On November 22, the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) announced the results of the selection of new academicians, awarding the highest academic title in the country to 74 top scientists and scholars nationwide, including 10 in the Agriculture Division. Among them are two new academicians from HZAU - Professor Jin Meilin, from the College of Animal Science & Technology and College of Veterinary Medicine, and Professor Zhang Xianlong from the College of Plant Science & Technology.
Prof. Jin Meilin works in the laboratory (Photo/Liu Tao)
For more than 40 years, Prof. Jin has carried out in-depth and systematic research on the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases and sudden animal epidemics, so as to address the strategic health priorities in China. She has found the pathogenicity and immune mechanism for those disease, addressed key problems in R&D of animal biological agents and its application in industries, and introduced precise biological prevention and control products including new vaccines and diagnostic preparations. Such achievements have been successfully transformed into application and widely promoted nationwide, making great contributions to animal epidemic prevention and veterinary public health safety in our country.
Prof. Jin has undertaken 43 research tasks and was in charge of 29 projects including the Major State Basic Research Development Program (973 Program), he National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program) and National Key R&D Program of China. As the first person in charge, she has obtained 12 registration certificates for new veterinary drugs, 6 clinical approvals, 49 nationally authorized invention patents and 2 international patents. Besides, she has set 14 industrial and provincial standards. Prof. Jin has published 229 SCI papers, cited 4324 times, with the H-index of 34. Among them were 159 papers released in PNAS and Nat.Commun as the lead author or the corresponding author. In addition, she has been in Elsevier’s list of Highly Cited Researchers for nine years in a row, with 2 books as editor-in-chief and 4 as associate editor. The technologies developed by her have been transferred 59 times, securing a contract value of 2.2 billion yuan, and receiving 44.32 million yuan in payments to date. The research outcomes have been widely promoted and applied in 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country, leading to an added value of 57.7 billion yuan in breeding industry.
Prof. Jin has been awarded three Second Prize of National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology (two ranked first and one ranked second), six First Prize of Award for Progress in Science and Technology of Hubei Province (three ranked first), and one First Prize of Science and Technology Achievement Promotion Award of Hubei Province (ranked first). She has won 16 honorary titles and awards including the Prize for Progress in Science and Technology of Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation, Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize, the first National Prize for Excellence in Innovation, the National Advanced Individual in the Fight against COVID-19 in the Science and Technology System and March 8 Red Banner Pacesetter of Hubei Province.
Prof. Zhang works in the laboratory (Photo/ Jiang Zhaochang)
For more than 30 years, Prof. Zhang Xianlong has long dedicated himself to the research of cotton bioengineering and breeding. He has taken the lead in mapping the reference genomes of upland cotton and sea-land cotton and analyzed evolutionary law of cotton genetic resources, shedding light on precise design breeding. Prof. Zhang has developed techniques of somatic hybridization and plant regeneration, and made breakthroughs in distant hybridization compatibility, offering a new path for germplasm resource creation. In addition, by innovating the technology system of transgenic and gene editing of cotton, he has improved the efficiency of cotton breeding in China and spearheaded advancements of cotton cell engineering and gene engineering around the world.
By taking advantage of the new technology in biological breeding, Prof. Zhang has refined the varieties both in quality and yield, cultivating 24 multi-resistant cotton varieties with high yield and quality. Among them are five national approved varieties, which have been grown in more than 25 million mu (about 1.67 million hectares). In response to the demand for high-quality, disease-resistant cotton varieties in the main producing regions, Prof. Zhang has bred four such varieties that are suitable for machine harvesting, including “Huamian 702” and three other varieties. This has overcome the challenge of breeding cotton varieties with multiple resistance traits in Xinjiang.
As the first person in charge, his research outcomes have won one Second Prize of National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology, one Second Prize of National Award for Teaching Achievement and five First Prizes of Award for Progress in Science and Technology at Provincial and Ministerial Level. In addition, his research outcomes have been recognized with the Prize for Progress in Science and Technology of Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation and National Award for Excellence in Innovation. With 62 publications in esteemed journals including Nature Genetics, Nature Plants, and Plant Cell, he holds the position of the world’s top authority in the field of cotton, boasting an impressive H-index of 71. He has been recognized as a “Highly Cited Chinese Researchers” every year since 2014, and is the only “Global Highly Cited Scientist” in the field of cotton for the past three years. He has also been elected as Applied Scientist in Cotton Industry, National Model Worker and National Outstanding Teacher.
Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2023/1122/68398.shtml
Translated by: Li Xin
Proofread by: Dong Wenli
Supervised by: Jin Bei
