Professor Yu-qiang Ma received his Ph.D. in Physics from Nanjing University in 1993. From 1995, he becomes a full professor at Department of Physics of Nanjing University, and currently he is also the director of center for soft condensed matter and interdisciplinary research in Soochow University. In 1999, Prof Ma received the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars in China, and in 2001, he was appointed as a Chang-Jiang Professor by the Ministry of Education in China. Prof Ma's current research interests are in the area of soft matter and biophysics. His recent projects include the cell – nanomaterials interactions, phase transitions and dynamics in complex fluids such as colloid and polymers, and nonequilibrium self-organization in living soft matter such as cellular cytoskeleton and self-propelled particles.