Associate Professor Cheong Xin Chan
Primary research interest
Genomics, computational and evolutionary biology
About me
Adept at genomics, lecturer in bioinformatics, researcher in complex genomes and evolution
Research
My group uses advanced computational approaches to investigate microbial genomes and their evolution.
Genome evolution and innovation
We study the innovation of eukaryote genomes relative to the organismal adaptation to diverse ecological niches including extreme environments. Our research spans from microbes, draught-resistant plants, weeds, corals to jellyfish.
Featured projects:
- Genome evolution of coral reef symbionts
- Genomics of extremophilic red algae
- Deciphering the epitranscriptome machinery using direct native RNA sequencing
- Researchers hunt venom clues in deadly jellyfish
Key collaborators: Debashish Bhattacharya (Rutgers), Boyke Bunk (DSMZ), Jeferson Gross (São Paulo State), Luke Guddat (UQ), Glenn King (UQ), Tim McDermott (Montana), Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty (Florida International), Gary Schenk (UQ), Jamie Seymour (JCU), David Suggett (UTS), Irene Wagner-Dobler (TU Braunschweig), Lars Wöhlbrand (Oldenburg), Hwan Su Yoon (Sungkyunkwan)
Hologenomics of symbiosis
We adopt genomic approaches to assess the genetic capacity of symbiotic partners in sustaining a functional ecological unit.
Featured projects:
- A genomic dissection of metaorganisms: molecular approaches for teasing apart the hologenome
- Ecological intelligence for reef restoration
- Moore Foundation's Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative
- Pilot Aquatic Symbiosis Hubs: Photosymbiosis in marine animals, and Coral symbiosis sensitivity to environmental change
Key collaborators: Mark Aarts (Wageningen, the Netherlands), Debashish Bhattacharya (Rutgers), Patrick Buerger (Macquarie), Ira Cooke (JCU), Peter Erskine (UQ), Jose Victor Lopez (Nova Southeastern U), Lauren Messer (QUT), Cynthia Riginos (UQ), Mike Sweet (Derby), Antony van der Ent (UQ), Madeleine van Oppen (Melbourne), Heroen Verbruggen (Melbourne)
Scalable phylogenomics
We develop and explore the use of alignment-free methods in large-scale inference of genome evolution as networks, beyond the conventional tree-like assumption of evolutionary history.
Featured projects:
- Microbial tree life taken another dimension
- AFproject, a global benchmark for alignment-free sequence analysis
Key collaborators: Guillaume Bernard (IBEN CNRS, France), Wojciech Karlowski (Adam Mickiewicz U, Poland), Burkhard Morgenstern (Göttingen), Fengzhu Sun (U Southern California)
Teaching
I teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at UQ.
I am the course coordinator for SCIE2100 and BINF6000 (Bioinformatics 1:Introduction), and I teach into BIOL3303 (Genomics) and BINF7001 (Advanced Genome Informatics).
Competitive Access to Research Infrastructure
National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme (NCMAS), 2022-2023
Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics of Microbes from Diverse Environments
Cheong Xin Chan (Lead CI), Phil Hugenholtz (CI)
2023 allocation: 7,600,000 Service Units; estimated value: $304,000
2022 allocation: 4,000,000 Service Units; estimated value: $160,000
National Computational Infrastructure Adapter Allocation Scheme, Q1 2023 round
Adaptive ecolution of coral algal symbionts
Cheong Xin Chan (Lead CI), Katherine Dougan (CI)
Allocation: 250,000 Service Units; estimated value: $10,000
National Computational Infrastructure Adapter Allocation Scheme, Q3 2022 round
Understanding heat tolerance of coral algal symbionts
Cheong Xin Chan (Lead CI), Katherine Dougan (CI)
Allocation: 250,000 Service Units; estimated value: $10,000
National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme (NCMAS) 2020-2021
Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics of Microbes from Diverse Environments
Cheong Xin Chan (Lead CI)
2021 allocation: 2,300,000 Service Units; estimated value: $92,000
2020 allocation: 1,600,000 Service Units; estimated value: $64,000
Researcher biography
Dr Chan has a PhD in Genomics and Computational Biology from UQ. He underwent postdoctoral training at Rutgers University (USA) in algal genomics and evolution. He returmed to UQ in late 2011 as one of the inaugural Great Barrier Reef Foundation Bioinformatics Fellows.
Dr Chan joined the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences in 2020 as a group leader at the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics (ACE). His group uses advanced computational approaches to study genome evolution and develop scalable approaches for comparative genomics.