Name: Shizhen Zhao

Title: Associate Professor

Phone: +86 20 85290186

Email: zhaoshizhen@gig.ac.cn

Resume:

Dr. Shizhen Zhao is an associate professor at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIGCAS). Her research focuses on the environmental behavior and effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging contaminants. She received her BSc in Environmental Engineering from Jinan University in 2011 and was awarded a full scholarship from the China Scholarship Council and Unilever PLC to pursue her PhD at Lancaster University, UK, under the supervision of Professor Kevin C. Jones. After completing her PhD, she joined GIGCAS in 2016 as a postdoctoral researcher working with Professor Gan Zhang and became a faculty member in 2020.

Dr. Zhao has led more than ten national and provincial research projects and has published 27 peer-reviewed papers as first or corresponding author, including one in Nature Communications and eight in Environmental Science & Technology. She serves on the early-career editorial boards of Environmental Science & Technology, The Innovation Geoscience, Emerging Contaminants, and the Asian Journal of Ecotoxicology. Her honors include the 2024 Young Scientist Gold Award from the Guangdong Environmental Science Society, the Guangdong Outstanding Young Fund, membership in the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and selection for the Guangdong “Pearl River Talent Plan – Overseas Young Talent Program.”

Environmental behavior and effects of emerging pollutants

1. Lv, S., Tian, L., Zhao, S*., Jones, K.C., Chen, D., Zhong, G., Li, J., Xu, B., Peng, P.a., Zhang, G*., 2025. Aqueous secondary formation substantially contributes to hydrophilic organophosphate esters in aerosols. Nature Communications16, 4463.

2. Ma, J., Zhao, S*., He, K., Tian, L., Zhong, G., Jones, K.C., Sweetman, A.J., Li, J., Zhou, Q., Chen, D., Chen, K., Zhang, G., 2025. Quantification of Micro- and Nano-plastics in Atmospheric Fine Particles by Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry with Chromatographic Peak Reconstruction. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 137292.

3. Jiang, B., Zhao, S*., Chen, W., Tian, L., Hu, W., Li, J., Zhang, G., 2024. Intrinsic Chemical Drivers of Organic Aerosol Volatility: From Experimental Insights to Model Predictions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 129, e2024JD041286.

4. Tian, L., Zhao, S*., Zhang, R., Lv, S., Chen, D., Li, J., Jones, K.C., Sweetman, A.J., Peng, P.a., Zhang, G., 2024. Tire Wear Chemicals in the Urban Atmosphere: Significant Contributions of Tire Wear Particles to PM_2.5. Environmental Science & Technology 58, 16952-16961.

5. Zhao, S., Jones, K. C., Weber, R., Xiao, Y., Zhang, G*., 2024. Overlooked Highly Volatile Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Atmosphere. Environmental Science & Technology 58, 14062-14064.

6. Jiang, H., Li, J., Zhang, R*., Pansak, W., Zhong, G., Li, K., Zhao, S*., Bualert, S., Phewnil, O., Zhang, G., 2023. Mapping the Contribution of Biomass Burning to Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Air of the Indo-China Peninsula Based on a Passive Air Monitoring Network. Environmental Science & Technology 57, 2274-2285. (Supplementary Cover)

7. Tian, L., Li, J., Zhao, S*, Tang, J., Li, J., Guo, H., Liu, X., Zhong, G., Xu, Y., Lin, T., Lyv, X., Chen, D., Li, K., Shen, J. and Zhang, G*., 2021. DDT, Chlordane, and Hexachlorobenzene in the Air of the Pearl River Delta Revisited: A Tale of Source, History, and Monsoon. Environmental Science & Technology 55(14), 9740-9749.

8. Zhao, S., Tian, L., Zou, Z., Liu, X., Zhong, G., Mo, Y., Wang, Y., Tian, Y., Li, J., Guo, H. and Zhang, G*., 2021. Probing Legacy and Alternative Flame Retardants in the Air of Chinese Cities. Environmental Science & Technology 55(14), 9450-9459. (Supplementary Cover)

9. Zhao, S., Tian, L., Zou, Z., Liu, X., Zhong, G., Mo, Y., Wang, Y., Tian, Y., Li, J., Guo, H. and Zhang, G*., 2021. Probing Legacy and Alternative Flame Retardants in the Air of Chinese Cities. Environmental Science & Technology 55(14), 9450-9459. (Supplementary Cover)

10. Zhao, S., Breivik, K., Jones, K.C. and Sweetman, A.J*., 2018. Modeling the Time-Variant Dietary Exposure of PCBs in China over the Period 1930 to 2100. Environmental Science & Technology 52(13), 7371-7379.

11. Zhao, S., Breivik, K., Liu, G., Zheng, M., Jones, K.C. and Sweetman, A.J*., 2017. Long-Term Temporal Trends of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Their Controlling Sources in China. Environmental Science & Technology 51(5), 2838-2845.