Rong Rong PHD, MD

Associate Professor

Dr Rong Rong received her bachelor’s degree of Medicine in 1990 and earned her M.D. & Ph.D. of Medicine in 1998. She was a physician-in-charge at Shenzhen Red Cross Hospital before pursuing postdoctoral research at Emory University School of Medicine. She was a Senior Research Associate at Emory University Yerkes Primate Research Center before joining the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJLTU) as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Dr Rong’s research encompasses the signaling pathways of autophagy & apoptosis and the autophagic regulation in viral infection. Her lab is currently focusing on the virus-mediated dynamic changes of m6A mRNA methylation profile and its relationship with virus infectivity and host immunity. She has published over 50 journal and conference papers including the papers published in Nat Neurosci, Oncogene and PNAS etc.


  • PhD, MD, Tongji Medical University


  • Associate Professor-XJTLU-2010 to present


  • Viral infection and host immune responses


  • Zhu J., Yang LY., Zhang Q., Meng J., Lu Z. and Rong R*. Autophagy induced by simian retrovirus infection controls viral replication and apoptosis of Jurkat T lymphocytes, Viruses 2020, 12 (4), 381; https://doi.org/10.3390/v12040381


  • AIDS Vaccine 2010 Conference
  • The 64th AALAS National Meeting 2013


  • Rong, R., L. Luo, et al. Reproductive Immunology, 1998


  • Rong, R., C. Shi. 2015. Simian Immunodeficiency Virus. In: Experimental Animal Infectious Disease: ISBN 978-7-109-19562-2, published by China Agriculture Press


  • AIDS Vaccine 2010 Conference. A unique autologous neutralizing antibody pattern is elicited in each subtype A and C HIV-1 infection but the hyper-variable domains are commonly targeted.
  • The 64th AALAS National Meeting 2013. Isolation and DNA characterization of a previously undescribed SRV isolate. Our result indicates that SRV/D viruses can evolve into various genetically different serotypes in their natural hosts, which may challenge SRV/D detection results.
  • Cold Spring Harbor Conferences (Ubiquitin Family, Autophagy and Diseases 2018): Autophagy Induced by Simian Retrovirus Infection Controls Viral Replication and Apoptosis of Jurkat T Lymphocytes


  • Co-Invesigator, National Natural Science Foundation of China 2017 (31671373)
  • Principle Investigator, Jiangsu University Natural Science Research Programme 2013 (13KJB180023).


  • 2013 - 2014 Member of the Department Student Progression Committee
  • 2010 - 2014 Chair of the Department Student and Staff Liaison Committee
  • 2013 - 2017 Chair of the Department Learning and Teaching Committee
  • 2013 - 2017 Member of the University Learning and Teaching Committee
  • 2013 - 2018 Member of the Department Final Year Project Committee
  • 2017 - current Chair of the Department Progress Committee


  • 2010 2011: Cell Structure and Function BIO103
  • 2011 2014: Biochemical Methods and Analysis BIO102
  • 2010 2014: Molecular Biology Principles and Techniques BIO104
  • 2010 Present: Undergraduate Final Year Project BIO303
  • 2010 Present: Molecular and Cell Biology Techniques BIO205
  • 2010 Present: Microbiology and Virology BIO203
  • 2014 Present: Molecular Biology Techniques BIO113


  • BIO103 Cell Structure and Function
  • BIO102 Biochemical Methods and Analysis
  • BIO104 Molecular Biology Principles and Techniques
  • BIO205 Molecular and Cell Biology Techniques
  • BIO203 Microbiology and Virology
  • BIO113 Molecular Biology Techniques


  • American Society of Virology
Rong Rong