Mr Qi Sun
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
School of Medicine
College of Health
Qi Sun is a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Oral Medicine in 2014, he pursued advanced studies at Shandong University, where he earned his medical license and completed a three-year residency program alongside earning a Master’s degree in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery in 2017. Following his academic training, he became an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and practised for five years in China. He specializes in the clinical treatment and research of oral and maxillofacial diseases, particularly temporomandibular joint disorder and osteoarthritis, oral and maxillofacial tumours, and alveolar surgical diseases. As a PhD candidate, Qi Sun focuses on bone infection, with a special interest in the mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment of periprosthetic joint infections.
Qi Sun is dedicated to investigating the mechanisms of osteocyte-mediated bone destruction in bone infectious diseases. Leveraging advanced methodologies such as histopathological analysis, droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), and Oxford Nanopore sequencing, Qi focuses on precisely identifying and quantifying pathogenic microorganisms within infected bone specimens. Building upon foundational research from Professor Gerald Atkins' group on osteocyte-driven bone resorption, Qi has utilized in vitro co-cultural models and mouse periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) models. By integrating these models with cutting-edge analytical techniques, Qi conducts comprehensive assessments of pathogen load and identification, offering novel insights into the etiology of bone infections. This work also extends to clinical PJI samples, contributing to translational advancements in understanding and managing these infections. A portion of this research has been published in the prestigious journal eLife.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | University Representatives | Australia China Scholar Network |
| 2024 - 2025 | Lab Assistant | University of Adelaide |
| 2020 - 2022 | Specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | Jinan Stomatological Hospital |
| 2017 - 2020 | Registrar/ Senior Registrar | Jinan Stomatological Hospital |
| 2014 - 2017 | Resident Medical Officer (RMO) | Qilu Hospital of Shandong University |
| Date | Type | Title | Institution Name | Country | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Award | 2025 Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences HDR Travel Awards | Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2024 | Nomination | Nomination of ANZBMS Roger Melick Young Investigator Award | ANZBMS | Australia | - |
| 2023 | Scholarship | University of Adelaide Research Scholarship | University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2019 | Award | The Annual Outstanding Doctor | Jinan Stomatologicall Hospital | China | - |
| 2019 | Award | The Outstanding Clinical Teaching Lecturer | Binzhou Medical University | China | - |
| 2017 | Award | The outstanding paper of young researcher in the 2017th Annual Conference of Shandong Stomatological Association | Shandong Stomatological Association | China | - |
| 2017 | Award | The Outstanding Postgraduate Student | Shandong University | China | - |
| 2014 | Scholarship | Postgraduate Scholarship | Shandong University | China | - |
| 2014 | Award | The Outstanding Graduate Student | Jining Medical University | China | - |
| Language | Competency |
|---|---|
| Chinese (Mandarin) | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| English | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | University of Adelaide | Australia | PhD |
| 2014 - 2017 | Shandong University | China | Master in Oral Medicine ( Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery) |
| 2009 - 2014 | Jining Medical University | China | Bachelor in Oral Medicine |
| Date | Title | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 - 2017 | National Residency Training | Qilu Hospital of Shandong University | China |
| Date | Title | Institution name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China | China |
| — | Registered Medical Practitioner | National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China | China |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Sun, Q., Huynh, K., Muratovic, D., Gunn, N. J., Zelmer, A. R., Solomon, L. B., . . . Yang, D. (2024). Rapid bacterial evaluation beyond the colony forming unit in osteomyelitis. eLife, 13, RP93698-1-RP93698-11. WoS1 |
| 2024 | Siverino, C., Sun, Q., Yang, D., Solomon, B., Moriarty, F., & Atkins, G. (2024). Establishing a Human Osteocyte-Staphylococcus Epidermidis Infection Model to Reveal Mechanisms of Chronic Bone and Joint Infections. Orthopaedic Proceedings, 106-B(S18), 40. |
| 2017 | Sun, Q., Wu, G., Chen, H., Chen, L., Chen, H., Zhu, G., & Zhao, H. (2017). Hyperbaric oxygen protects type II collagen in interleukin-1β- induced mandibular condylar chondrocyte via inhibiting the JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway. Oncotarget, 8(36), 60312-60323. Scopus13 WoS10 Europe PMC6 |
| 2016 | Chen, H., Wu, G., Sun, Q., Dong, Y., & Zhao, H. (2016). Hyperbaric oxygen protects mandibular condylar chondrocytes from interleukin-1β-induced apoptosis via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. American Journal of Translational Research, 8(11), 5108-5117. Scopus19 WoS18 Europe PMC16 |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Sun, Q., Huynh, K., Muratovic, D., Gunn, N. J., Zelmer, A. R., Solomon, L. B., . . . Yang, D. (2024). Beyond the Colony-Forming-Unit: Rapid Bacterial Evaluation in Osteomyelitis. DOI Scopus1 Europe PMC4 |
| 2024 | Sun, Q., Huynh, K., Muratovic, D., Gunn, N. J., Zelmer, A. R., Solomon, L. B., . . . Yang, D. (2024). Beyond the Colony-Forming-Unit: Rapid Bacterial Evaluation in Osteomyelitis. DOI |
| 2023 | Sun, Q., Huynh, K., Muratovic, D., Gunn, N., Zelmer, A., Solomon, B., . . . Yang, D. (2023). Beyond the Colony-Forming-Unit: Rapid Bacterial Evaluation in Osteomyelitis. DOI |
2024-2024, Medical Science 3rd Year Research Placement Course.
| Date | Role | Membership | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Advisory Board Member | Australia China Scholar Network | Australia |
| 2024 - 2025 | Member | ANZBMS | Australia |
| 2022 - ongoing | Member | Chinese Stomatological Association | China |
| Date | Topic | Presented at | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - 2025 | Culture-independent methods for pathogen quantification and detection in bone infection research | Adelaide | ICORS 2025 Adelaide | Australia |
| 2025 - 2025 | A novel molecular approach: rapid identification and quantification of bacterial load from bone of periprosthetic joint infection | Beijing, China | Chinese Orthopedic Research Society (ORS-China) | China |
| 2024 - 2024 | Rapid Molecular Detection and Quantification of Bacterial Load in Periprosthetic Joint Infection | Adelaide, SA, Austalia | ANZBMS | Australia |
| 2023 - 2023 | Absolute copy number quantification by digital droplet PCR (dd-PCR) to monitor bone infection | Adelaide, SA, Australia | Bio-Rad Laboratories | Australia |
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