Xinmu Li
PhD Student
Biography
I am a PhD student at King's College London, working within the MBP Lab under the supervision of Dr Alessandra Borsini. I hold a Master of Pharmacy in Pharmacology from Peking Union Medical College (Tsinghua University) and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from China Pharmaceutical University, where I developed a strong foundation in neuropharmacology.
My previous research focused on the neurobiology of depression, with a particular emphasis on astrocytes, gap junctions, and glutamatergic signaling. During my Master’s, I investigated the role of astrocytic Cx43 in antidepressant response and treatment-resistant depression.
My current PhD project is part of the recently funded Wellcome Trust BEACON (Bipolar Early Assessment and Clinical Onward Navigation) study. By integrating large-scale human multi-omic data with functional cellular assays, my research aims to uncover brain-specific mechanisms underlying bipolar disorder. These findings will be back-translated to refine dynamic risk models, ultimately contributing to the development of robust methodologies for early diagnosis and improved clinical management of this debilitating condition.