It was reported that Hu had focused on the fast detection of viruses, bringing out various papers in journals and serving as the associate editor of the ACS Nano journal. The South China Morning Post reported that only months before Hu left the US, he had publicly talked about the freezes and cuts to NIH funding. He said a $3.7 million NIH grant impacted by the cuts had been allotted for the early detection of tuberculosis and HIV in children.

Hu Ye has reportedly been appointed founding dean at the new school of biomedical engineering at Tsinghua University.