Research Interests
Evolutionary & Functional Genomics; Molecular Ecology; Conservation Genetics; Comparative Phylogeography.
Group Leader
Kai Zhao, Principle Investigator of the group, is a professor at Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (CAS). He earned his Ph. D. in Animal Genetics from Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University in 2005. After several years postdoctoral training at Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (CAS), he was elected as a member of “Hundred Talents Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010. His research focuses on the adaptive evolution, biodiversity & conservation, functional genomics, and molecular ecology of plateau animals. 1) Taking a thorough and broad study of molecular ecology on the local animals from Qinghai-Tibet plateau on the genomic level, to reveal the relationships between the adaptive evolution of the organisms and the biological strategies of acclimation to extreme environment; 2) Applying the methods of functional genomics and cell biology to study the molecular evolutionary characteristics and mechanism of stress-tolerance genes or passway from the autochthonal/endemic fauna of Qinghai-Tibet plateau, to understand the mechanism of special adaptation to the harsh environment of plateau animals.
E-mail: zhaokai@nwipb.cas.cn
Group Leader: Kai Zhao
Group Members