Xiaonan Zhang is the Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra.  He now heads the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Group within the Centre for Research into Therapeutic Solution. His group focuses on clinic-oriented molecular biology and translational medicine of Hepatitis B Virus.

Xiaonan received his PhD degree from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, in 2012 and then worked at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre till 2021. In the past decade, his research has been dedicated to viral infections of public health importance, and particularly the molecular underpinnings of divergent outcomes of viral infections. His long-term focus on HBV has yielded unique insights that changed some key perceptions on the virus, one of which led to the discovery of a novel viral particle (Capsid-Antibody-Complexes, CACs) that has a substantial role in HBV pathogenesis. In addition, he also made significant contribution in emerging viral infections such as enterovirus 71 (hand foot and mouth disease), H7N9 Influenza virus, and COVID-19.  After the initial identification of H7N9 influenza in human (2013), he and his colleagues soon unravelled the rapid emergence of oseltamivir resistance in patients with unfavourable outcomes. In 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, he led a team of scientists from six institutions and performed a comprehensive analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in Shanghai. The unique dataset offered a first glimpse into the viral and host factors related to the clinical outcome of the disease.

Xiaonan moved to University of Canberra in 2021 where he continued to pursue his translational research on Hepatitis B virus. He collaborates with research groups within Australia (Peter Doherty Institute, University of Queensland) and internationally (Fudan University, National University of Singapore, University of Duisburg-Essen).

 Research Interests:

• Molecular pathogenesis of Hepatitis B Virus infection

• Development of therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis B

• Next-generation sequencing and its application in viral infections