Xiaoliang Sunney Xie (Chinese: 谢晓亮; born 24 June 1962) is a Chinese biophysicist well known for his contributions to the fields of single-molecule biophysical chemistry, coherent Raman Imaging and single-molecule genomics. In 2023, Xie renounced his U.S. citizenship in order to reclaim his Chinese citizenship.[2]
Xiaoliang Sunney Xie | |
---|---|
Born | Beijing, China | June 24, 1962
Education | BSc in chemistry from Peking University PhD in Physical Chemistry from UC San Diego |
Known for | Single Molecule Enzymology, Coherent Raman Imaging, Single Cell Genomics |
Awards | Albany Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research 2015, Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry 2015, Ellis R. Lippincott Award 2013, Biophysical Society Founders Award 2012 NAS 2011 NAM 2016 CAS 2017 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biophysical Chemistry, Optical Imaging, Genomics |
Institutions | Harvard University Peking University |
Doctoral advisor | John Douglas Simon[1] |
Xie was born in Beijing in 1962 with ancestral roots in Hepu County, Guangxi. He received his B.Sc. in chemistry from Peking University in 1984, and his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1990 from University of California at San Diego. After a brief postdoctoral appointment at University of Chicago, he joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he rose from senior research scientist to chief scientist. In 1998, he became the first tenured professor recruited by Harvard University among Chinese scholars who came to the United States since Chinese economic reform.
He had been the Mallinckrodt Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University until 2018, when he became the Lee Shau-kee Professor of Peking University. He was the Director of Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC) in 2010-2021, and the Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics (ICG) in 2016-2021, both at Peking University.
As a pioneer of single-molecule biophysical chemistry, Coherent Raman scattering microscopy, and single-cell genomics, he made major contributions to the emergence of these fields. Furthermore, he has made significant advances on medical applications of label-free optical imaging and single-cell genomics. In particular, his inventions in single-cell genomics have been used in in vitro fertilization benefited thousands of families by avoiding the transmission of monogenic diseases to their newborns.
More than fifty of his students and post-doctorates have become professors at major universities around the world, and two are co-founders of start-up companies. Professor Xie’s current research interests include the following scientific, technological, and medical areas: