Guo Hongwei

Professor Guo Hongwei is a Chair Professor at the Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), where he serves as Acting Dean and Director of the SUSTech-PKU Institute of Plant and Food Science. His career spans groundbreaking work in plant molecular biology and genetics, particularly in ethylene signaling mechanisms and their crosstalk with other hormones and environmental factors.

• Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (2001)
• M.S., Peking University (1995)
• B.S., Nankai University (1992)

Guo’s research has established protein degradation and RNA decay models for ethylene action, revealing interactions with auxin, jasmonate, and gibberellin. His team’s work on gene silencing and plant senescence regulation has been published in Cell, Nature, and Science. Recent studies focus on multi-level gene silencing mechanisms and chemical genetics to identify postharvest compounds.

His 15 most recent articles (2023–2025) highlight innovations in RNA decay pathways, hormone crosstalk, leaf senescence regulation, and stress adaptation, with tools like chemical screening and single-nucleus RNA-seq.

• 2025 Ministry of Education Natural Science First Prize
• 2023 Shenzhen Natural Science First Prize
• New Cornerstone Researcher Program (2023)
• Highly Cited Scholar (2020–2022)
• 2006 National Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars

Guo’s leadership includes founding the SUSTech-PKU Institute of Plant and Food Science and directing the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Design of Plant Cell Factories, driving interdisciplinary collaborations in plant biotechnology and agri-food innovation.