Junhua Xiao

Assoc Prof Junhua Xiao is an Associate Professor of Digital Anatomy at Swinburne University of Technology's School of Health Sciences. She holds a PhD in Medicine from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Clinical Medicine from Nanjing Medical University. Her dual focus on neuroscientific research and medical education is complemented by leadership roles, including Deputy Department Chair of Biomedical, Health and Exercise Sciences and Academic Director for Partnerships. She leads the Neural Repair Laboratory and serves as Digital Health Program Lead at the Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute.

Research Interests:

• Neurodegenerative/Neuropsychiatric Diseases: Mechanisms of myelin repair, neuroinflammation, and lipid metabolism in conditions like MS and depression
• Digital Health Innovation: Virtual reality applications in rehabilitation, simulated sailing therapies, and AI-driven health monitoring systems
• Medical Education: Digital anatomy pedagogy, flipped classroom models, and multimodal learning resource design

Publications: Recent work emphasizes sphingolipid metabolism in CNS disorders, virtual sailing's therapeutic potential, and AI applications in JE surveillance. Articles span Neurobiology of Disease, BMC Medical Education, and Journal of Neurochemistry.

Professional Recognition: Recipient of the 2024 Australian University Teaching Citation and multiple NHMRC/ARC grants. Editorial roles at Neurobiology of Disease and BMC Medical Education, plus leadership in organizations like the Australia and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists.

Grants & Funding: Current projects include $1.2M+ in grants for virtual sailing depression therapies, sphingolipid ME/CFS research, and AI-based clinical trial systems. Active since 2017 in securing competitive national/international funding.

Labs & Teams: Neural Repair Lab explores lipid metabolism in myelin repair. Digital Anatomy Network promotes VR/AR integration in medical training. Collaborates with Iverson Institute on digital health innovation.