Liaoyi (Luis) Xu
About
I am a Ph.D. student in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Texas at Austin, where I work with Arbel Harpak. I am also completing an M.S. in Statistics at UT Austin. My research sits at the intersection of statistical genetics, machine learning, and population genetics, with a focus on how evolutionary forces and genetic architecture shape complex traits in humans.
I am especially interested in building statistical and computational methods that can recover signals missed by standard analyses, and in using large-scale genetic and sequencing data to better understand selection, sex differences, and disease risk.
Some questions I am especially interested in:
- how to infer selection acting on duplicated genes from modern sequencing data
- how sex-specific and dominance effects shape complex trait variation
- how machine learning can help connect human genetics, evolution, and disease risk
Previously, I earned my master's degree from Zhejiang University, where I studied invertebrate innate immunology.
News
| 2026 | I received the Graduate Research Recognition Fellowship ($3,000)! |
| 2026 | I received the UT Austin Outstanding Graduate Research Fellowship ($38,000)! |
| 2026 | “Escape from X inactivation drives sex differences and female trait variation” has been published in Molecular Biology and Evolution! |
| 2026 | I placed third at the UT Austin Energy AI Hackathon! |
| 2025 | “The genetic architecture of and evolutionary constraints on the human pelvic form” has been published in Science! |
| 2023 | I was named a finalist for the ASHG Charles Epstein Award (18 out of 1000+)! |
| 2023 | I received the American Chinese Geneticist Association (ACGA) Trainee Award! |