PI Background：

Howard Chou graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Engineering in Computer Science.  In 2012, he received his PhD in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, working in the laboratory of Prof. Jay Keasling.  Before joining SIAT, he served as the Vice President of Research & Development at a leading industrial biotechnology company headquartered in Shanghai.  He is the lead inventor on more than fifteen international patents and patent applications, and has published in journals, such as Nature Communications, Nature Biotechnology, and Applied & Environmental Microbiology.  In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the Second Zhangjiang Outstanding Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Award, and Outstanding Technology Leader Award of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission.

Main research directions:

Many industrially valuable chemicals used in the pharmaceutical and polymer industries are derived from petroleum or use chemical processes harmful to the environment.  The IP and production processes to synthesize these chemicals are well established, as a result, the field has experienced very few advancements over the past decades.  This lab’s main focus is to commercialize new processes using either bio-based substrates or fermentation to produce industrially valuable chemicals.  The development of new processes that can effectively compete on cost with existing petroleum-based processes will reduce the environmental impact of our society’s development, and decrease the cost of life-saving drugs delivered to those people in need.  

PI Background：

Howard Chou graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Engineering in Computer Science.  In 2012, he received his PhD in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, working in the laboratory of Prof. Jay Keasling.  Before joining SIAT, he served as the Vice President of Research & Development at a leading industrial biotechnology company headquartered in Shanghai.  He is the lead inventor on more than fifteen international patents and patent applications, and has published in journals, such as Nature Communications, Nature Biotechnology, and Applied & Environmental Microbiology.  In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the Second Zhangjiang Outstanding Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Award, and Outstanding Technology Leader Award of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission.

 Main research directions:

Many industrially valuable chemicals used in the pharmaceutical and polymer industries are derived from petroleum or use chemical processes harmful to the environment.  The IP and production processes to synthesize these chemicals are well established, as a result, the field has experienced very few advancements over the past decades.  This lab’s main focus is to commercialize new processes using either bio-based substrates or fermentation to produce industrially valuable chemicals.  The development of new processes that can effectively compete on cost with existing petroleum-based processes will reduce the environmental impact of our society’s development, and decrease the cost of life-saving drugs delivered to those people in need.  

Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology is an unincorporated scientific research organization led by the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT).

Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT)-Chinese Academy of Sciences was jointly established by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and the Shenzhen Municipal Government in 2006. Over the past 14 years, SIAT has formed a research team of more than 3300 people, including over 600 staffs with overseas experience.The wide-ranging expertise drawing from technical, engineering or science professions has now positioned SIAT at the interface between B.o Technologies (BT) and Information Technology (IT) for the 21st century innovation. 

With the vision of building and understanding life, integrating BT and IT, and constructing a world-class research institute of synthetic biology, our institute adheres to the concept of "build life for understanding it, build life for applications", focusing on the understanding of artificial life systems, through research on the basic principles, core methods and medical applications of synthetic biology.

For more information, please visit the official iSynBio website：http://www.isynbio.org.cn/index_en.aspx and iSynBio PI laboratory website：http://www.isynbio.org.cn/team_en.aspx