Xin Lu

Xin Lu is Professor of Cancer Biology and Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of Oxford. Xin has long-standing research interests in tumour suppression and was among the first to demonstrate that the tumour suppressor p53 responds to both oncogene activation and DNA damaging signals. Xin is also known for her work in identifying the ASPPs as the first protein family able to selectively steer p53 towards killing cancer cells.   

The Lu group has broad interests in the molecular mechanisms that control cellular plasticity, in particular how external signals are integrated into the nucleus to achieve cell fate determination. Using this knowledge, she aims to identify the cancer-initiating cell of origin and the molecular switches that control the conversion from benign to early cancer state.  

Xin is Founding Director of Oxford Centre for Early Cancer Detection and Prevention (OxCODE), an elected Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a member of the Academy of Europe, and has recently been elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering as an International Academician.