Areas of Focus
- Photodriven synthesis of natural products
- Development of novel catalytic systems for high-value utilization of lignin into natural products
- Development of functional products from photosynthetic microorganisms
Work Experience
- 2018 - 2019 Postdoctoral Researcher - Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- 2019 - 2020 Postdoctoral Researcher - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 2020 - Present Associate Professor - Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Academic Background & Achievements
- 2008 Bachelor in Biotechnology: Nanjing Agricultural University
- 2015 PhD in Microbiology: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Postdoctoral Researcher at School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Postdoctoral Researcher at Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Publications
- A coenzyme-free biocatalyst for the value-added utilization of lignin-derived aromatics, Jun Ni, Yutong Wu, Fei Tao, Yuan Peng, Ping Xu, 2018
- Remodeling of the photosynthetic chain promotes direct CO2 conversion to valuable aromatics, Jun Ni, Hongyu Liu, Fei Tao, Yutong Wu, Ping Xu, 2018
- Temperature-directed biocatalysis for the sustainable production of aromatic aldehydes or alcohols, Jun Ni, Yanyan Gao, Fei Tao, Hongyu Liu, Ping Xu, 2018
- A photoautotrophic platform for the sustainable production of valuable plant natural products from CO2, Jun Ni, Fei Tao, Yu Wang, Feng Yao, Ping Xu, 2016
- Mimicking a natural pathway for de novo biosynthesis: natural vanillin production from accessible carbon sources, Jun Ni, Fei Tao, Huaiqing Du, Ping Xu, 2015
- Engineering cyanobacteria for photosynthetic production of C3 platform chemicals and terpenoids from CO2, Jun Ni, Fei Tao, Ping Xu, Chen Yang, 2018
Awards
- 2019 MIT Technology Review 'Innovators Under 35'
- 2016 Shanghai Youth Science and Technology Talent Sailing Plan
- 2016 G-ideas University Student Gene Application Competition Outstanding Mentor
- 2014 DuPont Bio-Innovation Challenge Grand Prize
