Yizhong Yuan, Assistant Professor at Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology. His research focuses on using microalgae as a model organism to study photoreceptors and post-translational modifications. His work has been published in leading journals, including Nature Communications and Science Advances. He has delivered over ten oral presentations at international conferences in the field of algal biology and serves as a reviewer for several high-impact journals, including Nature Plants, Nature Communications, PNAS, Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, and Algal Research.

1. Functional mechanisms of algal photoreceptors;

2. Mechanisms of algal temperature response;

3. Functional mechanisms of algal o-glycosylation modification;

4. Microalgae-based biomanufacturing.

Education:

2018–2022, Ph.D.,University Grenoble Alpes,France;

2015–2018, M.Sc.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,China;

2010–2014, B.Sc.,China Pharmaceutical University, China.

Professional Experience:

Sept. 2025-Present, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, Assistant Professor

2023–2025, Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University & Carnegie Institution for Science, USA

2022–2023, Postdoctoral Fellow, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Selected publications from past five years

1. Y. Yuan, M. Arend, A. Tsichla, A. Ruiz-Sola, O. Bastien, N. Omranian, Z. Nikoloski, D. Petroutsos. "Phototropin connects blue light perception to starch metabolism in green algae" Nature Communications (2025)

2. Y. Aizezi, Y. Yuan, S. Xu, Z. Wang." A tale of two sugars: O-GlcNAc and O-fucose orchestrate growth, development, and acclimation in plants" Trends in Biochemical Sciences (2025)

3. A. Ruiz-Sola*, S. Flori*, Y. Yuan*, G. Villain, E. Sanz-Luque, P. Redekop, R. Tokutsu, A. Tsichla, G. Allorent, M. Arend, F. Iacono, A. Kueken, G. Finazzi, M. Hippler, Z. Nikoloski, J. Minagawa, A. R. Grossman, D. Petroutsos. “Light-independent regulation of algal photoprotection by CO2 availability”. Nature Communications 14, 1977 (2023).

4. M. Arend*, Y. Yuan*, N. Omranian, Z. Nikoloski, D. Petroutsos. "Widening the landscape of transcriptional regulation of green algal photoprotection" Nature Communications 14, 2687 (2023).

5. P. Redekop*, E. Sanz-Luque*, Y. Yuan, G. Villain, D. Petroutsos, A. R. Grossman. "Transcriptional regulation of photoprotection in dark-to-light transition - more than just a matter of excess light energy" Science Advances (2021)