Zhiwen Liu, Ph.D./Prof,
State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography,
Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology,
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica,
South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Email: liuzhiwen@scsio.ac.cn
Address: 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou, China 510301
Research Areas
1. Genome-guided discovery of novel bioactive natural products from marine sources.
Integrating genomic and bioinformatic analyses, artificial intelligence (AI), and synthetic biology to discover novel bioactive lead compounds featuring targeted pharmacophores.
2. Biosynthesis and mechanistic elucidation of key pharmacophores in natural products, and development of new biocatalysts.
Characterizing the functions, structural basis, and catalytic mechanisms of key biosynthetic enzymes to uncover novel biocatalytic mechanisms, and applying rational engineering to develop innovative biocatalytic strategies.
3. Discovery, development, and biomanufacturing of innovative pharmaceuticals and functional products.
Guided by clinical needs and target structures, optimizing lead compounds through structural modification and drug-likeness optimization, and developing efficient biosynthetic production platforms for scalable manufacturing to accelerate the development and translation of drug candidates and functional products.
Education
2014 - 2017, Ph. D., Chemistry of Chinese Materia Medica. Jinan University (JNU), Guangzhou, China
Experience
Work Experience
2026 - present, Professor, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO), CAS, Guangzhou, China
2023 - 2026, Research Scientist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), Houston, US
2022 - 2023, Postdoctoral Associate, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, US
2019 - 2022, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Rice University, Houston, US
2017 - 2019, Postdoctoral Fellow, SCSIO, CAS, Guangzhou, China
Publications
Representative publications
Nature Chemistry 2023, 15: 1–9 (DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-01117-6).
Nature Communications 2026, 17: 10947 (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-77444-w).
Nature Communications 2021, 12: 4158 (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24421-0).
Organic Letters 2025, 27: 5936–5941 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.orglett.5c01012).
Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 2019, 17: 1053–1057 (DOI: 10.1039/C8OB02775G).
The Journal of Organic Chemistry 2018, 83: 10613–10618 (DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.8b01371).
Full list of publications
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ovHJuKgAAAAJ&hl=en