Fuzhong Zhang

Fuzhong Zhang is the Francis F. Ahmann Professor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, part of the McKelvey School of Engineering. His research focuses on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering for sustainable production of biofuels, chemicals, and advanced materials. He holds affiliations with the Center for Science and Engineering of Living Systems and the Synthetic biology Manufacturing of Advanced materials Research Center (SMARC).

Education: PhD (2009, University of Toronto), MS (2005, McMaster University), BS (2003, Peking University). Postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley/Joint BioEnergy Institute.

Research interests include engineering microbial metabolic pathways, developing structure-defined biofuels, and leveraging cellular heterogeneity for biomanufacturing. His work bridges computational systems biology with experimental synthetic biology to create novel bio-derived materials and energy solutions.

Recent studies explore ATP's role in microbial bioproduction and the mechanical properties of bioinspired materials like spider silk. His publications reflect a focus on translating biological systems into industrial applications.

• Awards/Grants: DARPA Young Faculty Award, NSF CAREER Award, NIH MIRA Award, and multiple entrepreneurship recognitions.

Advising and grants: Active in mentoring students and securing federal funding across NSF, NASA, and DoD programs. His lab emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and technology commercialization.

Labs/Teams: Leads research teams within the SMARC and Living Systems Center, focusing on advanced materials synthesis and systems biology approaches.