International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, IEAS

Academician

Yixin ZENG

Profile:

Elected Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences in 2011, Professor Yixin Zeng is a distinguished Chinese oncologist whose research and professional work have focused on the molecular pathogenesis of malignant tumours, the genetics of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and cancer biotherapy. Born in October 1962 in Loudi, Hunan Province, he received his M.D. from Hengyang Medical College, now the University of South China, in 1985 and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences in 1990. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral and visiting research at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology and the Institute of Medical Science of the University of Tokyo, followed by research at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. Returning to China in 1997, he held a series of academic and administrative positions at Sun Yat-sen University, including Director of its Cancer Centre and Cancer Research Institute and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China. He later served as Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, President of Peking Union Medical College, and President of Beijing Hospital. Since 2017, he has served in senior positions in China’s national health administration. Elected a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2005 and a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences in 2008, he has also held leadership roles in the China Anti-Cancer Association and the International Association for Research on Epstein–Barr Virus and Associated Diseases. His honours include the Karolinska Institutet Grand Silver Medal, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress, and the Guangdong Science and Technology Outstanding Contribution Award.

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Professor Zeng’s research has centred on the molecular pathogenesis, genetic susceptibility, and prevention of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. His research programme identified susceptibility genes associated with both familial and sporadic forms of the disease and investigated their roles in tumour development, with findings published in Nature Genetics and Cancer Research. He subsequently identified a high-risk subtype of Epstein–Barr virus associated with a substantially increased risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, providing evidence for the interaction between viral variation and host genetic susceptibility. Building on these findings, his team developed risk-prediction approaches for population screening and has investigated strategies for EBV vaccination and cancer prevention. His laboratory has also explored sequential therapeutic approaches targeting both conventional tumour cells and cancer stem cells involved in recurrence and metastasis. Professor Zeng has published more than 300 research papers in international journals and holds four authorised national invention patents. His research has received a Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, several provincial and ministerial awards, and the Guangdong Science and Technology Outstanding Contribution Award. Through sustained research in cancer genetics and tumour biology, together with its translation into screening, prevention, and therapeutic research, Professor Zeng has contributed to the development of molecular oncology and to advances in cancer prevention and control in China.