Congratulations to PhD student Xiaomeng Li on her viva success and her research on the fascinating world of bat immunity. Why can bats carry viruses that cause serious disease in other animals, while often showing remarkable resistance themselves?For Dr Xiaomeng “Melody” Li, this question formed the basis of her PhD research at the Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJE), where she investigated the evolution of antiviral immunity in bats.Melody recently successfully defended her PhD thesis, ‘The evolving Interferon response in bats: Interferons, ISGs and functional divergence of TNRC6’, marking an important milestone in her research career.Her work focused on interferons and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) – key components of the body's antiviral defence system. By studying how these immune responses have evolved in bats, Melody explored the molecular mechanisms that may help explain their distinctive ability to respond to viral infection.Her research also examined the functional divergence of TNRC6, a family of proteins involved in regulating gene expression, providing further insight into the complex ways bat immune systems have evolved. Congratulations to Dr Xiaomeng ‘Melody’ Li on successfully defending her PhD viva at ZJE. This is a remarkable achievement. Melody was one of the first students to begin her studies on our University of Edinburgh–Zhejiang University dual-award PhD programme, undertaking fascinating research into immune modulation in bats. Melody you have been an absolute joy to help supervise! Professor Sue Welburn OBE Executive Dean, ZJE Institute Her successful defence marks another achievement for the ZJE’s dual-award doctoral programme and highlights the international research environment at ZJE, where doctoral researchers work across institutions and disciplines to investigate questions at the forefront of biomedical science. Information about our PhD programmes based in China Biomedical Sciences (Based in China) PhD Integrative Biomedical Sciences (Based in China) PhD This article was published on Thursday 17 September 2026
