Xu obtained a Bachelor's degree in Agronomy from Henan Agricultural University. Motivated by a strong interest in neuroscience, he pursued a Master's degree in Neurobiology at Kunming University of Science and Technology, focusing on researching disease biomarkers using non-human primate models. After that, he joined the Lab of Neural Dynamics of Visual Perception and Cognition as a research assistant.

Xu is interested in investigating the neural mechanisms of attention and consciousness in the domain of visual perception.