After completing my Master’s degree in biochemical engineering at Beijing University of Chemical Technology in China, 1998, I obtained my PhD in metabolic engineering at Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan, 2004, where I was trained in microbial fermentation, proteomics, metabolomics and 13C-metabolic flux analysis (13C-MFA). I then joined Victoria University of Wellington in 2004 as a postdoctoral fellow in proteomics. For the next four years, I extensively extended my skills in proteomics, including 1D/2D PAGE and LC-MS/MS. During this period, I led the Membrane Proteomics Initiative under the Asia-Oceania Proteome Organization (Proteomics, 2010, 10:1-7) and gained an international reputation in the fields of membrane and subcellular proteomics. I became a faculty member at Victoria University of Wellington in 2009 in biochemistry and proteomics and led my research group that developed and implemented mass spectrometry-based proteomics and metabolomics methods to investigate metabolic and molecular mechanisms of cells. The aim of my research is to foster the development of new strategies for early diagnosis, prevention and better treatment of diseases, as well as aid the design of engineered strains of bacteria to produce biofuel or other engineered products.