معرفی
Xiao Fu is a Beatson Research Fellow and Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute (CRUK Scotland Institute), part of the University of Glasgow's School of Cancer Sciences. She leads the Integrative Modelling research group, focusing on computational approaches to understand the tumor microenvironment (TME) organization and its role in cancer progression and therapy resistance.
Her research program centers on developing computational methods to map spatial features of the TME and deconstruct principles underlying its organization through three primary approaches:
- Mechanistic models and computer simulations to investigate dynamic delineation of TME organization (such as sculpting of tumor/stroma architecture and spatial distribution of immune cells)
- Quantitative analysis of molecular and spatial tumor data to characterize architectural features (such as cell communities and neighborhoods)
- Machine learning frameworks to infer cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying characteristic TME architectures
Dr. Fu applies these computational methods to spatial and molecular data from various solid tumors, particularly colorectal and pancreatic cancers, with the goal of discovering novel spatial TME features associated with clinical outcomes and identifying mechanisms for re-sculpting TME organization to improve therapy response. A key focus area is understanding immune exclusion, where T lymphocytes are spatially excluded from tumor nests, limiting the effectiveness of immune checkpoint blockade-based immunotherapy.
Her scientific contributions have been recognized through several prestigious awards:
- 2022 Prostate Cancer Research grant (co-led with Erik Sahai and Anna Wilkins)
- 2012 Eli Lilly Fellowship in Biocomplexity, Indiana University Bloomington
- 2008 People's Scholarship, Nanjing University
Dr. Fu maintains active collaborations with multiple research groups at the CRUK Scotland Institute and leads a multidisciplinary team comprising postdoctoral researchers, a cross-disciplinary research fellow, and a PhD student, reflecting her commitment to interdisciplinary research at the interface of computation and biology.
