Shenzhen University–WONDERLAB Joint Institute for Precision Nutrition Officially Established

On September 13, the unveiling ceremony for the Shenzhen University–WONDERLAB Joint Institute for Precision Nutrition (the “Joint Institute”), jointly established by Shenzhen University and WONDERLAB, was held in Shenzhen. Beiwei Zhu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a professor in Shenzhen University’s Department of Food Science and Engineering and Director of the National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, and Guoxun Xiao, CEO of WONDERLAB, attended the event and delivered remarks as representatives of the two parties. Both sides said that, based in Shenzhen and serving the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, the Joint Institute will draw on the academician’s team’s research strength in food-resource development, strengthen academic research in microecology, pursue deeper integration of industry, academia and research, and promote the translation of research into industrial and economic value.

The Shenzhen University–WONDERLAB Joint Institute for Precision Nutrition is officially unveiled

Speaking about the establishment of the Joint Institute, Academician Beiwei Zhu said: “WONDERLAB was founded in 2019 and reached a leading position in the industry in just five years. This is a return on the company’s emphasis on scientific and technological collaboration and its dedicated work in evidence-based health research. WONDERLAB’s technology-focused character is precisely what motivated the two parties to explore and jointly establish the Joint Institute.”

Academician Beiwei Zhu and WONDERLAB CEO Guoxun Xiao unveil the Joint Institute

Life sciences are currently an active frontier of scientific research, while the bioeconomy is developing rapidly. The 2024 Government Work Report called for “using scientific and technological innovation to drive industrial innovation and actively creating new growth engines for biomanufacturing.” The Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission also proposed the development of a precision-nutrition platform in its Action Plan for the Health Industry Cluster (2022–2025).

As a company born and raised in Shenzhen, WONDERLAB spent five years building a full-chain probiotic business and establishing a complete independent R&D system encompassing a Microecology Research Platform, Functional Ingredient Research Platform and Product Development Platform. In April this year, the globally recognized consulting firm Frost & Sullivan issued WONDERLAB a market-position confirmation for “No. 1 in China by probiotic sales value.”

At the event, WONDERLAB CEO Guoxun Xiao expressed sincere thanks to Shenzhen University, Academician Beiwei Zhu and her team for their support. He said: “This cooperation between Shenzhen University and WONDERLAB represents deep integration between a university and an enterprise in industry–academia–research collaboration. We hope to use the Joint Institute as a starting point for the two parties to explore and create more possibilities for the future of biotechnology together.”

According to the Joint Institute’s staff, its future work will focus on frontiers and key areas of microecology science, target cutting-edge scientific advances and industrial technology bottlenecks, and screen functional ingredients from food resources to explore the mechanisms behind their active substances. Building on the results of innovative collaborative research and leveraging WONDERLAB’s full-chain capabilities, the Joint Institute will also translate relevant technologies into industrial applications. It will apply developed food ingredients and formulation processes to innovative products, enhance value attributes such as the efficacy and user experience of end products, and work with Shenzhen University to create a benchmark case for the translation of university–enterprise research achievements. This will provide scientific and technological support for corporate development, inject innovation vitality and promote vigorous, healthy industry development.

The laboratory of the Shenzhen University–WONDERLAB Joint Institute for Precision Nutrition

Staff of the Joint Institute further explained that, while working to industrialize precision-nutrition technologies and research achievements, Shenzhen University and WONDERLAB will jointly train interdisciplinary talent with innovative thinking and the ability to solve practical industry problems. Together, they will promote the integrated development of industry, academia and research in biotechnology and empower the bioeconomy of the Greater Bay Area.