Shen Renfang

Shen Renfang is a Researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and serves as Director of the institute and its Key Laboratory of Cultivated Land Conservation under the Ministry of Agriculture. He is President of the Chinese Society of Soil Science, Editor-in-Chief of Pedosphere, and holds advisory roles in national and international organizations related to soil and plant interactions.

• Education:
  • B.Sc. in Agronomy, Zhejiang Agricultural University (now Zhejiang University), 1986
  • M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Soil Science, Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1989 and 1993
  • Postdoctoral Research, Rothamsted Experiment Station (UK), 1994–1995
  • Special Research Fellow, Japan Institute of Agro-Environmental Technology, 1998–2000
  • Special Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Kagawa University, 2000–2002

Shen’s research spans soil chemistry, plant nutrition, and environmental chemistry, focusing on plant and microbial tolerance to aluminum toxicity, nutrient cycling in acidic soils, and molecular mechanisms of plant adaptation. His groundbreaking work includes identifying Camellia oleifera as an aluminum hyperaccumulator, elucidating aluminum detoxification via vacuolar compartmentalization and oxalic acid chelation, and establishing nitrogen-aluminum coupling models for soil-plant systems. He has published over 160 papers, with 70+ in SCI-indexed journals such as Trends in Plant Science and New Phytologist.

• Scientific Awards:
  • First Prize, Chinese Society of Soil Science (2015)
  • Second Prize, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2015)
  • State Council Special Government Allowance (2010)
  • National Outstanding Youth Fund (2011)
  • Jiangsu Province '333' Project Second-Level Discipline Leader (2013)
  • Jiangsu Province Young and Middle-Aged Expert with Outstanding Contributions (2016)

Contact: Tel. +86-25-86881563, Email: rfshen@issas.ac.cn. He has led major projects including the National Key Basic Research Program (973), CAS Strategic Priority Program, and NSFC Innovation Group Projects.