Zhao Yufen (1948–)

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Zhao Yufen (1948–)

Chinese biochemist. Born 1948 in Qi County, Hunan Province, China; grew up in Taiwan; studied chemistry at Tsinghua University in Taiwan; State University of New York at Stony Brook, PhD in organic chemistry, 1975.

Worked as industrial chemist in US; returned to mainland China with family (1979) and taught and researched organic chemistry at Chemistry Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; contributed discoveries about phosphorus in organic and biological compounds, as well as its potential role in origin of life; announced that phosphorus controls and regulates biological elements and activities (1988) at an international scientific meeting; introduced method to create new organic compounds which contain phosphorus, including anti-cancer drug substance; established phosphorus laboratory at Tsinghua University in Beijing (1991), where she worked as a professor, then vice dean of School of Life Science and Engineering; was the youngest person elected to Chinese Academy of Sciences; holds 5 patents; published more than 120 papers.