Natural Product Biosynthesis and Biocatalysis Research Excellence Award

Haiyan He is a Chinese bioorganic chemist and principal investigator at the Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. Her research focuses on natural product biosynthesis, pathway engineering, combinatorial biosynthesis, and protein-directed evolution for biocatalytic applications.[1] She has contributed to the understanding of nitrogen–nitrogen bond biosynthesis, microbial metabolic engineering, and biosynthetic pathway redesign in medicinal chemistry and biotechnology.[2]

Abstract

This academic profile summarizes the scientific contributions of Haiyan He in the interdisciplinary fields of bioorganic chemistry, biosynthetic pathway engineering, and natural product discovery. Her work has addressed complex biochemical mechanisms underlying nitrogen-containing natural products and microbial biosynthesis systems. Through publications in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Chemistry, Chemical Society Reviews, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Angewandte Chemie International Edition, she has contributed to advancing the understanding of enzymatic catalysis and synthetic biology applications in medicinal biotechnology.[3]

Keywords

Bioorganic chemistry; natural product biosynthesis; metabolic engineering; microbial biotechnology; biocatalysis; combinatorial biosynthesis; enzyme engineering; synthetic biology; medicinal biotechnology; nitrogen–nitrogen bond biosynthesis.

Introduction

Natural product biosynthesis has become an important area of modern chemical biology and pharmaceutical innovation. Research involving biosynthetic pathway engineering and microbial metabolic optimization contributes significantly to the development of sustainable therapeutic compounds and industrial biotechnology applications. Haiyan He has developed a research portfolio centered on understanding enzymatic mechanisms and reconstructing biosynthetic pathways for structurally complex natural products.[4]

Her academic training includes a Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, followed by international postdoctoral and research appointments at the University of British Columbia. In 2021, she joined the Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology as Principal Investigator, where she continues to lead research in pathway redesign and biocatalytic innovation.[1]

Research Profile

The research activities of Haiyan He encompass engineering and redesign of natural biosynthetic pathways, combinatorial biosynthesis for natural products, and directed evolution approaches for enzymatic catalysis. Her work integrates organic chemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, and synthetic biology to investigate complex biosynthetic transformations.[5]

Her laboratory has investigated microbial glycoside hydrolases, non-ribosomal peptide synthetase-dependent mechanisms, and metabolic engineering strategies for high-value