
Zikang Xu
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
South Australian Immunogenomics Cancer Institute
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Hi! I’m Zikang and I’ll be undertaking my PhD at SAiGENCI under the supervision of Professor Lan Nguyen and Dr Sungyoung Shin. I completed my Master’s degree in Prof. Lan’s lab at Monash, where I investigated synthetic lethality in cancer. Earlier, I developed AI-driven algorithms for quantitative trading and completed a research internship at the SIBCB, Chinese Academy of Sciences, exploring DNA demethylation.
Bridging computational finance and molecular biology has shown me that mechanistic systems-biology models, empowered by modern AI and HPC, can help close persistent gaps in cancer research. Driven by curiosity and a personal promise, I aim to expand our understanding of cancer biology and advance the search for more effective therapies by leveraging mechanistic models to pinpoint actionable vulnerabilities in tumour-signalling networks - from synthetic-lethal pairs to combination strategies that pre-empt adaptive resistance. I’m honoured to join SAiGENCI and look forward to learning from everyone and, in whatever small way I can, contributing to our collective efforts.