Xuhua Xia

Xuhua Xia is a Full Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Science. He holds a BSc from Jiangxi University (1982) and a PhD from the University of Western Ontario (1990). His research focuses on molecular and cellular biology, bioinformatics, genomics, and evolutionary molecular genetics. Key interests include mitochondrial biology, host-parasite interactions, microbial genomic evolution, and computational tool development. His lab develops methods for analyzing genetic data, such as the DAMBE software suite.

Research themes include (1) vertebrate mitochondrial systems, (2) molecular mechanisms of pathogen emergence through recombination and horizontal gene transfer, (3) molecular phylogenetics, (4) genomic evolution of microbes, and (5) alternative splicing origins. Recent work addresses SARS-CoV-2 genomic integrity, antibiotic resistance, and antiviral drug design.

Publications emphasize genomic analysis, pathogen evolution, and computational methods. Notable contributions include phylogeographic studies of invasive species, alignment optimization algorithms, and molecular docking studies of drug candidates. His work bridges fundamental biology with applied challenges in medicine and conservation.

Xia's lab collaborates on projects involving bacterial phages, fungal metabolites, and computational tools for phylogenetic analysis. No students are explicitly listed, but his research spans interdisciplinary teams in genomics and bioinformatics.