Hezhao Ji, MD, M.Sc., PhD

Dr. Ji is an adjunct professor in the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba. He is also a senior research scientist and the head of the Viral Genetics Unit within the National HIV & Retrovirology Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) at the JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Public Health Agency of Canada.

Dr. Ji obtained systemic trainings in clinical medicine, medical immunology, medical microbiology and infectious diseases with over 28 years extensive research experiences in relevant fields.

Dr. Ji has been leading the NML effort in developing and implementing next generation sequencing (NGS)-based HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) testing technologies.

Besides developing NGS HIVDR assays, Dr. Ji was also one of the primary designers/developers for the HyDRA pipeline and HyDRA web portal.

Dr. Ji has devoted tremendous efforts to promote the implementation of NGS HIVDR testing in front-line labs.

Working with WHO/PAHO, Dr. Ji had led an international technology transfer project (2014~2017) in implementing NGS HIVDR technologies in regional and national HIVDR reference labs within the WHO/PAHO framework.

Dr. Ji hosted three international training workshops (in 2015, 2016 and 2017) on NGS HIVDR technologies with trainees from many Latin America & Caribbean, and Africa countries.

Dr. Ji was the initiator/organizer/host of the 2018 and 2019 International Symposia on NGS HIVDR, from which the “Winnipeg Consensus” on bioinformatics strategies for NGS-based HIVDR testing was established.

Beside developing new methodologies for HIV resistance testing, Dr. Ji’s lab also conducts in-depth research on viral genetics, molecular epidemiology and metagenomics involving HIV and SARS-COV-2. 

Dr. Ji is a member of the WHO Global HIV Drug Resistance Network working groups on Research and Innovation and Laboratory Capacity building.

Dr. Ji also serves as a panel member in many national and international research funding review panels, and as editor/reviewer for multiple international scientific journals.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba (2007)

Master of Science (MSc) in Medical Immunology, Hebei Medical University (1996)

Bachelor of Medicine (MD equivalent), Faculty of Medicine at Hebei North University (1993)

Awards

Scientific Excellence Award, Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada (2019)

Science Co-op Supervisor Recognition Award from the University of British Columbia, Canada (2018)