2024 The Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad

2024 Goodger and Schorstein Research Scholarship

2024 ARUK Thames Valley ECR Best Scientific Talk

2022 Oxford Parkinson's Research Day Best Poster 

Shijun holds a B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (2018) and an M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine (2020). During his master’s studies, he engineered microfluidic platforms to investigate human brain organoid biology, laying the groundwork for his current research in neurodegenerative disease diagnostics.

As a DPhil candidate in Clinical Neuroscience under Professor George Tofaris, Shijun focuses on advancing biochemical assays and discovering novel biomarkers within neuronally-derived extracellular vesicles (nEVs) isolated from blood. nEVs are nanoscale membranous particles secreted by neurons into systemic circulation, offering a unique window into neurological pathology. Collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, he has demonstrated the clinical utility of serum nEV α-synuclein for stratifying individuals at high risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Notably, he developed an innovative microfluidic platform that identified nEV membrane-associated α-synuclein as a promising early-stage biomarker for PD, potentially enabling earlier intervention strategies.

His interdisciplinary work bridges engineering innovation, molecular diagnostics, and clinical neuroscience, with the ultimate goal of accelerating therapeutic development through precision biomarker discovery.