Dr Min Zhao | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Dr Min Zhao is a Senior Lecturer at UniSC, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, specialising in bioinformatics and genomics. He graduated from Peking University in 2009 with a PhD and subsequently undertook a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at Vanderbilt University, USA, where he focused on the analysis and integration of high-throughput genomic, transcriptome, and literature data in complex diseases.

Dr Zhao joined UniSC as a Research Fellow in 2014, leading an emerging group in the GeneCology Research Centre to integrate multi-dimensional data, including genome, transcriptome, and proteomics datasets. In 2018, he was promoted to Senior Research Fellow. He has supervised four PhD students and co-supervised two additional PhD students, fostering a collaborative research environment that has attracted approximately A$500,000 in scholarships and training grants.

His research focuses on the investigation of genetic regulation using large-scale genomics data, with an increasing emphasis on integrating artificial intelligence techniques, particularly large language models and intelligent agents, to enhance the analysis, interpretation, and translational impact of multi-omics datasets. He has published 115 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals, including 82 as lead or corresponding author, with over 5,400 citations and an H-index of 35 (Google Scholar). Approximately 50 percent of his publications are among the top 10 percent most cited articles worldwide, and 10 manuscripts appear in top-ranked journals (Top 5 percent including Nature, Nature Communications, Cell Research, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine).

Dr Zhao has developed widely used computational frameworks and databases, including TSGene (Tumor Suppressor Gene), which has received 750+ citations, been cited in 12 patents, and supported single-cell-based CRISPR/Cas9 design. Since 2017, he has conducted or co-led research projects totalling A$469,616, including an ARC Discovery Project as Chief Investigator.

His scientific contributions are recognised through editorial service on boards including PLoS One, PeerJ, and PeerJ Computer Science, and as a regular reviewer for leading journals such as Nucleic Acids Research and Bioinformatics. He has served as a program committee member for six international bioinformatics conferences, keynote speaker and session chair for six international conferences, and is actively involved in scientific leadership roles, including Vice President of the Australia New Zealand Marine Biotechnology Society, committee member of Research Bazaar Queensland (2023–2025), National Research Bazaar Network, and The International Conference on Intelligent Biology and Medicine.

Dr Zhao is regularly invited to review grants for national and international funding bodies, including NHMRC (2023–2025), ARC (2021–2025), and the National Science Centre Poland (2019–2024), reflecting his standing in the genomics and bioinformatics research community.