Pengxing Cao obtained his bachelor of science in mathematics (First Class Honours) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2011, after which he started his three and a half years’ PhD journey at the same university. His PhD thesis looked at mathematical modelling of calcium oscillations in airway smooth muscle cells, which is highly associated with the cause of asthma. Near the completion of his PhD, an opportunity from the University of Melbourne appeared for him to touch the field of infectious disease modelling. His work has been focused on understanding within-host dynamics of influenza virus and malaria parasites using mathematical models. Pengxing Cao works at the University of Melbourne with James McCaw.