Jay D. Keasling is a Distinguished Visiting Professor in Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Director of Center for Synthetic Biochemistry (CSB) at SIAT. He is also a member of National Academy of Engineering (USA), Chief Science and Technology Officer for Biosciences of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Chief Executive Officer of Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), and Dean of Department of Bioengineering at University of California, Berkeley.

Prof. Keasling is an international pioneer in the industrialization of synthetic biology. He designed and constructed microbes that produce artemisinin, an antimalarial drug, and revolutionised the traditional way of extracting artemisinin from traditional Chinese medicine. He has won influential awards and prizes including Eni Renewable Energy Prize, International Metabolic Engineering Award and Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment. He has also been honored with Technology Pioneer, by World Economic Forum, Scientist of the Year by Discover Magazine and Innovator Award – Biosciences by Economist Magazine.