INSTITUTE OF ZOOLOGY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Their core work

The Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is China's national research institute for animal science, covering insect taxonomy and genetics, animal ecology, invasion biology, and livestock breeding and genomics. In its H2020 work it contributed expertise on the four largest insect groups, on emerging forest pests and pathogens, and on genomic selection in small ruminants for traits like feed efficiency, resilience and welfare. For European partners it acts as a scientific gateway into Chinese field data, reference collections and modelling capacity for animal systems. Its value is strongest where a project needs zoological depth combined with an applied agricultural or biosecurity angle.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The single early project (BIG4, 2015-2018) sits in classical zoological research — training young scientists in insect taxonomy, genetics and informatics. From 2018 onward the two later projects shifted toward applied problems in food and agriculture: managing invasive forest pests (HOMED) and improving small ruminants through genomic selection and predictive models (SMARTER). The trajectory moves from fundamental biosystematics toward applied animal science and biosecurity with a clear agricultural impact angle.

IOZ CAS is moving from core zoological training toward applied agri-food problems — invasive pests and livestock improvement — making it a useful partner for consortia that need Chinese field data or genomics capacity in these areas.

How they like to work

IOZ CAS consistently joins EU consortia as a non-EU scientific partner rather than coordinating. Across three projects it worked with 76 different partners in 27 countries, suggesting a hub-style network with little repeat pairing — each project brought a fresh consortium. This profile fits an organization that is invited in for specific zoological or entomological expertise rather than building its own EU-led consortia.

IOZ CAS has connected with 76 unique partners across 27 countries through just three projects, reflecting wide geographic reach typical of a Chinese national research institute brought in for international expertise. Its European collaborations span forestry, livestock genetics and entomology communities rather than any single country cluster.

What sets them apart

As the zoology institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, IOZ CAS is one of the few non-EU partners in Horizon 2020 that combines fundamental animal systematics with applied livestock and pest research at national scale. For European coordinators, it offers access to Chinese field sites, reference collections and genomic datasets that cannot be replicated inside the EU — particularly relevant for pests with Asian origins and for livestock breeds. Its willingness to join as a non-coordinating partner makes it easy to integrate into established consortia.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BIG4
  A Marie Sklodowska-Curie doctoral training network — rare for a Chinese institute to host MSCA fellows and a signal of strong training capacity in insect systematics.
• SMARTER
  Large livestock-genetics consortium applying genomic selection and predictive models to sheep and goats, where IOZ CAS provides animal-science expertise.
• HOMED
  Brings a Chinese perspective on invasive forest pests and pathogens into a European biosecurity consortium — valuable for pathways analysis from Asia to Europe.