2023-now Professor, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China

2021-2025 Founder & Director, Key Lab for Research and Evaluation of Nanotechnology Products, 

the National Medical Products Administration of China

2018-2023 Director-General, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China

2011-2018 Deputy Director-General, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China

2008- now Director, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Lab for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and 

Nanosafety

2005-2008 Executive Dean, College of Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 

(UCAS, previously GUCAS)

2001-2017 Professor, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

1999-2001 JSPS Fellow, Tokyo Metropolitan University & RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan

1996-1999 PhD in Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan

1993-1996 M.D in Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan

1981-1985 MSc in Chemistry, Sichuan University, China

Prof. Zhao is a pioneer in the study of nano safety, having proposed the toxicology study of engineered nanomaterials and established world-widely the first research laboratory in 2001. His work focuses on biological effects of nanomaterials for discovering their toxicological effects /biomedical functions in vivo, their biochemical mechanisms, the injectable nanorobots for in vivo drug/gene/gene tools/vaccine delivery and intelligent therapeutics, and their clinical applications. Prof. Zhao also aims to understand the chemical mechanisms of nanosafety and ensure the safe application of nanomaterials in biomedicine and industry. The analytical methods his team established has been adopted as ISO standards and are now used in all 168 ISO/IEC member countries. He further established a nanosafety assessment framework for occupational exposure to nanomaterials of industries, and has made significant contributions to the development of a new-concept nanomedicine for cancer therapeutics. From fundamental discovery to clinical translation, he is committed to addressing the major challenge of "Engineering Better Medicines" and promoting the global application of emerging "Safe-by-Design" technologies. Under his leadership, nanotechnology is bringing breakthrough advances to the medical, healthcare, and industrial fields in a safe and responsible manner. 

Research Achievements: He has published > 660 peer-reviewed papers (~90,000 citations, h-index of 159, Google Scholar) and was ranked the first worldwide in the field of nanotoxicology (with >81 highly cited papers from 2001-2025). He has published 13 books, with his earliest efforts on systematizing the knowledge for nanosafety in category of nanomaterials, and made significant contribution to building the knowledge framework for nanotoxicology, which has become the scientific bases and supporting for the approval of nano-drugs and Covid-19 vaccines using nanoparticles as carriers by the National Medical Products Administration (China) and FDA (USA). The research work of the team has led to regulatory tools for China FDA in safety evaluations of nano-drug approvals, establishment of national standard of nanosafety assessment for occupational exposure of nanomaterials, etc. Prof. Zhao has been granted 132 Chinese, US, EU and Japanese patents, these patents have been partly transferred to 7 companies. He delivered > 530 plenary/invited lectures at conferences/universities/institutions worldwide, and was invited to serve as a nanosafety expert/advisor by UNEP (United Nations, 2006), OECD (Nanosafety Team, 2006), Canada (2007), European Union (EU, 2009), France (2009), Finland (2010), etc. During his research in Japan, he is the co-discovers of the Element 113 (Nh) which is the first element that has been discovered in Asia and filled in the Element Periodic Table. 

Prize/Awards: The elected Member of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2021), the elected Member of TWAS (2018), the elected Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2017)，the elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the elected Fellow of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterial Sciences and Engineering (IUSBSE), JNB Global Impact Award (Springer Nature, 2025), Best Scientist in Biomaterials (Elsevier, 2024), The Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2019), TWAS Prize in Chemistry (2016, one winner per year among 96 member countries), National Prize for Natural Sciences (2018), National Prize for Natural Sciences (2012), China Award for Outstanding Contribution on Toxicology (2015), the 60 Years Achievement of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2009); Beijing Award for Leading Talent in Science & Technology (2014), etc. Chinese Academy of Sciences-Bayer Young Scientist Award (2006), Beijing Award for Science and Technology (2008), the National Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (2005), etc.

Society/Journal: He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Presidium of the Advanced Materials Societies, the China Association for Science and Technology; the President of the Chinese Society for Biomaterials; Vice-President of the Chinese Chemical Society; and Vice-President of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, etc. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Nano Today (Elsevier), Associate Editor of Science China Chemistry, Particle and Fiber Toxicology (UK), and Advisory Editorial Board Member of Accounts of Chemical Research (ACS, USA), Cell Biomaterials (Cell Press), Nanoscale (RSC, UK), and several other leading journals.

Selected Publications of Prof. Yuliang Zhao:

1. Yu, F.; Li, X.; Zhao, J.; Zhao, Y.*; Li, L.*, Photoactivated DNA Assembly and Disassembly for On-Demand 

Activation and Termination of cGAS-STING Signaling. 

Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2023, 62 (33), e202305837.

2. An, H.; Hou, D.; Yang, J.; Wang, Z.; Wang, M.; Zheng, R.; Zhang, N.; Hu, X.; Wang, Z.; Wang, L.; Liu, D.; Hao, J.;

 Xu, W.*; Zhao, Y.*; Wang, H.*, A bispecific glycopeptide spatiotemporally regulates tumor microenvironment 

for inhibiting bladder cancer recurrence. 

Science Advances 2023, 9 (9), eabq8225.

3. Chen, Y.; Zhao, R.; Li, L.*; Zhao, Y.*, Upconversion Luminescence-Boosted Escape of DNAzyme from 

Endosomes for Enhanced Gene-Silencing Efficacy. 

Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2022, 61 (34), e202206485.

