WANG Jun (WJ)
(Associate Director, Beijing Genomics Institute Shenzhen, China)
http://sz.genomics.org.cn/?lang=en

WANG Jun (WJ), who was born on June 4 1976, graduated Ph.D. from the Peking University in 2002, the same year as he received the national excellent Ph.D. thesis for highest academic standing from the Ministry of Education, China.

The Bioinformatics Department of Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) was founded by his efforts in 1999. It has been moved to Shenzhen, and has been referred as BGI Shenzhen since 2007. It is now widely recognized as one of Chinafs premier research facilities, committed to excellence in genome sciences. WJ has been leading the scientific direction and daily operation of BGI genomics and its informatics part since 2002. In 2003, WJ was appointed as associate director and professor at BGI. During 2004-06 he was for 24 months invited guest professor at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. WJ was then appointed as Ole Romer professor of University of Southern Denmark since September 2006. In 2005 he was appointed professor of genomics (personal chair) at the life science college, Peking University and since 2007 he has been chairing the same position at the University of Aarhus.

For the last 8 years WJ has been leading a research group of 100+ people engaged in studies of genomics and its informatics. In 1999, WJ finished the analysis of a 1% region of human genome, which is sequenced by BGI. Then he devoted himself to genomics and its analysis, including genome assembly, annotation, expression, genome duplication, comparative genomics, molecular evolution, transcriptional regulation, genome variation analysis, database construction as well as related methodology development such as the sequence assembler and alignment tools. He also focuses on interpretation of the definition of ggeneh by expression and conservation study. In 2003, Jun Wang was also been involved in the SARS genome analysis and the silkworm genome assembly and analysis in cooperation with Chinese Southeast Agricultural University. The Pig Genome Survey Project was also completed with his leading effort at BGI. He has led a group finishing the chicken genome variation map and the TreeFam in collaboration with the Sanger Institute. Recently, he and his group have finished the first Asian diploid genome, and was published as cover story at Nature. Now, he is working on the population genomics and medical genomics, such as the 1000 genome project, YanHuang Project, large genome association study of Diabetes; metagenomics project of gut microbita. He is also leading genome variation projects of rice, silkworm, and pig genome project, as well as the molecular mechanisms of the domestication process.

WJ has been mentor for 6 academics who have defended their Ph.D. degrees, and is supervising 25 Ph.D. students. He has three years of bioinformatics teaching at the graduate school of CAS and Peking University, and has been awarded the gCAS Excellent Course and Teachingh award 2004. He has authored 50+ peer-reviewed original papers - of which many are published in high impact journals as Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Review Genetics, Science, PloS Biology, Genome Research, Proceedings of National Academy of Science and Plant Cell. For the scientific achievements, WJ has been recognized with Award from His Royal Highness Prince Foundation, Young Elite Scientist from the Danish Research Council, Lundbeck Talent Price, Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Top 10 Scientific Achievements In China, The first gTopSUNh Scientific Paper Award from Peking University, Tan Jiazhen Life Science Award from Fudan University, and Prize for Important Innovation and Contribution from Chinese Academy of Sciences.