Aquatic Animal Feed Innovation Team

ZHOU Zhigang

Chief Scientist

Zhigang Zhou, Professor (Second-grade), Ph.D, Ph.D Supervisor, focusing on Aquatic Animal Nutrition & Feed Science/ Aquatic Animal Digestive Tract Microbiology. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in charge of scientific research of the institute, and is the Chief Scientist of Aquatic Microorganism & Feed Innovation Research Team at the Institute of Feed Research, CAAS.

He has been consistently recognized as a Highly Cited Chinese Researcher in Animal Science from 2020 to 2024 and boasts an H-index of 62. His research achievements have earned him several prestigious awards, including the Individual Excellence Contribution Award of the 4^th Science and Technology Award of the China Association for Science and Technology Industrialization (2024), the First Prize of the Shennong Zhonghua Agricultural Science and Technology Award (2023; Ranked 1^st), the Excellent Chinese Patent Award (21^st) (2019; Ranked 1^st), and the First Prize of the DBN Science and Technology Achievement Award (2015; Ranked 1^st).

As the primary inventor, he has filed 80 Chinese invention patents and 5 PCT patents, with 40 patents granted (including 3 PCT patents) and 15 technologies transferred. He also holds 2 software copyrights. He has published over 250 academic papers, including more than 190 SCI-indexed publications in journals such as Cell Reports, iMeta, Microbiome, iScience, Gut Microbes, Environmental Microbiology (featured cover), Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Journal of Nutrition (series), and Communication Biology as first or corresponce author. He has (co-)edited 5 books, 4 of which are in English. Under his supervision, he has trained a total of 54 postdoctoral fellows, master's, and doctoral students.

He has led numerous major research projects funded by national programs, including the National Key R&D Program of China, the National Science Foundation for Young Scientists Fund (A Class) of China, the National “Ten Thousand Talents Program” for Leading Scientific and Technological Innovation, the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and International (Regional) Cooperation & Exchange Program.

Additionally, he holds key positions in several academic organizations, including Standing Council Member of the Chinese Society of Fisheries, Director of the Committee on Aquatic Microbial Ecology and Resources, and Vice Chairman of the Animal Nutrition Branch of the Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine. Internationally, he serves as Vice Chair of the International Research Consortium on GIT Microbiota of Aquatic Animals and is a permanent member of the Steering Committee of International Fish Microbiota Workshop. He actively contributes to the academic community through editorial roles for several renowned journals. These include being the Responsible Editor for the Water Ecology and Environment section of Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica, an Editorial Board Member of Chinese Journal of Animal Nutrition, a Young Corresponding Expert for the Agriculture discipline of Engineering, and Associate Editor for the journal Aquaculture. He also serves on the editorial boards of iMeta, Agriculture Communications, Biobreeding, Water Biology and Security, and Marine Life Science & Technology.

Team Members

Key scientific researchers: Yalin Yang, Professor, Chao Ran, Associate Professor, Zhen Zhang, Research Associate.