About me
I am generally interested in scientific research, while my career thus far focused in the field of computational biology/biochemistry, I am also eager to apply my skill set for problem solving within other natural sciences. My life-long secular pilgrimage is to pursue the nature of reality through unceasing study of philosophy, mathematics, and physical sciences.
Currently
2021-2025
I am a PhD graduate at the Physical Chemistry Curie Lab, an interdiscipinary research unit of Institut Curie that uses physics to understand living matter. While my team specialises in molecular microscopy of membranes by means of in vitro reconstitution and cryo-electron microscopy, my project is focused on the development and application of image processing workflows for characterising membrane morphologies and resolving membrane protein structures from cryo-electron tomography data.
Previously
2018-2021
Before I started my PhD, I was a master student at Heidelberg University, where I focused my coursework in bioinformatics and computational biology. Through research internships, I gained experience in the fields of microfluidics (synthetic biology), proteomics (cancer biology), single-cell RNA sequencing (evolution), molecular dynamics (biochemical physics), and image processing for cryo-electron tomography (virology).
2015-2018
I completed my bachelor study in science at University College Utrecht, an honours college of Utrecht University, where I focused on the following subjects (tracks): cognitive neuroscience, chemistry, molecular cell biology, & medicine (gained pre-med qualification). Some topics of my track-finishing projects: spatial perception, brain imaging with fMRI/MRI, drug design, and plant molecular biology. Topics of my research internships: therapeutic nanoparticles, development and cancer modelling in organoids.
Future
2025-?
I intend to pursue a postdoctoral position and eventually a professorship in fundamental scientific research after my PhD graduation. I am interested in continuing in the field of cryo-electron microscopy/tomography. I am also keen on exploring alternative computational projects in protein sciences (e.g., protein structure, function, and interaction simulation/prediction, and protein design), abiogenesis, molecular paleontology/evolution, and image/signal processing (for applications in neuroscience, geoscience, astronomy and/or others). I am not actively seeking industrial positions, but I would be glad to be a part of promising academic startups and companies that make positive environmental impacts.
Hobbies
As a child, I practised gymnastics, learnt to play the piano, won awards in art and creative writing competitions. I also published writing pieces and obtained an official line art skill qualification. As a teen, my interests completely shifted to sciences. Instead, I won awards in Olympiad maths, innovative physics, and academic debate competitions.
Nowadays, since my work happens to be my major hobby, I am taking it easy. I enjoy going around on my goofy kickscooter, taking care of my pet lizard and his live food, struggling to play the majestic otamatone well (one day), doing amateur landscape photography when I travel and/or hike, going urban exploring, bouldering, and playing DnD or games alike with friends, I dungeon master.
Contact
The Physical Chemistry Curie Lab, 11 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris
xingyi.cheng@curie.fr