Saez-Rodriguez Group

Systems Biomedicine

Yunfan Bai

I conducted UPLC-MS metabolomics and lipidomics analysis during my Master studies at Harbin Institute of Technology, China. In this period, finding ways to connect different omics data came into the forefront of my interest, which ultimately prompted me to enroll to a doctoral programme in the lab of Prof. Shinya Kuroda at the University of Tokyo, Japan, where I worked on prior-knowledge based multi-omics integration and analysis of obese mice liver data. Since then, I developed an interest and passion towards the research of metabolism and computational biology.

In November 2024, I joined Saez-Rodriguez group at Heidelberg University, Germany as a postdoctoral researcher. I work in a collaborative project with pharmaceutical partner, to train patient-specific logic models derived from prior knowledge-based multi-omics network, by leveraging tools developed in the lab, such as COSMOS and CellNOptR.

Research Interests

I’m interested in understanding how biomolecules in our bodies work together as a system, and how such system changes during disease. By integrating different types of data, I construct multi-omics networks based on prior knowledge, by which I train and calibrate dynamic logic models. I’m passionate about quantifying regulations in metabolic pathways, including signaling transduction, gene regulation, enzyme phosphorylation, and metabolite-enzyme modulation.

Compare to bulk omics, single-cell and spatial omics bring us more information on multi-cellular communication, and the interplay between tissue structure and individual cell behaviors. I also work on understanding the pathogenesis of cancer and other metabolic disease in a space and time resolved way. Through collaboration with molecular experimentalists, my scientific goal is to extract interpretable mechanistic insights from clinical data and develop personalized treatments for patients.

Professional Career

2024-present Post-doctoral fellow, Saez Lab, Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany
2022-2024 Project research associate, Kuroda Lab, University of Tokyo, Japan

Education

2019-2022 PhD student in computational biology and medical science at Kuroda lab, University of Tokyo, Japan
2017-2019 Master in Biology at Harbin Institute of Technology, China
2013-2017 Bachelor in Forestry at Northeast Forestry University, China