Huifang Yuan

Huifang Yuan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of the Environment, Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland. She completed her PhD in Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland in 2022 with research focused on molecular mechanisms of life cycle transitions in marine sponges.

Dr. Yuan's research spans multiple areas of marine molecular biology and comparative immunology:

• Marine sponge development and metamorphosis
• Host-symbiont communication mechanisms in aneural animals
• Transcription factor regulation during life cycle transitions
• Immune responses to viral pathogens in aquatic species
• Evolutionary conservation of developmental genes

Her publication record shows a progression from fundamental research on sponge biology toward applied studies in aquaculture immunology. Recent work examines neurotransmitter-based communication in marine sponges and viral manipulation of host immune pathways in commercially important shrimp species. This research bridges evolutionary developmental biology with practical applications for sustainable aquaculture.

Dr. Yuan earned her PhD from The University of Queensland's School of Biological Sciences with a dissertation titled "Investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying the life cycle transition of the marine sponge Amphimedon queenslandica: Insights from the Fox gene family".

She is available for research supervision and collaborates with established research groups in both sponge biology and aquatic virology, contributing to multiple research themes within the School of the Environment.