Peking University, June 4, 2026 : Over 90 outstanding researchers from across the world have this year been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of sciences. Among them are three distinguished Peking University alumni—Professors Cao Xiaofeng, Dan Yang and Xu Xing.

Cao Xiaofeng, an alumna of the 1993 cohort, earned her PhD from the School of Life Sciences. She is the director of the academic committee at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).  

Professor Cao's research primarily focuses on plant epigenetics, developmental biology, and molecular crop breeding. In recent years, she has led team efforts in land improvement research and breeding of high-quality forage crops, as part of a broader initiative to address the needs of China's food security and saline-alkali land utilization.

For her work, Professor Cao has been awarded the National Natural Science Award (Second Prize), Heilongjiang Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award (First Prize) and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Chinese Society for Plant Biology. 

Professor Dan, an alumna of the 1985 cohort, earned her bachelor's degree from the School of Physics and went on to earn her doctorate from Columbia University. She now has joined the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation as a senior principal investigator.

Professor Dan is dedicated to research in the fields of sleep, cognitive control, visual processing and related fields, having published more than 90 academic papers in top international journals. For her contributions, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (2018) and American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2025), and was awarded the Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience (2023) and the Peter Seeburg Integrative Neuroscience Prize (2024).

Last but not least, Professor Xu, an alumnus of the 1988 cohort, graduated from Peking University with a bachelor's degree in paleontology and stratigraphy. He is the director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Professor Xu specialises in Mesozoic reptile fossils and stratigraphy. He has made  extensive contributions to dinosaur paleontology and bird evolution and is among the living scientists who have named the largest number of dinosaur species. 

His work has been included in Time magazine's top 10 scientific discoveries of the year and Science magazine's top 10 scientific breakthroughs of the year.

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, also known as the Royal Society, is the United Kingdom's highest academic body and one of the oldest science academies in the world. According to available statistics, eight Peking University alumni have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society to date.

Written by: Lee Jie Xin
Edited by: Chen Shizhuo
Source: Beidaren WeChat (Chinese)