Her research interests focus on outbreak detection and health emergency response, and she was a “disease detective” in the global response to epidemics and pandemics, including the SARS outbreak and the H1N1 influenza pandemic. During “peace” time, her research focuses on the introduction of new vaccines, diagnostics and treatments against infectious diseases in the United States, China and other Asian countries. She has published widely on various aspects of infectious diseases, particularly HIV/STD, viral hepatitis infections, and emerging and re-emerging infections. She has extensive experience in health product innovations. Prior to her appointment at DKU in January 2025, she was the Deputy Director for Health Innovation and Partnership at the Gates Foundation’s China Country Office.

Her teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include an introduction to global health institutions, global health challenges, and large-scale global health practice and programs. 

Xu received an MD in preventive medicine from Peking University and a PhD in epidemiology from Emory University. She did her postdoctoral training as an EIS officer at US CDC in Atlanta.