Professor Wenjun Li from the School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Bergey Award, the highest international honor in the field of prokaryotic systematics. The accolade was officially presented at the Sixth Meeting of Bergey's International Society for Microbial Systematics (BISMiS) in recognition of Prof. Li's outstanding contributions to microbial taxonomy. This landmark achievement marks the first time a Chinese microbiologist has received the distinguished Bergey Award, underscoring China’s growing influence and leadership in global microbiological research.
Professor Martha E. Trujillo, Chair of the Bergey's Manual Trust and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, presents the award to Professor Wenjun Li.
Professor Li, a distinguished professor at the School of Life Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University, has dedicated his research on the diversity, systematics, and ecological functions of microorganisms inhabiting extreme and unique environments. Currently, he serves as President of Bergey's International Society for Microbial Systematics (BISMiS), an international member of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP), and holds editorial roles in over ten international journals.
Members of Professor Wenjun Li's team at the Sixth Meeting of Bergey's International Society for Microbial Systematics.
Over his distinguished career, Prof. Li has made systematic and pioneering contributions to microbial taxonomy. His work includes the discovery and naming of four new bacterial or archaeal phyla, five classes, 24 orders, over 40 families, 115 genera, and more than 680 new species, significantly expanding the scientific understanding of microbial diversity. His research productivity is globally recognized, having authored over 50 research papers as first or corresponding author in top-tier journals, and having been consecutively listed among the Most Cited Chinese Researchers from 2014 to 2024.
Beyond his Bergey Award, Prof. Li's contributions have earned him numerous high-profile recognitions, including the Skerman Award for Taxonomy (making him the only Chinese microbial taxonomist to receive this honor) and the Chinese Government Friendship Award. As principal investigator, he has also secured significant national funding, leading more than 50 national-level research projects, including 11 grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
Established by Bergey's Manual Trust, the Bergey Award honors scientists with outstanding global contributions to prokaryotic taxonomy. Professor Li's award not only recognizes his achievements but also signifies that China's microbial systematics research has gained high international recognition.
Source: School of Life Sciences
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