Joy Y. Zhang is a Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of the Centre for Global Science and Epistemic Justice (GSEJ) at the University of Kent. Her research examines evolving science–society dynamics and their implications for the global ethical governance of emerging life sciences. Conceptually, her work advances the theorisation of cosmopolitanisation, decolonisation, commoning, epistemic justice, and subaltern politics. Empirically, her research focuses on four major scientific powers—China, India, the UK, and the US. She has studied the governance and science diplomacy of emerging life sciences—including stem cells, synthetic biology, genome editing, and experimental therapies—alongside climate politics, food movements, and environmental engineering. She currently leads three cutting-edge social research programmes on engineering biology and its applications in critical minerals, biomedicine, and agriculture, with the aim of informing social and policy deliberation in the UK and internationally. She is the author of three academic books and publishes widely in high-impact journals across the natural and social sciences. She is frequently interviewed by global media and advises leading research and policy institutions in Europe and Asia.

My group focuses on using synthetic control systems to re-engineer plants, filamentous fungi, and viruses. I am passionate about fighting global hunger and malnutrition. My major hobbies are cooking, making art, and reading. Science fiction is my favorite genre and I love that my job gives me the opportunity to bring some of the things I have read about closer to reality.