We're a diverse group of technicians, researchers, students, and scholars
Zibo Chen is the Mengxue assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University. He received his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry in the labs of David Baker and Frank DiMaio at the University of Washington and worked on mammalian synthetic biology with Michael Elowitz at Caltech as a Damon Runyon Fellow. His work focuses on programming biology using proteins as the coding language. Outside of the lab, Zibo is an instrument rated pilot and enjoys flying around in a small Cessna.
Awards: Science & SciLifeLab, BWF CASI, Damon Runyon, Dale F. Frey, Dirks, Protein Society HNOP, TR35, Forbes U30
Xinwen obtained her BE degree in Electrical Automation from The University of Jinan in 2019.
Hometown: Linyi, China.
Fun fact: Xinwen believes that we’re living in a simulation.
Yuanqi received her master’s degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2022.
Hometown: Changde, China.
Fun fact: Yuanqi believes that Squirtle and Pikachu is the most powerful combo in Pokemon.
Zhuo received her bachelor's degree in horticulture from Zhejiang university in 2022.
Hometown: Lishui, China.
Fun fact: Zhuo herself does not know why she is always feeling hungry. One possible reason is that someone told her to stay hungry and stay foolish when she was much younger.
Yi received his bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Shenzhen University in 2023.
Hometown: Qingyuan, China
Fun fact: Yi thinks the lab is a better place to sleep than the dormitory.
Xiaoyu obtained his Bachelor's degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, school of life sciences in 2024.
Hometown: Hangzhou, China.
Fun fact: Xiaoyu is an energetic werewolf who once climbed up a 5200m snow mountain. He is now well-trained to not show any aggressive behaviors during a full moon.
Zihang received his bachelor's degree from Zhejiang University, college of agriculture and biotechnology in 2024.
Hometown: Lishui, China.
Fun fact: Zihang is a plant and insect enthusiast. Don't be surprised if he suddenly talks to you about what family a certain plant belongs to.
Yishen received his PhD degree in Pharmacy from Wuhan University in 2024.
Hometown: Wenzhou, China.
Fun fact: Doubao (a one-year-old West Highland white terrier) is Yishen’s best friend from England.
Linghui received his PhD degree in Biophysics from The Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2024.
Hometown: Fuzhou, China.
Fun fact: Linghui is unable to recall his dreams after waking up each morning.
Xin received his PhD degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Peking University in 2023.
Hometown: Jinhua, China.
Fun fact: Xin has a strong interest in all kinds of animals, especially butterflies and jellyfish.
Jiawei received his PhD degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Wuhan University in 2023.
Hometown: Wuhan, China.
Fun fact: Jiawei believes the answers we are seeking are already around us, we just need to be patient and observe.
Fen graduated from Hefei University of Technology in 2020 with a master's degree in food science and engineering.
Hometown: Anqing, China.
Fun fact: Fen's interest is to manage scientific research (that is why she joined us as the lab manager).
Jing received her bachelor's degree in food science and engineering from Zhejiang Gongshang University in 2019.
Hometown: Zhoushan, China.
Fun fact: Jing enjoys playing piano, chess, and watching suspense movies.
Jinglin received his master’s degree in Biotechnology from Technical University of Denmark in 2022.
Hometown: Beijing, China.
Fun fact: Jinglin likes gardening and indulging in floral teas, though he has never developed a taste for honey.
Yuxuan received his Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from China Agricultural University in 2021.
Hometown: Beijing, China.
Fun fact: Yuxuan is an Agatha Christie fan but he has never read And Then There Were None.
Bokai is an undergraduate student majoring in Biosciences at China Agriculture University.
Hometown: Hebi, China.
Fun fact: Bokai is addicted to music games.
Yanzhang is an undergraduate student majoring in Ecology at Harbin Normal University.
Hometown: Fuzhou, China.
Fun fact: Yanzhang prefers capturing images on film.
Fangying is an undergraduate student majoring in Electronic Information Science and Technology at Shandong Agricultural University.
Hometown: Zibo, China.
Fun fact: Fangying is very interested in astronomy and astrology, and hopes to one day land on Mars.
Ruiqi Chen, Visitor
Last seen: New York University, graduate student
From 2022 to 2023
Yue Dai, Summer Student
Last seen: PhD student at Westlake University
From 2024 to 2024
Sacha Fouquay O'Donnell, Visitor
Last seen: University College London, masters program
From 2022 to 2023
Yu Guan, Summer Student
Last seen: Undergraduate student at Nankai University
From 2024 to 2024
Boyu Jiang, Summer Student
Last seen: Undergraduate student at Nankai University
From 2024 to 2024
Bingkun Li, Research Technician
Last seen: PhD student at University College London
From 2023 to 2024
Qinguo Liu, Visitor
Last seen: PhD student at Westlake University
From 2024 to 2024
Guojing Pan, Research Technician
Last seen: Shandong University, graduate student
From 2023 to 2024
Hongxu Peng, Research Technician
Last seen: Chengdu, Sichuan
From 2022 to 2023
Jingqi Qi, Summer Student
Last seen: University of Washington, graduate student
From 2023 to 2023
Xinying (Cindy) Ren, Visitor
Last seen: Eastern Institute for Advanced Study, assistant professor
From 2023 to 2023
Wuyang Shi, Visitor
Last seen: PhD student at Westlake University
From 2024 to 2024
Kaijun Wang, Summer Student
Last seen: PhD student at Westlake University
From 2024 to 2024
Bingze Wu, Graduate Student
Last seen: Aspiring game developer
From 2022 to 2024
Yibing Yang, Visitor
Last seen: PhD student at Westlake University
From 2022 to 2023
Anlan Zhang, Summer Student
Last seen: PhD student at Westlake University
From 2024 to 2024
Junyao Zhang, Summer Student
Last seen: Undergraduate student at Tsinghua University
From 2023 to 2023
Aaron Zhang, Summer Student
Last seen: Undergraduate student at UCLA
From 2023 to 2023