Xinzhao Tong joined the BIO Department at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in June 2022. She has long been dedicated to multi-omics research on the built environment and human-associated microbiomes. Her current research focuses on the following areas: 1) Transmission and antimicrobial resistance evolution of microbes in the built environments. Investigating how human activities and environmental factors influence the distribution, transmission, and succession of pathogens in densely occupied public buildings, such as hospitals, and analyzing the composition and dynamic evolution of their resistome. 2) Gut microbiota and host metabolic health. Systematically elucidating the role of gut microbiota and their metabolites in the development and progression of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, and exploring their regulatory functions during pharmaceutical interventions. 3) Molecular epidemiology and genomic evolution of clinical pathogens. Focusing on key pathogens such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Acinetobacter baumannii, this research aims to uncover the genetic basis of their antimicrobial resistance and virulence. By establishing a nationwide genomic database, it seeks to clarify their genomic evolutionary pathways and cross-regional transmission patterns.

PhD student recruitment

Dr. Tong is currently recruiting PhD students with scholarships; the project information can be found via this link: Available PhD projects in Tong’s Lab

If you have a background in bioinformatics and are interested in her research, please send your CV to xinzhao.tong@xjtlu.edu.cn

童心昭博士，2022年6月加入西交利物浦大学生物系。童博士长期致力于建筑环境与人体微生物的多组学研究，目前的研究方向包括：1）建筑环境微生物的传播与耐药性演化，重点探究人类活动与环境因素对病原菌在人群密集的公共建筑（如医院）中的分布、传播与演替的影响，解析其耐药基因组的组成与动态演化规律；2）肠道微生物与宿主代谢健康，围绕肥胖、糖尿病等代谢性疾病，系统阐释肠道菌群及其代谢物在疾病发生发展中的作用机制，并探索其在药物干预过程中的调节功能； 3）临床病原菌的分子流行病学与基因组演化，以嗜麦芽窄食单胞菌、鲍曼不动杆菌等重要病原体为对象，深入揭示其耐药性与毒力的遗传基础，并通过构建全国范围的基因组数据库，阐明其基因组演化路径与跨区域传播模式。

博士生招募

童老师目前正在招聘博士研究生（含奖学金），具体项目信息请见：Available PhD projects in Tong’s Lab

具备生物信息学基础，且对上述研究方向感兴趣的同学，请发送简历至 xinzhao.tong@xjtlu.edu.cn

Gut microbiome in human health and diseases

Antimicrobial resistance and dissemination dynamics of indoor microbes

Molecular epidemiology of pathogenic microbes

Associate Professor, Department of Biosciences and Bioinformatics, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Jan 2026 to present

Assistant Professor, Department of Biosciences and Bioinformatics, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Jun 2022 to Dec 2025

Postdoc, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Oct 2019-May 2022

Visiting Fellow, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 2018

BIO405 Research Methods in Bioinformatics

BIO303/BIO319 Final Year Project

BIO211 Bioinformatics I

BIO203 Medical Microbiology and Virology

BIO106 The Biology of Microbes

2025, XJTLU Research Outreach Ambassador

2023, Jiangsu Provincial Double Innovative Doctor Fund

2013, Best Student Paper Award. The 3rd International Conference on Selenium in the Environment and Human Health, Hefei, China