Research Interests:
AI/ML for Computational Biology
Spatial Omics
Multi-modal Spatial Biology
Contact me:
zhenqin (at) enablemedicine.com
zqwu (at) cs.hku.hk
Hi! I'm an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong. My research focuses on developing artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning tools for modeling and interpreting spatial biology, including spatial proteomics (Method of the year 2024 by Nat. Methods), transcriptomics, and histopathological imaging (a nice review article here). I serve as a scientific advisor to Enable Medicine, a biotechnology start-up based in Menlo Park, California specializing in CODEX and other spatial omics experiments and data analysis. Besides, I am also an AI fellow at Genesis Therapeutics, an AI biotechnology start-up pioneering diffusion-based protein-ligand docking models.
I am seeking enthusiastic PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers to join my journey. Feel free to reach out if you are interested!
I obtained my Ph.D. at Stanford University, advised by Prof. James Zou and Dr. Vijay Pande, during which I worked on deep learning/machine learning applications in various fields of computational biology (Thesis). Before that, I was at Peking University, where I completed my B.Sc. in Chemistry, advised by Prof. Xinsheng Zhao.
My general research interests focus on deep learning and machine learning applications in biology and chemistry. I am especially interested in leveraging spatial omics measurements to answer the following questions:
How are molecules differentially localized in cells?
How are diverse cells spatially organized in both normal and dysfunctional tissues? (SCGP)
How to identify specific spatial structures that correlate with disease states and prognosis? (SPACE-GM)
When not coding or sleeping, you will most likely find me on a badminton court - jumping around and catching my breath. I have also been singing in the bass section of Sing++ (an acapella at Stanford, follow us!) for 6 years. Oh, and just to clarify, even though I majored in chemistry for over a decade, don't expect to see me in any wet labs. I practice my chemistry lab skills in my kitchen, dealing with batter and dough.