Dr. LIU Chenli of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences was awarded the Agilent Thought Leader Award on April 3, 2023, for his pioneering studies on synthetic biology and specifically research to develop a synthetic cell capable of reproducing by coordinating individual cell properties utilizing a bottom-up approach to understand biological circuits.

Dr. LIU Chenli is now vice president of SIAT. He is the founder and director of Institute of Synthetic Biology (iSynBio) at SIAT, which is the largest research institute worldwide focused on synthetic biology. He is also founder and chief scientist of Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Core Facility.

iSynBio has been working to improve the level of technological innovation and innovation capabilities in synthetic biology at SIAT since 2017. Their research focuses on addressing the shortcomings of basic research in synthetic biology, overcoming the inherent challenges in the R&D process, and constantly improving the innovative ecological process of “basic research + technological breakthroughs + industrialization of achievements + science and technology finance”.

"I feel privileged to receive this Agilent Thought Leader Award," said LIU. "I am confident that with Agilent’s support and its world-leading testing and analysis technologies and solutions, our studies in synthetic biology, one of the most cutting-edge fields in life science, will soon bear fruit that will provide great benefits."

YANG Ting, Agilent vice president, and general manager of the Greater China Commercial Organization expressed high recognition to Dr. LIU’s excellence as a researcher and an inspiring leader, and said that Agilent is proud to support Dr. LIU with a complete solution that comprises Agilent’s full product portfolio, be it genetic research solutions, cell analysis solutions, chromatography and mass spectrometry solutions, and more, to facilitate his research goal of shaping an innovative eco-system of the synthetic biology study in China.

"The rapid development of synthetic biology has led to the third biotechnological revolution since the discovery of the helical structure of DNA, and this revolutionary technology is poised to make a profound impact on how products are more sustainably manufactured," said Darlene Solomon, Agilent senior vice president and chief technology officer. "Agilent has focused on the field of synthetic biology for many years, and supporting leading researchers like Dr. Liu underscores our commitment to accelerating the development of this important field."

Established by Agilent Technologies Inc. in 2013, the Agilent Thought Leader Award program promotes fundamental scientific advances by contributing financial support, products, and expertise to the research of influential thought leaders in the life sciences, diagnostics, and chemical analysis space. To date, 56 scientists from around the world have received this award, including six from China, one of them is JIANG Hualiang, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Winners in the field of synthetic biology include such renowned scholars as James Collins (Member of USA three national academies), George Church (Member of the American Academy of Sciences\Engineering), David R Liu (Vice Chair of the Faculty at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT).

Agilent Technologies Inc. focuses on life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets, delivering insight and innovation that help customers bring great science to life.

YANG Ting (Left), Agilent Global vice president is presenting the Memorial Trophy to LIU (Right). (Image by SIAT)