Dr. Hong Lu is a Research Professor and Principal Investigator at the Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. His research has long focused on molecular breeding, maize breeding, genotyping technologies and low GI food product development. He has extensive experience and substantial research achievements in maize QTL mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), innovation and evaluation of germplasm resources, new variety development, and heterosis research.

Dr. Lu earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University in the United States and completed his postdoctoral research at Cornell University. He previously served as R&D Manager & Scientist at DuPont Pioneer, R&D Director for China at Syngenta (the world’s largest agritech company), and Chief Operating Officer for China at KWS SAAT. Under the guidance of China’s Ministry of Agriculture, he established China’s first high-throughput molecular breeding platform, making outstanding contributions to advancing molecular breeding in China. He has presided over multiple research projects funded by Chinese government and private companies, with total research funding exceeding 15 million US dollars.

He founded Smart Foods Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and developed a portfolio of low-glycemic index (low-GI) core products, including low-GI rice, low-GI noodles and low-GI biscuits. These carbohydrate-based foods are suitable for people with diabetes and hyperglycemia.