More than 90 outstanding researchers from across the world have been elected in 2026 to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. Women account for 26% of the new intake of Fellows and Honorary Fellows this year. Prof. CAO Xiaofeng has become the first female Fellow of
the Royal Society from mainland China.
Dr. CAO Xiaofeng currently serves as a Principal Investigator and the Director of the Academic Committee at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB),
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). She also holds the role of Co-Director of CEPAMS, jointly established by CAS, John Innes Centre (JIC) and The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL), both in the UK. Additionally, she is Editor-in-Chief of
Science China Life Sciences.
CAO has made significant contributions to understanding epigenetic regulation mechanisms and RNA metabolism in higher plants.
She has received numerous prestigious honors, including L’Oréal Young Female Scientists Award (2010), the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award of China (2019), and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Chinese Society for Plant Biology (2019).
Her previous academic distinctions include election as a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015, a Member of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2016, and an International member of the American Academy of Sciences in 2020.
Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, commented on the newly elected Fellows:
“Their contributions reflect the highest standards of scientific endeavour. Whether advancing our understanding of vaccines or exploring the transformative potential of mathematics and computation, their work exemplifies the enduring value of curiosity, creativity and rigorous inquiry.”
(Source: The Royal Society)
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More than 90 outstanding researchers from across the world have been elected in 2026 to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. Women account for 26% of the new intake of Fellows and Honorary Fellows this year. Prof. CAO Xiaofeng has become the first female Fellow of the Royal Society from mainland China.Dr. CAO Xiaofeng currently serves as a Principal Investigator and the Director of the Academic Committee at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). She also holds the role of Co-Director of CEPAMS, jointly established by CAS, John Innes Centre (JIC) and The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL), both in the UK. Additionally, she is Editor-in-Chief of Science China Life Sciences.CAO has made significant contributions to understanding epigenetic regulation mechanisms and RNA metabolism in higher plants.She has received numerous prestigious honors, including L’Oréal Young Female Scientists Award (2010), the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award of China (2019), and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Chinese Society for Plant Biology (2019).Her previous academic distinctions include election as a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015, a Member of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2016, and an International member of the American Academy of Sciences in 2020.Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, commented on the newly elected Fellows:“Their contributions reflect the highest standards of scientific endeavour. Whether advancing our understanding of vaccines or exploring the transformative potential of mathematics and computation, their work exemplifies the enduring value of curiosity, creativity and rigorous inquiry.”(Source: The Royal Society)