Cheng Heping

CAS academician, Peking University

Cheng Heping has long been dedicated to research in the fields of calcium signaling, mitochondrial biomedicine, and the independent development of high-end biomedical instruments.

His major academic contributions include:

1. Discovering the basic unit of cellular calcium signaling, known as calcium spark, with the original paper hailed as one of the top ten outstanding myocardial research papers in more than 100 years;

2. Discovering mitochondrial superoxide flash or mitoflash, revealing its signaling functions in energy metabolism, learning and memory, and aging biology;

3. Leading the team in developing a 2.2-gram miniature dual-photon microscope, enabling the observation of brain neuron activity in freely moving mice and opening up new paradigms in brain science research. This achievement was recognized as one of the Top 10 Scientific Advances in China in 2017 and was selected as the 2018 Method of the Year by Nature Methods.

In addition to these achievements, Cheng has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Research Achievement Award from the International Society for Heart Research in 2016, the second prize in National Natural Science Awards in 2017, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award in 2020, and the Guohua Distinguished Scholar Award granted by Peking University in 2021.