As a high school junior, Wu was selected to the Chinese preparatory camp for the International Mathematical Olympiad, but declined in order to attend a summer program in biology.

Wu was admitted from high school to Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) with the highest entering grades in 1982.

In 1987, Wu attended a scientific lecture on virus structure by Professor Michael Rossmann, a pioneer in X-ray crystallography who was visiting Beijing at the time.

Following her postdoctoral work, Wu started an independent laboratory as assistant professor in the department of biochemistry at Weill Cornell Medical College in 1997.

Wu's research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in cell death and inflammation, mainly through the application of biochemical and biophysical methods.