Welcome to my website!
Hi, my name is Yuxi Zhao and I am a regulatory specialist in the group of Prof. Frank Staal in the LUMC, Leiden, the Netherlands. I was born in a small village in the middle of China. Before I started high school I moved to the Beitun, a city in the upper north west corner of China. I studied veterinary medicine at Tarim University and Jilin University, and graduated from my masters in 2014. In the same year I took a leap of faith and joined a PhD program at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. I joined the Medical Microbiology department and was mentored by Prof. Dr. Jos van Strijp, Dr. Pieter-Jan Haas, and Dr. Kok van Kessel. I successfully defended my PhD thesis, titled "Crouching Neutrophils, Hidden Bacteria", four and a half years later in March 2019. I will always remember my time as a PhD candidate fondly. I learned a tremendous amount about science, myself, and the Netherlands. I made friends for life. And, most importantly, met my husband. In June 2019 I started as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Immunology of Tsinghua University, Peking, China. While there, I was mentored by Prof. Dr. Chen Dong and studied the IL-17RE / IL-17C axis in the gut. In my current position, I am working in team of specialists that prepare regulatory documents for clinical trials.
Even though a lot of my time is spend on work and with my son, I can still find time for my hobbies. For example, I really enjoy cooking for others. I love having friends or colleagues over so they can sample my dishes. My favorite cuisine is, surprise surprise, Chinese, but I also started experimenting with Italian dishes and even Dutch dishes (Dutch meatballs are always a success :D). All dinners are not complete with a home made dessert which I also really enjoy making. After dinner I like to play board games such as Risk, Dixit, Codenames, and the classic Chinese board game Mahjong. During the weekends I enjoy going for walks or play table tennis and badminton. You can also find me in a karaoke bar singing my heart out.
All in all I would say I am a social being that is passionate for her work and hobbies. Working and living in both the Netherlands and China has given me a unique background that I am incredibly proud of.
Feel free to reach out.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuxi-zhao-nl/