In 2019, Yong Zhou joined KAUST as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Rod Wing’s group and was promoted to Research Scientist in 2023. His research at KAUST has focused on unraveling the genetics and pan-genomics of major crops through high-performance computing (HPC) and AI-driven approaches, while also exploring the evolutionary history of native species in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

In Prof. Jesse Poland’s group, he leads the bioinformatics team supporting global food security initiatives in collaboration with CGIAR institutes. His work focuses on the genomics and genetics of crops that sustain the world’s population, with an emphasis on translating genomic information into practical breeding applications. This research aligns closely with both the Saudi Green Initiative and Saudi Vision 2030.