Zhang Yongzhen | |
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张永振 | |
 Zhang Yongzhen in Wuhan collecting the GigaScience Prize in 2020 | |
| Born | 1964 or 1965 (age 60–61)[1] |
| Occupation | Virologist |
| Zhang Yongzhen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 張永振 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张永振 | ||||||
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Zhang Yongzhen (Chinese:张永振;pinyin:Zhāng Yǒngzhèn), also known asYong-Zhen Zhang,[2] is a Chinesevirologist known for his work relating to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[3] A professor atFudan University, Zhang has discovered numerousRNA viruses and created a network of labs dedicated to monitoring new viruses.[3] He led the team that sequenced and published the genome ofSARS-CoV-2, the virus that causesCOVID-19, in early January 2020.[4][5]
According toTime, Zhang was the "saving grace" of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhang's team's success in discovering and publishing the virus's genome allowed scientists to quickly designCOVID-19 tests, fight the pandemic, and begin developingCOVID-19 vaccines.[6][7][3][8] A Chinese government order prohibited labs from publishing information about the virus at the time.[3] The day after the genome was released, Zhang's lab at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center was closed[9] after a visit by officials, who issued a "rectification" order. In an interview with the academic journalNature, Zhang said he had not been aware of the prohibition on publishing the genome. He said that the lab closure was due to the officials ordering the lab to update its biosafety protocols, because equipment had been moved during construction work, and disputed reports that the shutdown was a punishment for publishing the genome. He said his lab members were still working on influenza, and were able to resume work on the coronavirus by the end of January.[3]
Zhang was named one ofNature's 10: "ten people who helped shape science in 2020",[3] and was winner of the 2020 ICG-15GigaScience Prize for Outstanding Data Sharing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.[10] AlongsideEdward C. Holmes, he was awarded the 2021 General Symbiont prize as an exemplar in the practice of data sharing at theResearch Parasite Awards.[11] He was also one ofTime's100 most influential people of 2020[12] andStraits Times 2020 Asians of the Year.[13]
Zhang studied atSouth China Agricultural University,Southern Medical University, andKunming Institute of Zoology.[13]
Zhang is a professor atFudan University inShanghai[14][15] and works at theChinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.[16] His research involvesRNA sequencing, and he has discovered numerousRNA viruses with collaboratorEdward C. Holmes of theUniversity of Sydney. He has created a network of labs dedicated to monitoringnovel viruses.[3]
His laboratory, aLevel 3 biosafety lab,[17] is part of theShanghai Public Health Clinical Center.[3]
In 2019, Zhang was given preliminary approval for funding from theMinistry of Science and Technology of China to run a national survey and database ofpathogenic viruses, though as of 2020 the project was delayed byred tape.[16]
On 3 January 2020, Zhang's team received a test tube containing swabs from the initial outbreak of a pneumonia outbreak inWuhan, caused by what would eventually be known asCOVID-19. Zhang and his team were able to sequence the virus's genome by 2am on 5 January. On that day Zhang uploaded the genome to the United StatesNational Center for Biotechnology Information and notified the Shanghai municipal health authority. Zhang also contactedWuhan Central Hospital and theChinese Ministry of Health, arguing that the virus was similar toSARS and that it spread by respiratory transmission. He advised "emergency public measures to protect against this disease" and the development ofantiviral treatments.[1]
On 11 January,Edward C. Holmes contacted Zhang for permission to publish the virus's genome. Zhang granted permission, and Holmes published the genome onvirological.org that day.[1][3] The Chinese government had prohibited labs from publishing information about the new coronavirus, though Zhang later said he did not know about the prohibition.[3] The next day, the Shanghai Health Commission ordered Zhang's laboratory to close temporarily for "rectification".[17] In an interview published byNature in December 2020, Zhang said officials issued the order to update biosafety protocols.[3] On 24 January the lab was accredited to research the novel coronavirus.[17] Over the next three months the lab tested more than 30,000 viral samples, according to Fan Wu, another researcher involved in sequencing SARS-CoV-2.[1]
On 3 February 2020, Zhang's team's discovery was published inNature.[17]
Of the early response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Zhang later said, "nobody listened to us, and that's really tragic".[8]
On Monday, 27 April 2024, Zhang said that he had been evicted from the lab; the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center said that the lab was closed for safety reasons. As a protest, Zhang took up residence on a piece of cardboard outside the front door of the laboratory and remained there despite rain.[18] On May 1, Zhang reported that he had been allowed back into the facility.[19]
Authority control databases: Academics |
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