The Most Famous
BIOLOGISTS from China
This page contains a list of the greatest Chinese Biologists. The pantheon dataset contains 1,097 Biologists, 6 of which were born in China. This makes China the birth place of the 24th most number of Biologists behind Romania, and Latvia.
Top 6
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Chinese Biologists of all time. This list of famous Chinese Biologists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Leizu (b. )
With an HPI of 60.99, Leizu is the most famous Chinese Biologist. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.
Leizu (Chinese: 嫘祖; pinyin: Léi Zǔ), also known as Xi Ling-shi (Chinese: 西陵氏, Wade–Giles Hsi Ling-shih), was a legendary Chinese empress and wife of the Yellow Emperor. According to tradition, she discovered sericulture, and invented the silk loom, in the 27th century BC.
2. Yang Zhongjian (1897 - 1979)
With an HPI of 53.91, Yang Zhongjian is the 2nd most famous Chinese Biologist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Yang Zhongjian, also Yang Chung-chien (Chinese: 杨钟健; Wade–Giles: Yang2 Chung1-chien4; 1 June 1897 – 15 January 1979), courtesy name Keqiang (克强), also known as C.C. (Chung Chien) Young, was a Chinese paleontologist and zoologist. He was one of China's foremost vertebrate paleontologists. He has been called the "Father of Chinese Vertebrate Paleontology".
3. Shi Zhengli (b. 1964)
With an HPI of 52.26, Shi Zhengli is the 3rd most famous Chinese Biologist. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Shi Zhengli (simplified Chinese: 石正丽; traditional Chinese: 石正麗; born 26 May 1964) is a Chinese virologist who researches SARS-like coronaviruses of bat origin. Shi directs the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). In 2017, Shi and her colleague Cui Jie discovered that the SARS coronavirus likely originated in a population of cave-dwelling horseshoe bats in Xiyang Yi Ethnic Township, Yunnan. She came to prominence in the popular press as "Batwoman" during the COVID-19 pandemic for her work with bat coronaviruses. Shi was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
4. Flossie Wong-Staal (1946 - 2020)
With an HPI of 50.82, Flossie Wong-Staal is the 4th most famous Chinese Biologist. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Flossie Wong-Staal (née Wong Yee Ching, Chinese: 黄以静; pinyin: Huáng Yǐjìng; August 27, 1946 – July 8, 2020) was a Chinese-American virologist and molecular biologist. She was the first scientist to clone HIV and determine the function of its genes, which was a major step in proving that HIV is the cause of AIDS. From 1990 to 2002, she held the Florence Riford Chair in AIDS Research at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She was co-founder and, after retiring from UCSD, she became the chief scientific officer of Immusol, which was renamed iTherX Pharmaceuticals in 2007 when it transitioned to a drug development company focused on hepatitis C and continued as chief scientific officer.
5. Xu Xing (b. 1969)
With an HPI of 46.00, Xu Xing is the 5th most famous Chinese Biologist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Xu Xing (Chinese: 徐星; pinyin: Xú Xīng; born July 1969) is a Chinese paleontologist who has named more dinosaurs than any other living paleontologist. Such dinosaurs include the Jurassic ceratopsian Yinlong, the Jurassic tyrannosauroid Guanlong, the large oviraptorosaur Gigantoraptor, and the troodontid Mei.
6. Feng Zhang (b. 1981)
With an HPI of 39.27, Feng Zhang is the 6th most famous Chinese Biologist. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Feng Zhang (Chinese: 张锋; pinyin: Zhāng Fēng; born October 22, 1981) is a Chinese–American biochemist. Zhang currently holds the James and Patricia Poitras Professorship in Neuroscience at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and in the departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also has appointments with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (where he is a core member). He is most well known for his central role in the development of optogenetics and CRISPR technologies.
People
Pantheon has 6 people classified as Chinese biologists born between 1897 and 1981. Of these 6, 3 (50.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Chinese biologists include Shi Zhengli, Xu Xing, and Feng Zhang. The most famous deceased Chinese biologists include Leizu, Yang Zhongjian, and Flossie Wong-Staal. As of April 2024, 1 new Chinese biologists have been added to Pantheon including Xu Xing.
Living Chinese Biologists
Go to all Rankings
Shi Zhengli
1964 - Present
HPI: 52.26
Xu Xing
1969 - Present
HPI: 46.00
Feng Zhang
1981 - Present
HPI: 39.27
