Dr. Zhongchi Liu is a Chair Professor at the Faculty of Synthetic Biology at the Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology and a recipient of the National Distinguished Expert Award.Dr. Liu previously held a full professorship at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and is an internationally renowned expert in developmental biology, particularly in strawberry molecular genetics and fruit development.

Dr. Liu has established comprehensive tools and omics resources for research on wild strawberries and made foundational contributions to the understanding of strawberry fruit development, fruit type diversity, auxin synthesis and signaling mechanisms in fruit and seed development, and strawberry asexual reproduction. She has published 120 SCI-indexed papers in journals such as Nature,Genes & Development,Nature Communications,Plant Cell, and PNAS. Dr. Liu serves on the editorial boards of prestigious international journals, including The Plant Journal and Frontiers in Plant Science: Plant Evolution and Development.

Education Background

1991–1995: Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA

1983–1990: Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology, Harvard University, USA

1983–1988: Master’s Degree in Cell and Developmental Biology, Harvard University, USA

1982–1983: English Certificate, Guangzhou English Training Center, Sun Yat-sen University, China

1978–1982: Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology, Wuhan University, China

Professional Experience

2025-Prseent: Chair Professor, Faculty of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, China

2024–2025: Distinguished Professor, Faculty of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, China

2024–Present: Principal Investigator, Institute of Emerging Agriculture Technology, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, China

2012–2023: Full Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

2007–2009: Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF), USA

2002–2012: Associate Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

1995–2002: Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

Editorial Positions

1.Editorial Board: The Plant Journal

2.Associate Editor: Frontiers in Plant Science: Plant Evolution and Development

3.Guest Editor: Current Opinion in Plant Biology “Plant Growth and Development” V59 (2020-2021).

4.Editorial Board: Journal of Integrative Agriculture

5.Editorial Board: Horticulture Plant Journal

6.Editorial Board: Horticulture Advances

Honors and Awards

1.2025: Most liked Teacher Award, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology

2.2024: Stanford 2023/Elsevier- World’s Top 2% Scientists

3.2023: Outstanding Professor Award, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, University of Maryland

4.2023: Excellence in Research Award, University of Maryland

5.2019: Most Valuable Professor (MVP), University of Maryland

6.2005: Overseas Young Scholars Collaborative Fund, National Natural Science Foundation of China

7.2001: Sloan Foundation Pre-Tenure Fellowship

8.1992: Life Science Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

9.1991: Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

10.1982: CUSBEA (China–United States Biochemistry Examination and Application Program) Scholarship

Plenary Speaker at International Conferences

X International Strawberry Symposium, Yancheng City, China, 2025 (Keynote)

Tomato-Strawberry International Conference, Hangzhou, China, 2025

Society of Developmental Biologists 83rd Annual Meeting, Georgia, USA, 2024

10th International Horticulture Research Conference, Guangzhou, China, 2023

Plant Stem Cell Conference Japan, 2021

9th International Rosaceae Genomics Conference (Virtual), 2018

FASEB Conference on Plant Development, Vermont, USA, 2017

International Conference of Food Quality and Safety & 4th Fruit Quality Biology, Hangzhou, China, 2017

QMB Plant Molecular Biology Satellite, Nelson, New Zealand, 2016

International Conference Organization

Scientific Committee member for the X International Strawberry Symposium (盐城, China),2025

Co-organizer, Tomato-Strawberry International Conference (Hangzhou, China), 2025

Lead organizer of “Strawberry Genomics” workshop at PAG XXVII (San Diego, USA), 2019, 2023

Co-organizer of Society for Developmental Biology 76th Annual Meeting (Minneapolis, USA), 2017

Major Research Projects Undertaken

1.2024:Leaf dissection and margin serration are independently regulated by two transcription factors converging on the CUC2-auxin module in wild strawberry(Current Biology): Identified transcription factors regulating diverse leaf morphologies and their regulatory mechanisms.

2.2022:Mechanism of fertilization-induced auxin synthesis in the endosperm for seed and fruit development(Nature Communications): Revealed the molecular mechanism by which pollination activates the MADS-box geneAGL62to initiate fruit formation.

3.2020:Molecular framework underlying stolon development in strawberry: Led an NSF-funded research project exploring the genetic and molecular basis of stolon development in strawberries.

1. Molecular Mechanisms of Strawberry Fruit Development and Asexual Reproduction

2. Applications of Synthetic Biology in Strawberries:Modifying traits such as plant architecture, flowering, and fruit quality for vertical farming and other agricultural applications.

3. Developing plant chassis for efficient production of proteins and small molecules.