Rate My Professor Zuhua He

Dr. Zuhua He is a Professor at the CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and serves as Principal Investigator in the National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics. He was elected as an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023. He earned his B.S. in Agronomy from Zhejiang Agricultural University in 1983, his M.Sc. in Plant Genetics and Breeding with a minor in Plant Pathology from the same institution in 1986, and his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology and Plant Molecular Genetics from Zhejiang Agricultural University (now Zhejiang University) in 1996. His postdoctoral appointments include positions at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies from 1997 to 1998 and at the University of California, Davis, from 1999 to 2000. He has held his current professorship at the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2000, following earlier roles as Lecturer, Research Associate, and Associate Professor at Zhejiang Agricultural University and Zhejiang University.

His research focuses on plant disease resistance, immune signaling, and rice functional genomics, with particular emphasis on mechanisms of broad-spectrum disease resistance to fungal pathogens in rice and the crosstalk between immunity and development or yield. Key contributions include discoveries related to NLR-mediated blast resistance, immune homeostasis networks in cereals, and genetic factors influencing grain filling and disease resistance. He has authored or co-authored numerous high-impact publications, including papers in Nature, Cell, Science Advances, Molecular Cell, and Nature Genetics. Dr. He has received recognition for his work in advancing understanding of plant immunity and its applications in crop breeding.