Li Yin

Biography

Prof. Yin Li received his Ph.D degree at Jiangnan University in 2000. He then went to the Netherlands and worked in Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences as a post-doctoral researcher. He was later recruited as Research Officer by Science Foundation of Ireland and worked in University College Cork. In 2006 he was recruited as Principle Investigator by Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS), under the support of the Hundred Talents Program of CAS. Currently, he is serving as the Associate Editor of Chinese Journal of Biotechnology, and Member of the Editorial Board of Biotechnology Journal. In 2010 he was selected as the Young Affiliate of the Third-World Academy of Sciences.  

Research Interest

Dr. Li’s major research interest is to improve the functionality of industrial microorganisms. He has published more than 60 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. The research of his group is supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of CAS, National High-Technology Program, National Basic Research Program, and National Science Foundation of China. His group has also established extensive collaborations with industry partners including Shell and DSM   His laboratory is interested in understanding the physiology of industrial fermentation from the molecular level and improving the performance of industrial microorganisms using systems biotechnology approach. In his laboratory, lactic acid bacteria and extremophiles with acid-, alkali-, and solvent-tolerance are selected as research models. Insights into the molecular basis and the regulatory mechanism for the production of bulk chemicals by these microorganisms will be gained using genomics tools. By integrating the data generated from genomics, novel metabolic engineering strategies will be developed to improve the functionality of industrial microorganisms.   They are also interested in developing novel methodologies to support the development of systems biotechnology. This includes high-throughput screening method for obtaining microorganisms with industrial potential for producing bio-based chemicals; novel genetic tools for prokaryotes and genome-wide random mutagenesis strategy; methodology for integrating data generated from genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, and fluxome studies; and development of genome-scale metabolic models by which the biological behavior of microorganisms can be predicted and simulated. .