Dr. Zhou Huaijun

Professor and Chancellor’s Fellow, Director of USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, Department of Animal Science, UC Davis, US

Huaijun Zhou earned his Bachelor's degree in Animal Science, and his Master's degree in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Yangzhou University.

Zhou earned his Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and Computational, and his Ph.D. in Immunogenetics and Molecular Genetics from Iowa State University. Dr. Zhou has published a total of 134 peer-reviewed papers, five book chapters and more than 240 peer-reviewed abstract and/or meeting proceedings. Research by Zhou aims to use new discoveries in chicken genome research to help breed a chicken more resistant to disease and heat stress. Led by Zhou, an international group of multidisciplinary researchers is working on advanced genetic and genomic approaches to develop new strains of chicken with enhanced protection from both Newcastle disease and the heat stress that chickens face in harsh African climates. Scientists are more than three years into the five-year Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry project, which has $6 million in USAID funding. They want to identify the genetic markers that are associated with resistance and use the natural variation to breed birds that are more resilient. Another component of the poultry project is to build capacity—renovating facilities and training scientists at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania and at the University of Ghana so that the work in these countries can continue beyond the initial involvement of American universities. Professor Zhou hopes that new discoveries in chicken genome research will help breed a more robust chicken that offers greater food security to poor African households.

Further information：https://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/people/faculty/huaijun-zhou