Rong Xu

Background

After obtaining my BSc degree in Tianjin Medical University, China, I worked for 2 years in Tianjin Experimental Animal Centre as technician and then started my MRes course of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Peking Union Medical College. During my MRes study, I did an internship at Cardiff University where I have developed my research interests in Immunology. After completing my MRes degree in 2015, I started at University of Liverpool for a China Scholarship Council & University of Liverpool jointly funded PhD in Immunology supervised by Dr Qibo Zhang and Prof Aras Kadioglu. My PhD project was focusing on human tonsillar T cell responses against Staphylococcus Aureus and Streptococcus Pneumoniae.

Project

I started my position as a postdoctoral researcher in September 2019 working with Prof Aras Kadioglu on an MRC programme grant investigating T cell-mediated regulation of pneumococcal pneumonia. The aim of this project is to understand the role of regulatory T cells in pneumococcal lung infection and explore immunological mechanisms underlying invasive pneumococcal diseases. I will move onto a UKRI Covid-19 project in October 2020.

Publications

Jacques, L.C., Panagiotou, S., Baltazar, M., Senghore, M., Khandaker, S., Xu, R., Bricio-Moreno, L., Yang, M., Dowson, C.G., Everett, D.B., Neill, D.R., Kadioglu, A. Increased pathogenicity of pneumococcal serotype 1 is driven by rapid autolysis and release of pneumolysin. Nature Communications. 2020.

Xu R, Shears RK, Sharma R, Krishna M, Webb C, Ali R, Wei XQ, Kadioglu A, Zhang Q. Superantigenic Staphylococcus aureus drives pro-inflammatory Th17 responses in human nasopharynx-associated lymphoid tissue by downregulating IL-35. Mucosal Immunology. 2020.

Shi GN, Zhang CN, Xu R, Niu JF, Song HJ, Zhang XY, Wang WW, Wang YM, Li C, Wei XQ, Kong DL. Enhanced antitumor immunity by targeting dendritic cells with tumor cell lysate-loaded chitosan nanoparticles vaccine. Biomaterials. 2017.

Yang XS*, Xu R*, Lin YJ, Zhen YZ, Wei J, Hu G, Sun HF. Recombinant adenovirus of human p66Shc inhibits MCF-7 cell proliferation. Scientific Reports. 2016.

Xu R, Sun H, Williams D, Song B, Wei XQ. IL-34 suppresses Candida albicans induced TNF-α production in M1 macrophages by down-regulating expression of Dectin-1 and TLR2. Journal of Immunology Research. 2015.

Yao Y, Wang J, Cui Y, Xu R, Wang Z, Zhang J, Wang K, Li Y, Zhao Q, Kong D. Effect of sustained heparin release from PCL/chitosan hybrid small-diameter vascular grafts on anti-thrombogenic property and endothelialization. Acta Biomater. 2014.

Liu J, Hu G, Xu R, Qiao Y, Wu HP, Ding X, Duan P, Tu P, Lin YJ. Rhein lysinate decreases the generation of β-amyloid in the brain tissues of Alzheimer’s disease model mice by inhibiting inflammatory response and oxidative stress. J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2013.

Hu G, Liu J, Zhen YZ, Xu R, Qiao Y, Wei J, Tu P, Lin YJ. Rhein lysinate increase the median survival SAMP10 mice: protective role in the kidney. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2013.