Lin Xu Lab

With a Ph.D. in Biostatistics and Bioinformatics from Cornell University, I have developed expertise in the integrated analysis of high-dimensional datasets, machine learning, Bayesian modeling, and bioinformatics algorithms. My postdoctoral training expanded my expertise to include clinical medicine and cancer biology. Currently, as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Data Science & Biostatistics at UT Southwestern, my research focuses on the development and application of deep learning, statistical methods, and bioinformatics tools to discover new disease genes, identify therapeutic targets, and create software packages and web portals for online data analysis and sharing. For example, I recently led a study published in Nature Communications (PMID: 37149691, impact factor 14.7) in 2023 as the corresponding author, where we introduced an innovative statistics method that integrates genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics data to identify key regulators of germ cell tumors. We have also developed an online web portal to share our data and findings on germ cell tumors as a public resource for medical research (PMID: 32568554). In 2024, I served as co-/corresponding author on multiple high-impact publications, including Genome Biology (PMID: 38844966, impact factor 17.9), Briefings in Bioinformatics (PMID: 39470304, impact factor 14.0), and Briefings in Bioinformatics (PMID: 39082650, impact factor 14.0). These works introduced multiple novel deep learning and statistical algorithms for identifying transcription regulator-based biomarkers and disease-associated genes across bulk, single-cell, and spatially resolved omics data. In 2025, I continued as the co-/corresponding author on publications in Nature Communications (PMID: 39747840, impact factor 14.7), GigaScience (PMID: 39960663, impact factor 11.8), and Nature Communications (PMID: 38895220, impact factor 14.7). These studies presented innovative algorithms for uncovering disease genes and key drivers of the tumor/immune microenvironment using bulk, single-cell, and spatially resolved omics data. Since establishing my lab at UT Southwestern in November 2021, I have published 83 research papers, with 17 as a co-/corresponding author.

Since I joined UT Southwestern as a tenure-track Assistant Professor, my lab has developed multiple bioinformatics algorithms and deep learning models to identify new disease genes and therapeutic targets [e.g., Xu et al. Cell Reports (2019), Huang et al. Nature (2020), Lu et al. Nature Machine Intelligence (2022), Chai et al. Nature Medicine (2022), Takahiko et al. Science Translational Medicine (2022) (Cover Story), Shi et al. Cancer Cell (2022), Lebek et al. Science (2023), Xu et al. Nature Communications (2023), Zhu et al. Cancer Cell (2023), Zhang et al. Journal of Clinical Investigation (2023), He et al. Nature Communications (2023), Yu et al. Nature Communications (2023), Santos et al. Nature Communications (2023), Li et al. Nature Communications (2023), Wei et al. Cell (2023), Hernandez et al. PNAS (2024), Hu L et al. Mol Cell (2024), Eglenen-Polat et al. Nature Communications (2024), Lin CC et al. Nature Communications (2024), Xu L. et al. Nature Communications (2024), Venkateswaran N. Nature Communications (2024), Chen S. Nature Communications (2025), Liao C, Nature Communications (2025), Lin CA. Clin Cancer Res. (2025), Zhou Y. Nature Communications (2025), IGVF Consortium, Nature (2025)]. Since 2021, my lab’s research has been published in a series of high-impact journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, Molecular Cell, Elife, PNAS, Nature Machine Intelligence, Nature Communications, Nature Metabolism, Science Translational Medicine, Science Advance, Genes & Development, Cell Reports, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Cancer Research, Circulation, Circulation Research, and Developmental Cell.

With extensive experience in data science, I have served as the lead or co-PI of multiple grants from various funding sources, including the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Hyundai Foundation, Children’s Cancer Fund, Sam Day Foundation, Rally Foundation, and Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation.