Zhengxi Tang

Using technological advancements to understand disease spread and tackle amphibian population declines.

Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates, with the fungal disease chytridiomycosis (caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd) causing global declines. New experimental platforms are needed to understand chytrid infection and the influence of the microbiome on fungal skin interactions.

Zhengxi's PhD project aims to tackle this challenge by developing a “frog skin-on-a-chip” platform using microfluidics technology. These miniaturised platforms, to be developed in the Stanley Lab at Imperial College London in collaboration with Professor Trent Garner (Institute of Zoology) and Professor Matthew Fisher (Imperial), will allow biological events to be monitored at the level of single organisms and cells by enabling precise environmental control, high-resolution dynamic imaging, the simulation of environmental complexity, and providing quantitative information. The goal is to gain new insights into the dynamics of infection and immunity in this key holobiont, while reducing the need for in-vivo testing.