasting serum samples were available from 2725 participants at baseline, 2234 at 6 months, and 1230 at 24 months. There were no significant differences in levels of metabolic or inflammatory biomarkers between groups at baseline (Leptin: 40.2 [±23.1] ng/ml WLI vs 39.3 [±23.7] ng/ml HE; CRP: 4.2 [±2.8] mg/L WLI vs 4.5 [±2.9] mg/L HE; Insulin: 16.5 [±14.9] mIU/ml WLI vs 16.5 [±14.3] mIU/ml HE). Participants in the WLI arm experienced significant reductions in all metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers vs HE at 6 and 24 months. Leptin changed by -8.4 (±16.1) ng/ml at 6 months and -1.8 (±18.70) ng/ml at 24 months in the WLI vs +1.9 (±16.1) ng/ml and +4.6 (±20.5) ng/ml in the HE arm (both p<0.0001). CRP changed by -0.3 (±2.1) mg/L at 6 months and -0.4 (±2.4) mg/L at 24 months in the WLI vs +0.01 (±2.1) mg/L and +0.01 (±2.3) mg/L in the HE arm (p=0.0004 and 0.0014, respectively). Insulin changed by -2.4 (±17.2)mIU/ml at 6 months and -0.8 (±11.6) mIU/ml at 24 months in the WLI group vs + 0.9 (±14.7) mIU/ml and +1.9 (±14.7)mIU/ml in the HE arm (p<0.0001 and p=0.0005, respectively). Conclusions: A telephone-based WLI led to significant improvements in metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers known to be associated with cancer recurrence, comorbidities, and survival in a cohort of participants with obesity treated for early breast cancer. Further follow-up of the BWEL trial will evaluate whether changes in biomarkers predict improvements in cancer outcomes. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, UG1CA189823; U24CA196171; U10CA180820 (ECOG-ACRIN), U10CA180868 (NRG Oncology); U10CA180863, CCS 707213 (CCTG), UG1CA189974 (SWOG); https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org. Citation Format: Jennifer Ligibel, Karla V. Ballman, Linda McCall, Lingeng Lu, Melinda Irwin, Pamela J. Goodwin, Catherine M. Alfano, Vanessa Bernstein, Tracy E. Crane, Linda M. Delahanty, Elizabeth Frank, Olwen Hahn, Dawn L. Hershman, Judith O. Hopkins, Erica L. Mayer, Lori Minasian, Linda Nebeling, Marian L. Neuhouser, Electra D. Paskett, Patricia A. Spears, Vered Stearns, Cynthia A. Thomson, Anna Weiss, Julia White, Thomas A. Wadden, Clifford Hudis, Eric P. Winer,, Lisa A. Carey, Ann H. Partridge. Effect of a weight loss intervention (WLI) on metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in women with obesity and breast cancer: Results from the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) Trial (Alliance) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2024; 2024 Dec 10-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2025;31(12 Suppl):Abstract nr RF1-01.

  PublisherDOI

• Potential therapeutic value of dietary polysaccharides in cardiovascular disease: Extraction, mechanisms, applications, and challenges

  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules · 2025-01-08 · 5 citations

  reviewSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• [Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma of the breast in an adult female: report of a case].

  PubMed · 2025-11-08

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The Application Progress of Mobile Healthcare in Drug Management for Elderly Patients with Comorbidities

  Journal of Contemporary Medical Practice · 2025-05-29

  articleOpen access

  This article reviews the application forms, effects, existing problems and suggestions of various mobile medical services at home and abroad in the drug management of elderly patients with comorbidities, with the aim of providing a theoretical basis and practical reference for the better implementation of mobile medical services in the drug management of elderly patients with comorbidities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Association between stent length and number and the risk of in-stent restenosis in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine · 2025-10-09

  reviewOpen access

  Background: The association of stent length and number with the risk of in-stent restenosis (ISR) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) has been widely reported, yet findings remain inconsistent across studies. To clarify this relationship, we conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies evaluating the impact of stent length and number on ISR risk after PCI in CAD patients. Methods: Case-control studies addressing stent length, stent number, and ISR after PCI in CAD patients were systematically searched in electronic databases including VIP, Wanfang, CNKI, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library from inception until June 2025. The Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool was used to assess study quality. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model. All analyses were performed with Review Manager version 5.4. Results: < 0.00001] were significant risk factors for ISR after PCI in CAD patients. Conclusion: This meta-analysis supports the conclusion that stent length and number are associated with an increased risk of ISR after PCI in CAD patients. However, given the limited number and moderate quality of the included studies, these findings should be interpreted with caution and validated by further high-quality research.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Herbert Yu

  498 shared

• Harvey A. Risch

  Yale University

  292 shared

• Nicolas Wentzensen

  194 shared

• Immaculata De Vivo

  Brigham and Women's Hospital

  162 shared

• Amanda B. Spurdle

  QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

  159 shared

• Xiao‐Ou Shu

  153 shared

• Veronica Wendy Setiawan

  University of Southern California

  150 shared

• Louise A. Brinton

  National Institutes of Health

  141 shared

Labs

• Lu GroupPI

Education

• PhD, Food Science and Technology

  Texas A&M University

  2004

• MD, Medicine

  Shanghai Medical University

  1991

Awards & honors

• Mathematics Young Investigator Award from MDPI (2026)
• MIT Technology Review Innovators under 35 Asia Pacific (2025…
• Associate Editor of the journal Applied Mathematics and Mech…
• DOE Early Career Award (2022)
• Honorable Mention (Economics and Financial Modeling) of 2022…