Xinru Qiu, PhD

Single-Cell Immunology × AI for Biological Discovery

I study immune disease using single-cell and spatial omics, with a growing focus on reliable AI agents for biological discovery.

My research examines how immune cell states change across infection, inflammation, and tissue environments. I combine biological questions with computational analysis to identify disease-associated patterns and develop hypotheses that can be tested in independent data or experiments.

I received my PhD in Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics from UC Riverside in 2023, advised by Professor Adam Godzik. Résumé available on request.

Selected Research

My work focuses on single-cell analysis of immune disease, from circulating immune cells to tissue microenvironments.

Single-Cell Immune Dynamics in Sepsis

Analyzed human single-cell transcriptomes to identify immune-cell signatures associated with fatal sepsis. Co-first author, Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2021.

Code & methods →

Platelet States Across Inflammatory Diseases

Used single-cell transcriptomics and machine learning to study platelet subpopulations across COVID-19, sepsis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. First author, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2024.

Code & methods →

Spatial Immune Biology in Kidney Rejection

Applied spatial transcriptomic analysis to investigate the location and gene-expression patterns of FCGR3A-high monocytes and macrophages in kidney transplant rejection. Frontiers in Immunology, 2025.

Code & methods →

View all publications →

Research Focus

Single-Cell Immunology
Understanding disease-associated immune cell states, particularly in infection and inflammatory disease.

Spatial Context
Connecting cell states to their tissue location and evaluating how local environments relate to disease.

Next Direction: Reliable AI Agents
Developing AI-assisted workflows that plan analyses, check data and statistical quality, document decisions, and connect results to verifiable biological evidence.

Methods & Skills

Single-cell RNA-seq · spatial transcriptomics · immune-cell analysis · statistical modeling · machine learning · Python · R · reproducible workflows

I document selected concepts and analysis methods in my Single-Cell & AI Notes.

Education

PhD, Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics — University of California, Riverside, 2023
MS, Pharmaceutical Sciences — University of Southern California, 2015
BS, Pharmacy — Jilin University, 2013

Let's Connect

I'm interested in collaborations on single-cell immunology, spatial analysis, and reliable AI agents for biological research. Reach me by email or LinkedIn.