Zhu is a Boya Chair professor, former dean of College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, and founding director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau, Peking University. He has made exceptional contributions to fundamental research in atmospheric chemistry and science-based air pollution control in developing countries, by identifying sources, revealing physical and chemical mechanisms, and assessing health impacts of atmospheric pollution. His findings have greatly supported China’s Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan, which drastically improved the air quality over the past decade in China. His research on the health effects of air pollution and climate change has greatly promoted the interdisciplinary research and education of environmental health. A member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, he is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union for his “exceptional contributions to advancing fundamental atmospheric chemistry and assessing impacts of megacity air pollution on human health and climate”.

Sun graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Yunnan University (1983), and earned his master’s degree (1988) and his PhD (1994) from the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), under the University of CAS. He began his scientific career at KIB in July 1983, and was promoted to assistant researcher in December 1990, associate researcher in June 1995, and senior research Fellow in November 1997. In November 2023, he was elected a CAS Academician. He has participated in international academic exchanges, serving as a visiting scholar at Harvard University (April–July 1999) and conducting advanced studies at the Jodrell Laboratory of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (January–July 2001). He held several leadership positions at CAS, including vice-president of the Kunming Branch (2002–2005 and 2012–2014), and served as director of the Kunming Institute of Botany (July 2014 to November 2023). His research focuses on phytotaxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography. He has published 430 scientific papers, including 280 as first author or corresponding author, and contributed to 13 monographs as chief editor or co-chief editor.

Qin has dedicated more than 40 years to research in laboratory animal science and comparative medicine. She established the China’s first international repository with multiple species and strains—the National Repository of Animal Models of Human Diseases. Her work includes the development of animal models for major disease outbreaks such as SARS and COVID-19, which played a key role in the early evaluation of emergency therapeutics and vaccines. Qin is a strong advocate for advancement of laboratory animal science, but also a committed supporter of animal welfare and ethics. She led the design of national standards for laboratory animals in China, contributing to improved animal welfare and the standardized training of laboratory personnel. She has authored 183 scientific papers as first or corresponding author, including eight papers on Cell, Nature, and Science. She is the editor in chief of six national unified textbooks for Laboratory Animal Science and Medical Laboratory Animal Science, and has published 31 monographs. She was selected as a highly-cited scientist by Clarivate (2022–2023), and won several national-level awards of China.