Xiao-Nong Zhou

Professor Xiao-Nong Zhou is the Chief Scientist on parasitic diseases control in Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), and the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, based in Shanghai. He also serves as Vice Dean of the School of Global Health, Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and as Director of the One Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University-The University of Edinburgh, as well as the Director of Hainan Center for Tropical Diseases Research (Sub-Center of Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research). He is serving as the Chairman of Society of Global Health under Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, Co-Director of the Surveillance and Response Working Group for Asia-Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN), as well as the founding Editor-in-Chief of Infectious Diseases of Poverty, the founding Editor-in-Chief of Science in One Health, and Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Journal for Schistosomiasis Control.

Professor Zhou is a leading international expert in the research and control of tropical diseases, with over 40 years of experience in implementing One Health approaches to control tropical diseases. In particularly, his research interests focus on the spatial epidemiology of parasitic diseases, leading to innovative strategies to support national control programs. With great efforts on implementation research, his contribution to the establishment of surveillance-response systems for parasitic diseases at national level has promoted the elimination of parasitic diseases significantly in China. He also has extensive experience in long-term cooperation with international agencies, such as World Health Organization, and has served as member of several international expert committees, such as Chair, The West Pacific Regional Programme Review Group on Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO (2014-2018); Member, The Scientific and Technology Advisory Committee of WHO-TDR (2014-2020); Member, The Strategic Advisory Group for Malaria Eradication, WHO(2016-2019); Member, The Scientific and Technology Advisory Committee on Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO (2010-2016); Member, The Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group, WHO (2007-2014); Co-Chair, the Expert Panel for TDR Thematic Reference Group on Environment, Agriculture, and Infectious Diseases (2008-2012); Member, The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) for Stewardship for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty (STE), TDR (2008-2010); Member, The Advisory Board Member for TropIKA, TDR (2007-2010), etc.

Professor Zhou graduated with a PhD on population biology from Copenhagen University, Denmark, in 1994. He become Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Disease from 1999-2001, then served as Deputy Director (2001-2010) and later as Director (2010-2023) of the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases at China CDC, based in Shanghai. His professional works are across the fields of ecology, population biology, and epidemiology of tropical diseases. He has led more than dozens of research projects in collaboration with multi-institutions at national and international levels, such as Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Science and Technology Major Project, projects with WHO and International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, etc., in the field of climate change, control strategies, determinants and innovative modeling of disease transmission, and intervention assessment. He has been a highly-cited researcher since 2016, with more than 400 peer-reviewed publications in international journals, including the New Engl. J. Med., Nature, The Lancet, and Lancet Infect. Dis., etc. He was awarded National Outstanding Contribution Expert by the Ministry of Health in 2008, the Public Health and Preventive Medicine Development Contribution Award of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association in 2010, and Shanghai Outstanding Academic Leader in 2011, respectively.