Xiaolin joined SMART-CAMP-IRG in December 2019. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a B.Sc in Pharmaceutical Science from Wuhan University. Her Ph.D. research was on DNA epigenetic modification in bacteria. She has previously been a visiting PhD student at MIT andSMART-AMR-IRG for 2.5 years, where she worked on DNA modification mechanism in bacteria and developing DNA sequencing methods to map DNA modification sites. Her research interests include CRISPR/Cas-based molecular detection methods andt he development of novel DNA/RNA detection and sequencing technologies.

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Xiaolin is currently focusing on developing novel methods for the detection of adventitious agents in cell therapy processes. Cell therapies, like other biologics, are vulnerable to contamination with adventitious agents such as bacteria and viruses. Existing adventitious agents detection methods can take days, so Xiaolin is striving to develop new methods to speed up the safety control process. To this end, she has developed RApid DIgital Crispr Approaches (RADICA), an isothermal method for the detection and absolute quantification of DNA in hours. This method has been used to detect SARS-CoV-2,Epstein-Barr virus, human adenoviruses, and herpes simplex virus. Xiaolin is now exploring ways to expand the multiplex capabilities of the method and integrate it into CAR-T cell safety QC workflows.

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