Hua received a B.S. in Materials Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2005 and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Delaware in 2013. She joined the group as a postdoctoral associate soon after she got her PhD. Hua's research focuses on the synthesis, structure, and physical property characterization of new intermetallic compounds, with special interest in superconductors, magnetic materials, and thermoelectrics.