International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, IEAS

Academician

Le KANG

Profile:

Elected Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences in 2016, Professor Le Kang is a distinguished Chinese ecological genomicist whose research has focused on insect ecology, population genomics, and the molecular mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity. Born in 1959 in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, with ancestral roots in Tang County, Hebei Province, he received his B.S. in 1982, M.S. in 1987, and Ph.D. in 1990 from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska, USA, in 2009. Professor Kang was elected Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Foreign Member of Academia Europaea (AE), Foreign Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), Member of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and Foreign Member of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS). He currently serves as Distinguished Research Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Vice Director of the Division of Life Sciences and Medicine of the CAS, Vice President of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and Chairman of the IUBS China National Committee, and Vice Chairman of the China National Committee for the International Science Council (ISC). He is also a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and a Deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress.

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Professor Kang has held a series of senior academic and administrative positions, including Director of the Bureau of Life Sciences and Biotechnology of the CAS in 2001, Founding Director of the Beijing Institutes of Life Science of the CAS in 2008, Director of the Institute of Zoology of the CAS in 2012, and President of Hebei University from 2017 to 2023. In 2024, he was appointed Director of the Institute of Cell and Gene Technology and Chair Professor of the School of Synthetic Biology at Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology. His research has centred on ecological genomics, insect–plant interactions, and the molecular mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity and locust phase polyphenism, with particular emphasis on the genomic, epigenetic, and neuroendocrine regulation of density-dependent phase transitions in locusts. Through national major research programmes and international collaborative networks, he has contributed to understanding how environmental cues regulate phenotypic transformation in insects, with applications to pest management and food security. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature, Science, Cell, and PNAS. Through his continued involvement in national research programmes, academic institutions, and international scientific organisations, Professor Kang has contributed to connecting ecological genomics with research and applications in agricultural sustainability, biodiversity, and food security.