4. Wei, Z.; Yi, Y.*; Luo, Z.; Gong, X.; Jiang, Y.; Hou, D.; Zhang, L.; Liu, Z.; Wang, M.; Wang, J.; Guo, R.; Yang, J.*; 

Wang, L.; Wang, H.*; Zhao, Y.*, Selenopeptide Nanomedicine Activates Natural Killer Cells for Enhanced 

Tumor Chemoimmunotherapy. 

Advanced Materials 2022, 34 (17), e2108167.

5. Chen, L.; Qin, H.; Zhao, R.*; Zhao, X.; Lin, L.; Che, Y.; Lin, Y.; Li, Y.; Qin, Y.; Li, Y.; Liu, S.; Cheng, K.; Chen, H.; 

Shi, J.; Anderson, G. J.; Wu, Y.*; Zhao, Y.*; Nie, G.*, Bacterial cytoplasmic membranes synergistically enhance 

the antitumor activity of autologous cancer vaccines. 

Science Translational Medicine 2021, 13 (601), eabc2816.

6. Li, S.; Zhang, Y.; Ho, S.-H.; Li, B.; Wang, M.; Deng, X.; Yang, N.; Liu, G.; Lu, Z.; Xu, J.; Shi, Q.; Han, J.-Y.; 

Zhang, L.; Wu, Y.*; Zhao, Y.*; Nie, G.*, Combination of Tumour-infarction Therapy and Chemotherapy via the 

Co-delivery of Doxorubicin and Thrombin Encapsulated in Tumour-targeted Nanoparticles. 

Nature Biomedical Engineering 2020, 4 (7), 732-742.

7. An, H.; Li, L.; Wang, Y.; Wang, Z.; Hou, D.; Lin, Y.; Qiao, S.; Wang, M.; Yang, C.; Cong, Y.; Ma, Y.; Zhao, X.; 

Cai, Q.; Chen, W.; Lu, C.; Xu, W.*; Wang, H.*; Zhao, Y.*, A Tumour-selective Cascade Activatable Self-detained 

System for Drug Delivery and Cancer Imaging. 

Nature Communications 2019, 10, 4861.

8. Li, S.; Jiang, Q.; Liu, S.; Zhang, Y.; Tian, Y.; Song, C.; Wang, J.; Zou, Y.; Anderson, G. J.; Han, J. Y.; Chang, Y.; 

Liu, Y.; Zhang, C.; Chen, L.; Zhou, G.; Nie, G.*; Yan, H.*; Ding, B.*; Zhao, Y.*, A DNA Nanorobot Functions as a 

Cancer Therapeutic in Response to a Molecular Trigger in Vivo. 

Nature Biotechnology 2018, 36, 258-264. 

9. Ji, T.; Zhao, Y.; Ding, Y.; Wang, J.; Zhao, R.; Lang, J.; Qin, H.; Liu, X.; Shi, J.; Tao, N.; Qin, Z.; Nie, G.; Zhao, Y.*, 

Transformable Peptide Nanocarriers for Expeditious Drug Release and Effective Cancer Therapy via 

Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Activation. 

Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 2016, 55 (3), 1050-1055. 

10. Wang, J.; Liu, J.; Liu, Y.; Wang, L.; Cao, M.; Ji, Y.; Wu, X.; Xu, Y.; Bai, B.; Miao, Q.; Chen, C.; Zhao, Y.*, 

Gd-Hybridized Plasmonic Au-Nanocomposites Enhanced Tumor-Interior Drug Permeability in Multimodal 

Imaging-Guided Therapy. Advanced Materials 2016, 28 (40), 8950-8958. 

11. Ge, C.; Du, J.; Zhao, L.; Wang, L.; Liu, Y.; Li, D.; Yang, Y.; Zhou, R.*; Zhao, Y.*; Chai, Z.; Chen, C.*,  Binding of 

blood proteins to carbon nanotubes reduces cytotoxicity. 

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2011, 108 (41), 16968-16973. 

12. Ge, C.; Lao, F.; Li, W.; Li, Y.; Chen, C.*; Qiu, Y.; Mao, X.; Li, B.; Chai, Z.; Zhao, Y.*, Quantitative analysis of 

metal impurities in carbon nanotubes: efficacy of different pretreatment protocols for ICPMS spectroscopy. 

Analytical Chemistry 2008, 80 (24), 9426-9434. 

13. Chen, Z.; Meng, H.; Xing, G.; Chen, C.; Zhao, Y.*; Jia, G.; Wang, T.; Yuan, H.; Ye, C.; Zhao, F.; Chai, Z.; 

Zhu, C.; Fang, X.; Ma, B.; Wan, L., Acute toxicological effects of copper nanoparticles in vivo. 

Toxicology Letters 2006, 163 (2), 109-120. 

14. Chen, C.; Xing, G.; Wang, J.; Zhao, Y.*; Li, B.; Tang, J.; Jia, G.; Wang, T.; Sun, J.; Xing, L.; Yuan, H.; Gao, Y.; 

Meng, H.; Chen, Z.; Zhao, F.; Chai, Z.; Fang, X., Multi hydroxylated [Gd@C₈₂OH₂₂]_n nanoparticles: 

Antineoplastic activity of high efficiency and low toxicity. 

Nano Letters 2005, 5 (10), 2050-2057.

15. Jia, G.; Wang, H.; Yan, L.; Wang, X.; Pei, R.; Yan, T.; Zhao, Y.*; Guo, X.*, Cytotoxicity of carbon nanomaterials: 

single-wall nanotube, multi-wall nanotube, and fullerene. 

Environmental Science & Technology 2005, 39 (5), 1378-1383.