New DDLS Fellow: Wen Zhong
Our Q&A-style SciLifeLab & Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS) Fellow article series continues and next up is Wen Zhong from Linköping University. New DDLS Fellows are continuously being recruited and so far, seven have been recruited at Chalmers, Umeå University, Linköping University, Uppsala University, and The Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM).
Wen Zhong was born in Hubei, China, and graduated from both the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, as a joint Ph.D. in the summer of 2018. After that, Wen immediately moved to Sweden to join SciLifeLab researcher Mathias Uhlén’s lab. There she played a key role in the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) program as well as conducting her own research. Wen will join the Precision medicine and diagnostics DDLS research area.
How do you think your expertise can contribute to the program?
I’m a data enthusiast and fascinated by the beauties of mathematics and computations. With around ten years research experience in health and disease related integrative data-mining and data management, I believe I have been prepared to be an effective researcher in the field of data-driven precision medicine and diagnostics.
Shortly describe your research in an easy to understand way.
My research mainly focuses on the integration of multi-omics, the interplay between genetics and phenotypes, and the development of data-driven strategies/tools for precision medicine. The aim is to investigate the individualized molecular biomarkers for the estimation of disease risks, early diagnosis of disease, stratification of drug treatment response and disease progression monitoring. To this end, advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models for risk stratification and disease management platforms will be developed to improve the standard-of-care in the prevention and management of human diseases.
How do you think the program and interactions with the other DDLS-Fellows will benefit you?
The program is a unique resource platform. It provides not only a splendid amount of funding, but also a great channel to interact with other top talented data scientists. The scope and the aims of the DDLS program fit very well with my research background. Within this program, I hope I will be able to create new synergies with other fellows.
Name one thing that people generally do not know about you.
I’m also fascinated with photography, which can bring you different perspectives on the world.
Where do you see yourself in five years regarding the DDLS aspect?
I want to accelerate the data-driven research in precision medicine and deepen the understandings of both human health and diseases from a systematic perspective.
In one word, describe how you feel about becoming a DDLS-Fellow.
Excited!
