Liu Chenli, the vice-president of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was honored with the Agilent Thought Leader Award on Monday for his groundbreaking work in synthetic biology.

Liu is the founder and director of the Institute of Synthetic Biology at SIAT, which is the world's largest research institute dedicated to synthetic biology.

He is also the founder and chief scientist of the Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Core Facility.

"I feel privileged to receive this Agilent Thought Leader Award," said Liu in his acceptance speech.

"I am confident that with Agilent's support and its world-leading testing and analysis technologies and solutions, our studies in synthetic biology, one of the most cutting-edge fields in life science, will soon yield great benefits."

Agilent, a multinational corporation that focuses on life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets, delivering insights and innovations that help customers bring great science to life, is the initiator of the award.

Yang Ting, vice-president of Agilent, said the company is proud to support Liu with a comprehensive solution that includes Agilent's full range of products, from genetic research solutions to cell analysis solutions, chromatography, mass spectrometry solutions, and more. This support will help Liu achieve his research goal of shaping an innovative ecosystem for the study of synthetic biology in China.

Darlene Solomon, the senior vice-president and chief technology officer of Agilent, highlighted the significance of synthetic biology as a field that is poised to revolutionize how products are sustainably manufactured.

"Agilent has focused on the field of synthetic biology for many years, and supporting leading researchers like Liu underscores our commitment to accelerating the development of this important field," he said.

Established in 2013, the Agilent Thought Leader Award program aims to promote fundamental scientific advances by providing financial support, products, and expertise to influential thought leaders in the life sciences, diagnostics, and chemical analysis space.

To date, 56 scientists from around the world have received this award, including six from China, one of whom is Jiang Hualiang, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.