Jianying Han

Jianying Han (PhD) is an Early Career Research Fellow and Natural Product Chemist at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, specialising in the discovery of structurally novel and biologically active small molecules from unique microbial resources. His research focuses on unlocking the chemical diversity of underexplored microorganisms, particularly rare Actinobacteria and other environmentally derived microbes. Dr Han integrates microbial cultivation strategies, genome-guided discovery, and advanced chemical analysis to activate silent biosynthetic pathways and reveal new classes of natural products. His work employs innovative approaches including high-throughput cultivation matrices, co-cultivation, precursor-directed biosynthesis, and microbial biotransformation to expand the chemical space accessible from microbial metabolites. Through these strategies, He aims to identify new bioactive compounds with potential applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical discovery, while contributing to the development of Australia’s microbial resources and bioeconomy.