Shijun Xiao

Dr. Xiao received his Ph.D. from the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, through a joint program with the Max Planck Society (Germany), where he also served as a Visiting Scholar. His research focuses on genetic breeding of edible fungi using integrative genomics and phenomics approaches. He has led over 10 national and provincial research projects, including NSFC General and Young Scientist Programs, authored nearly 50 SCI papers, and holds 10+ patents in China. His work has been recognized among China’s Top 10 Scientific Advances (2018) and with the CAST Outstanding Scientific Paper Grand Prize.

Formerly a core member of the Engineering Research Center for Edible and Medicinal Fungi (MOE) at Jilin Agricultural University, he shares international influence in fungal science and engineering, with globally leading expertise in mycelium-based materials’ R&D and mass production.

His teams developed fungal leather with low energy consumption and full biodegradability. Its production cycle is only 1/60 that of conventional leather；revoluntionary reduction in carbon emissions; 4–5 times lower overall cost,; and a tensile strength of 6.9 MPa—exceeding industry benchmarks—offering a breakthrough pathway for sustainable biomaterial commercialization.