Dr. Huanqiang Zhao is an Outstanding Youth of Shenzhen, a member of the Shenzhen Society for Cell Biology, and the Director of the Biobank at Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital. His research focuses on the pathogenesis and prevention strategies of placenta-derived diseases, with systematic investigations into the etiology of preeclampsia and the development of experimental technology platforms.

Dr. Zhao has pioneered innovative concepts such as the "protein decoy" hypothesis for circRNA-encoded proteins and the "placental metabolic clock," which characterizes metabolic reprogramming in the placenta from a temporal perspective. His work explores the role of the "placental metabolic clock" in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

His team successfully identified PKCβ, a novel autophagy regulator linked to preeclampsia, partially reconstructing the disease's autophagy model. They constructed a regulatory network of preeclampsia-associated circRNAs and identified circPRKCB119aa, the first circRNA-encoded protein in human placenta, leading to the creation of the world's first placental circRNA-encoded protein database. Additionally, his team established causal relationships between preeclampsia and factors such as seven types of sleep disorders, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), PM2.5 exposure, daytime sleepiness, and sleep apnea (with BMI as a key mediator).

In the development of new technologies and platforms, Dr. Zhao has successfully established placental organoids, constructed organoid-on-a-chip platforms based on microfluidic technology, developed a complete placental organoid culture reagent kit, and pioneered gene intervention techniques for organoids. These outstanding achievements have resulted in 6 authorized utility model patents, 5 invention patent applications, and 2 commercialized technologies.