BioChain Team Spotlight: Dr. Zhongdong Liu, V.P. of Operations
“Everyone here is well-versed in what it takes to prepare and deliver these services, and, more importantly, everyone here has their finger on the pulse of what is needed by the community we serve. That is part of why, now, BioChain aims to be one of the industry’s first and best spatial biology service providers.” – Zhongdong Liu, Ph.D.
Dr. Zhongdong Liu received his Ph.D. in medicine and molecular biology from the Medical College of Ohio (now the University of Toledo Medical School). After finishing his post-doctoral work in breast and prostate cancer research at UC Berkeley, he worked for a small biotechnology multiplex PCR company for a year before joining Biochain. He has worked at BioChain Institute, Inc. for the past 21 years in a variety of roles and is a veritable encyclopedia of BioChain knowledge. He currently holds the position of Vice President of Operations.
From technical support to research and development, Dr. Liu has contributed to almost every aspect of BioChain’s evolution. He speaks on the experience of seeing BioChain grow into the company it is today and the things that make its high-quality products stand out above the rest.
Dr. Liu, as a veteran at BioChain with such diverse experience across the company’s departments, can you walk us through all the different spheres of work that make BioChain tick?
So I was initially hired as a project manager. I had kind of a jack-of-all-trades role: I was assigned as the company’s technical support person to answer all technical questions from our customers and solve their problems. I was also doing ongoing work on novel projects in Research and Development, as well as editing the company’s catalog of biological specimens. I worked so well with the customers and had a strong knowledge of our products, so after 6 months, I was transferred to marketing and sales, and I was the manager of marketing for 8 years while continuing to take care of technical support.
My role grew and evolved continuously from there. As of 2024, I have been working as BioChain’s Vice President of Operations.
You’ve been at BioChain for a long time; what does your experience at this company mean to you?
I’ve been here so long that people call me BioChain’s encyclopedia – I’ve worked in almost every corner of this company and enjoyed most of it. But I have to say, the most meaningful work I have done at BioChain is to position us as a leading biospecimen sample and sample preparation company.
One thing that I have always believed sets us apart from our competitors is that BioChain has never claimed to be limited to a tissue bank company. We sell all sorts of biospecimen-derived products, but we also carry sample preparation kits, reagent products, and the expertise to help you use them. Resultantly, the scope of what we offer is greater than our competitors, and, most importantly, our products are still at a high level of quality. From my time at the company, I would say this comes down to the expertise and dedication of the team.
Can you speak a bit about the team of experts BioChain employs to prepare and work on these samples?
We have been providing various sample preparation services to the life sciences community for many years; everyone here is well-versed in what it takes to prepare and deliver these services, and, more importantly, everyone here has their finger on the pulse of what is needed by the community we serve. That is part of why, now, BioChain is aiming to be one of the industry’s first and best spatial biology service providers. We’ve already established our reputation as a high-quality sample and service provider when it comes to reagent kits and products; I am confident in our ability to excel here, as well.
What does BioChain’s 30th anniversary mean to you?
I feel very proud to see how BioChain has grown over the years. Our capacity – not just in biospecimen provision and preparation, but also in new spheres like spatial biology services – has really grown without sacrificing our roots. And, you know, practically, our revenue has increased 5 times what it used to be; we have our own building now. Those are things to be proud of when you’ve seen it happen from the ground up. Through watching BioChain grow over the years, I know without a doubt that we have it in us to grow even further and carve out our unique place in the scientific market.
Dr. Liu, thank you so much for sharing your BioChain journey with us today; it was a pleasure speaking with you.
Dr. Liu: Thank you as well!
