Prof Chao Zhou is a distinguished medical doctor and chief physician at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, where he also serves as a doctoral supervisor. He is the head of the Infection Department and the Microbiology Department, leading the Bacterial Infection Research Group at the National Key Laboratory for Respiratory Diseases.

An influential figure in the field, Prof Zhou is the Vice Chair of the Bacterial Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention Committee of the Chinese Medical Association. He is also a member of the Infectious Diseases Group of the Respiratory Disease Branch and the Microbiology and Immunology Branch of the same association. Additionally, he holds positions as a standing committee member of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Committee of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association and the Hospital Infection Control Committee.

Prof Zhou is a national committee member of the Infectious Disease Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association and serves as the Deputy Chair of the Academic Committee of the Bacterial Resistance Monitoring Network under the Ministry of Health. He is also a core member of the Expert Committee on Clinical Application of Antimicrobial Drugs and Bacterial Resistance Evaluation.

In Guangdong Province, he is the Chair of the Bacterial Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention Committee and the Chair of the Antimicrobial Application Branch of the Guangdong Precision Medicine Application Society.

Prof Zhou has published over 50 papers in prestigious journals such as The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Clinical Microbiology and Infection, and Emerging Microbes and Infections. He has led eight research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, reflecting his commitment to advancing the field of infectious diseases.