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EDUCATION
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
MSc in Ecology
GPA: 3.87/4.00, top 5%
Thesis: Global Distribution and Genomic Inference of the Metabolism of the Class Tepidiformia in the Phylum Chloroflexi
Advisor: Wen-Jun Li , Fangliang He (co-supervisor)
2017-2020
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
BSc in Ecology
GPA: 3.8/4.0
Thesis: Microbial Communities in Guizhou Karst Caves Based on Next-Generation Sequencing
Advisor: Wen-Jun Li
2013-2017
APPOINTMENTS
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
Research Assistant, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology
Advisor: Xue-Fei Li
2020-present
SKILLS
Experimental skills – bacterial isolation, cultivation, identification, preservation
Bioinformatics – metagenomic and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data analysis
Python, R, MATLAB – file management, data processing, figure generation, web crawler, computational simulation
Linux – laboratory server administrator
Image analysis – image pre-processing, cell segregation, cell tracking
Modeling – individual-based modeling
RESEARCH INTERESTS
I am interested in combining experimental observations with mathematical modeling to study microbial community dynamics and interactions between microbes, hoping to find some simple rules in the complex world.
Particularly, I want to simulate and predict the microbial community dynamics under specific conditions based on both the empirical data and theoretical mechanisms. I am also interested in many other fields in quantitative biology, systems biology, and microbial ecology, such as microbial community assembly mechanism, microbial cross-feeding, bacterial predator-prey coevolution, microbial eco-evolutionary dynamics, plant-soil feedback and so on.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Computational modeling of cellular interactions in the tumor microenvironment
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen , China
Advisor: Xue-Fei Li
- Simulated the interactions between immune cells and bacteria in the tumor microenvironment by individual-based modeling in 2D
- Simulated the cellular interactions based on the reaction-diffusion model in 1D
2020.08-present
Transmission dynamics of the COVID-19 Delta variant in Yangzhou, China
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen , China
Advisor: Xue-Fei Li
- Collected and inferred epidemiological information of 555 cases infected with the delta variant, such as infection date, confirmed date, close contacts, etc.
- Epidemiological analysis of the delta variant outbreak, like estimating the incubation period using interval-censored data maximum likelihood estimation
- Estimated the effectiveness of control measures
2021.08-present
Tracking cells in PDMS microfluidic chips in phase-contrast images
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen , China
Advisor: Xue-Fei Li, Xiongfei Fu
- Detected cell in phase-contrast microscopy images with chip noise
- Generated cell trajectories by linking short track segments into long trajectories under the limitation of the microchannel shape
2021.03-2021.09
Microbial Ecology
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Advisor: Wen-Jun Li
- Investigated the global distribution and ecological functions of the class Tepidiformia in the phylum Chloroflexi
- Interpreted the microbial community structure in karst caves using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data
- Screened cellulase genes from metagenomic data of hot spring samples enriched on cellulose
2016.09-2020.09
Microbial Resources & Systematics
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Advisor: Wen-Jun Li
- Updated the classification of higher ranks in the phylum Actinobacteria
- Reclassified species in the genus Nocardiopsis
- Cultivated Chloroflexi bacteria using culture filtrates of a Proteobacteria bacterium, which can facilitate the growth of some Chloroflexi bacteria
- Isolated and preserved 177 strains from saline-alkali soil samples. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, 11 strains are potential novel candidate species
2016.09-2020.09
PUBLICATIONS
[1] Xian, W.-D., Zhang, X.-T., Li, W.-J. (2020). Research status and prospect on bacterial phylum Chloroflexi. Acta Microbiologica Sinica, 60(9): 1801–1820.
(Wrote the paper.)
[2] Xian, W.-D. *, Li, M.-M. *, Salam, N. *, Zhou, E.-M., Yin, Y.-R., Liu, Z.-T., Ming, Y.-Z., Zhang, X.-T., Wu, G., Liu, L., Xiao, M., Jiang, H.-C., Li, W.-J. (2020). Network-directed efficient isolation of previously uncultivated Chloroflexi and related bacteria in hot spring microbial mats. npj Biofilms Microbiomes, 6(1): 1-10.
(Analyzed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data.)
[3] Zhang, X.-T.*, Salam, N.*, Xiao, M., Asem, M.D., and Li, W.-J. (2020). Genome analysis reveals that Nocardiopsis baichengensis Li et al. 2006 is a later heterotypic synonym of Nocardiopsis halophila Al-Tai and Ruan 1994. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 70(1): 89-92.
(Collected and analyzed the genomic data, constructed the phylogenetic tree and created its corresponding figure, wrote part of the paper.)
[4] Salam, N.*, Jiao, J.-Y.*, Zhang, X.-T.*, & Li, W.-J. (2020). Update on the classification of higher ranks in the phylum Actinobacteria. International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology, 70(2): 1331-1355.
(Collected 16S rRNA gene sequences and part of the genomic data, constructed phylogenetic trees, created all the figures.)
[5] Li, X.*, Li, J.-L.*, Zhang, X.-T.*, Duan, L., Asem, M.D., Xiao, M., Mou, X., Salam, N., and Li, W.-J. (2019). Aestuariisphingobium litorale gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel proteobacterium isolated from a water sample of Pearl River estuary. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, 112(9): 1357-1367.
(Collected and analyzed genome sequences, predicted marker genes, constructed concatenated protein phylogenetic tree, computed the average amino acid identity.)
[6] Jiao, J.-Y., Salam, N., Liu, L., Rao, M.P.N., Zhang, X.-T., Fang, B.-Z., Han, M.-X., Zhang, Z.-T., Chen, J., Zhao, J., et al. (2018). Genome sequence and comparative analysis of Jiangella alba YIM 61503T isolated from a medicinal plant Maytenus austroyunnanensis. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, 111(5): 667-678.
(Analyzed secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters.)
FIELD & LABORATORY EXPERIENCES
| Volunteer research assistant Prof. Wen-Jun Li Microbial Resources – Bacterial cultivation, identification Microbial Ecology – 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis | 2016.09-2017.06 |
| Volunteer research assistant Prof. Shixiao Yu Janzen-Connell Hypothesis – Fungal isolation and cultivation | 2016.03-2016.06 |
| Sun Yat-sen University undergraduate innovation training project Prof. Xubing Liu Ecological Restoration – Plant and animal diversity investigation of introduced mangrove communities in the Dongzhai Port Nature Reserve | 2015.07-2015.08 |
| Volunteer research assistant Prof. Suqin Fang Root Behavior – Plant root cultivation and image capture in a transparent system | 2014.10-2015.06 |
| Series of experimental skills course Prof. Xubing Liu Field Experiment – Effects of phylogenetic diversity on ecosystem functioning | 2014.09 |
| Volunteer Prof. Wenbo Liao Field Survey – Plant diversity investigation in the Jinggang Mountains | 2014.07 |
SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS
Outstanding Graduate Student Award (Sun Yat-sen University) (top 5% of the graduates)
First Class Fellowship for Master’s Students (Sun Yat-sen University)
First Class Fellowship for Master’s Students (Sun Yat-sen University)
First Class Fellowship for Master’s Students (Sun Yat-sen University)
Second Class Undergraduate Scholarship (Sun Yat-sen University)
Gold Prize in China College Students’ Entrepreneurship Competition – Public Welfare Contest
Third Class Undergraduate Scholarship (Sun Yat-sen University)
2020.07
2019-2020
2018-2019
2017-2018
2015-2016
2014.11
2014-2015