Dr. Richard Y. Zhao is Professor of Pathology, Microbiology-Immunology, Human Virology, and Global Health, Division Head of Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Maryland Medical Center. He received a B.S. degree in marine biology from Shandong College of Oceanography in China and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in genetics and molecular biology from Oregon State University. His postdoctoral training was at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, where he later served as an Associate Research Scientist and Research Assistant Professor. He was an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine from 1994–2003. During his tenure at Northwestern University, he was invested with an endowed chair as the Bernard L. Mirkin PhD, MD Research Scholar. He joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2004 and was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in 2019. He has published more than 160 scientific articles and serves on the editorial boards of more than a dozen journals including Cell Research, Cell & Biosciences, Frontiers in Virology, Microbial Cell, Pathogens, PLoS One, and Retrovirology.