Zhang Youming

Professor Youming Zhang is a leading academic at Shandong University, serving as Director of the Shandong University–Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology and the State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology since 2013. He has pioneered advancements in biotechnology through cross-border collaborations between Germany and China.

• Ph.D. in Medicine (University of Heidelberg, 1995)
• Postgraduate studies (Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 1988-1990)
• Bachelor’s degree (Xiamen University, 1985)

His research focuses on synthetic biotechnology, genome editing, and microbial natural product biosynthesis, with groundbreaking work in Red/ET DNA recombineering and heterologous gene expression. His publications span high-impact journals like Nature, Nature Biotechnology, and PNAS, emphasizing techniques for efficient DNA manipulation and natural product discovery.

He has received major accolades including the Elsevier 'Chinese Most Cited Researchers' (2018) and the National 'Thousand People Plan' expert (2013). His career includes founding Gene Bridges GmbH (2000) and holding EMBO Long-Term Fellowships at EMBL (1997-2000).