Human Sciences researcher raising IQ of smart clothing

Jia Wu is not just designing clothing; she’s redefining what clothing can do — and her work is going to change lives.

An assistant professor in the College of Human Sciences, Wu’s interdisciplinary research focuses on apparel design, wearable sensing, artificial intelligence (AI) and inclusive health technologies. Her work is driven by a simple but powerful question: What if clothing could actively protect, monitor and improve human well-being?

With more than a decade of experience in the global fashion industry before entering academia, Wu understands not only how to design functional apparel prototypes, but also how to move them toward scalable production and real-world implementation.

“Because I worked in the fashion industry for 11 years, I know how to transfer prototypes into mass production,” she said. “As both a scholar and educator, I want to prepare students to lead the next generation of technology-driven apparel design innovation.”

As a teacher, Wu has introduced 3D body-scanning technologies and virtual reality fashion presentation environments in the classroom.

Wu is an up-and-coming researcher at Auburn’s Department of Consumer & Design Sciences (CADS). Her research focuses on developing technology-integrated wearable apparel systems that address the needs of populations often overlooked by traditional product development, such as patients, people with disabilities, aging adults and labor-intensive occupational groups.

By combining human-factor–informed patternmaking, functional materials, textile-based biosensors and motion sensors, 3D and VR toolsets and AI-driven systems for real-time data interpretation and health monitoring, her research aims to transform clothing into responsive health interfaces, turning everyday clothing into non-invasive healthcare monitoring platforms capable of delivering real-time information to users and caregivers.

One of Wu’s most visible research initiatives focuses on the development of textile-based biosensing underwear for menstrual health management among individuals with disabilities and their caregivers.

The design integrates adaptive construction with conductive textile sensors that detect moisture changes and trigger alerts when a product change is needed, addressing a critical physical and emotional burden identified by caregivers. Long-term, she would like to utilize biosensors to collect sodium, glucose, pH and body temperature measurements to track wearers’ health and perhaps even predict cancer.

Wu is not working on this project alone; she collaborates with colleagues Young-A Lee, Under Armour Professor and head of CADS, and Pengyu Chen, the Francis Family Associate Professor in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Their teamwork combines Lee’s expertise in design technologies and practices, Chen’s extensive experience in biomedical sensor technology and Wu’s adaptive apparel background, and their collaborative research is gaining growing attention.

The trio recently received a Research Support Program grant from Auburn’s Office of the Senior Vice President for Research and Development, which has allowed them to apply for external funding. They also won first place in last summer’s Launch Your Societal Impact! Program — a six-week workshop hosted by the College of Sciences and Mathematics and New Venture Accelerator that brought together a dozen interdisciplinary teams to explore how research can translate into real-world solutions.

Beyond textile-based biosensors, Wu’s research portfolio also includes integrating motion sensors and eye-tracking systems into clinical training garments for medical education. She is currently collaborating on the development of a sensor-integrated clinical training suit designed to help young physicians practice patient handling in trauma simulations.

“There are some reports that there’s a gap in physician training for safe patient positioning,” she said. “A smart training suit could be used to help young physicians learn to place a patient in the bed so they won’t hurt themselves, and it could also incorporate motion capture, respiration/electrocardiography and eye tracking technology.”

Related content

Auburn to Armani

Apparel Merchandising senior Gracie Silverthorn is the first apparel student from Auburn to secure an internship with Giorgio Armani, one of the most competitive internship placements in the industry.

Another area of her work focuses on occupational health. Wu is exploring multi-sensor smart clothing to monitor the health of Alabama’s agricultural workers. She sees this work as part of a larger pipeline connecting research innovation, industry application and educational training.

At the same time, Wu’s classroom teaching mirrors her research mission. She has received two grants from Auburn’s Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning: a Daniel F. Breeden Grant to introduce 3D body-scanning technologies in the classroom, allowing students to translate human form into digital design environments, and an AUX: Immersive Learning Experiences grant to develop virtual reality fashion presentation environments, enabling students to showcase digital garments in simulated runways, bridging design, technology and professional practice.

Though she’s been at Auburn for less than two years, Wu is already building relationships in the community, having worked with East Alabama Health and Auburn’s Regional Autism Network to survey families of people with disabilities about apparel-based solutions that could make their lives life easier. Whatever she does in the future, Stephen Erath, Human Sciences’ associate dean of research, knows Wu will have a huge impact.

“When you look at Dr. Wu’s work, you will clearly see her compassion and commitment to health and well-being, her creative and interdisciplinary approach to problems and her rigorous and technologically sophisticated process for testing and improving solutions,” he said.