Hey there! 👋

I’m Ziwei Wu, a first-year PhD student at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne. Previously, I completed my master’s degree at the School of Ecology, Sun Yat-Sen University, focusing on animal genome assembly and evolution, especially in crustaceans. Some of my projects explored how the gut microbiome contributes to dietary evolution in herbivorous crabs. I also investigated virus evolution and host-shifting events in metazoans.

For my PhD, I’m passionate about understanding how gut microbiome traits might be shaped by or even influence primate evolution. My research explores traits primates may have gained or lost over time. For instance, previous studies suggest modern humans might have lost certain immune- or health-related gut microbiome traits due to evolutionary dietary shifts and the modern industrial diet.

I’m currently conducting research under the guidance of Dr. Vanessa Rossetto Marcelino, Prof. Sammy Bedoui, and Dr. Yao-Ban Chan at Parkville.

During my master’s journey, I was fortunate to be mentored by Professor KaYan Ma from the ABEL Lab. Their support and guidance helped shape my scientific curiosity.

I’m endlessly fascinated by genome evolution, bioinformatics, phylogenetic analysis, and even the magic of machine learning 🧬💻. Here’s to science, discovery, and endless cups of coffee – let’s make some breakthroughs together! ☕🔍🚀

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