She studied Biochemistry (BSc) in China and then developed her scientific career in the fields of systems genetics and integrative genomics. In the Netherlands she gained an MSc in bioinformatics (with distinction) from Wageningen University in 2003 and a PhD cum laude from University of Groningen in 2007. In 2008, Fu joined the University Medical Centre Groningen as a post-doctoral researcher; she was appointed an associate professor in 2015. She has been awarded various funds for her research, including a VENI grant in 2009 and a VIDI in 2014 from the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO).