Xinhui Wu

Dr. Xinhui Wu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology & Pathophysiology at the Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, and a Principal Investigator at the Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM). Her research is focused on regenerative medicine for chronic pulmonary diseases, particularly bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She utilizes advanced 3D models such as lung organoids and precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) to investigate lung development, injury, and repair mechanisms.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and postdoctoral training at both the University of Groningen and Aston University, supported by the Lung Foundation Netherlands. Prior to that, she earned a Master of Science in Animal Reproduction from Jilin University, China, and a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Yanbian University, China.

Dr. Wu's research interests span regenerative pharmacology, stem cell therapy, lung organoids, alveolar niche cell-cell interactions, and the impact of environmental pollutants such as diesel exhaust particles on lung repair. Her work integrates multi-omics approaches to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying lung dysfunction and to identify novel therapeutic targets.

The available publication highlights a transcriptomic-guided drug discovery approach that identified PGE2 and PGI2 analogues capable of correcting defective lung repair caused by cigarette smoke — a finding published in Science Advances in 2022. This reflects a strong trend in her research toward mechanistic understanding and pharmacological intervention in lung regeneration.

Her scientific honors include:

• NRS-SAB Best Paper Award (Netherlands Respiratory Society, 2023)
• APSR-ERS Young Investigator Award (2023)
• ERS Young Scientist Sponsorship (2020)
• ATS International Trainee Scholarship (2018)

Dr. Wu actively mentors students and is accepting both undergraduate and graduate research trainees. She leads a research program under the Biology of Breathing Theme (BoB) at CHRIM, where her lab develops vascularized 3D co-culture lung organoid platforms to study cell-cell crosstalk in the lung niche. Her work is supported by competitive fellowships and aims to translate findings into novel therapies for lung diseases.

Her research team collaborates across institutions and focuses on understanding lung progenitor cell self-renewal and differentiation in response to injury and therapy, with long-term goals of mitigating lung dysfunction through regenerative strategies.