Profile

An expert on the plant resources of the Wuling Mountains; adviser to the Eucommia laboratory and promoter of Eucommia resource utilization.

Story

Chen Gongxi, of Tujia ethnicity, born in July 1966 in Sangzhi, Hunan, is Dean and second-tier professor of the School of Pharmacy at Jishou University, advisory expert of the National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Eucommia Comprehensive Utilization Technology, and concurrently Deputy Director of the Biological Resources Committee of the Chinese Society of Biotechnology and a member of the IUCN-SSC China Plant Specialist Group. He has long studied plant diversity and resource utilization in the Wuling Mountains and is one of the senior academic leaders of Eucommia research at Jishou University.

He has systematically carried out research on the development and utilization of medicinal plant resources such as Eucommia in western Hunan, proposing an industry-university-research approach of 'building on resources, targeting industry, innovating technology, training talent and serving the locality', and promoted the local translation of achievements such as Eucommia feed additives and cosmetics. As a core member of the laboratory's Eucommia germplasm resources and cultivation model innovation team, he has participated in exploring new cultivation models including leaf plantations, fruit orchards and Eucommia-tea intercropping, providing scientific support for the Eucommia industry and rural revitalization in the Wuling Mountains.

Milestones

• In October 2023, attended the unveiling ceremony of the Zunyi Center as an adviser to the Eucommia laboratory
• In October 2024, gave a report at the 16th Jishou City Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition, introducing the research value of Eucommia to young people
• In 2026, participated in the 'Eucommia + Western Hunan specialty foods' team developing Eucommia tofu

Key Contributions

• Advisory expert of the National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Eucommia Comprehensive Utilization Technology at Jishou University; core member of the Eucommia germplasm resources and cultivation model innovation research team
• Led 6 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects; published 13 monographs and over 160 papers; discovered 9 new plant taxa
• Won two Second Prizes of the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award and one Third Prize for technological invention
• Promoted the translation of achievements such as Eucommia feed additives and Eucommia cosmetics, aiding poverty alleviation in western Hunan
• Editor-in-chief of monographs including Research on Medicinal Plant Resources of Western Hunan and Plant Resources of Linolenic Acid in China