Jin Zhang

Dr Jin Zhang

Grant-Funded Researcher (A)

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Dr Jin Zhang is a Postdoctoral Researcher within the School of Agriculture, Food, and Wine, focusing her research on understanding the performance of yeast and their interactions within challenging environments, particularly evident in winemaking processes. Her projects are centred on the identification and characterisation of various yeast species and the genes responsible for their unique properties. Utilising high-throughput screening methods of yeast collections, including environmental isolates and mutant libraries, Dr Zhang aims to identify genetic differences between strains that correlate with specific phenotypes. Her studies are aimed at unravelling the adaptive mechanisms that enable yeast to thrive in grape must and successfully complete alcoholic fermentation. This valuable insight is then applied to guide strain development, leading to isolate novel strains possessing desirable oenological traits.
With over a decade of experience in the field of wine microbiology, Dr Zhang has been involved in numerous fermentation and molecular biology projects. In 2014, she completed her PhD in wine microbiology, focusing on the investigation and characterisation of highly nitrogen-efficient wine yeast strains. Since then, she has undertaken projects ranging from high-throughput fermentations to assess new grape cultivars, to exploring microbial cell-cell signalling mechanisms during wine fermentation and their impact on population dynamics and fermentation performance. Additionally, Dr Zhang endeavours to isolate novel yeast strains from diverse environments to uncover their biological properties and their potential applications in the industry.

  • Appointments

    Date Position Institution name
    2023 - 2023 Casual Acdemic Activity (Non-Teaching) University of Adelaide
    2023 - 2023 Casual Acdemic Activity (Non-Teaching) University of Adelaide
    2018 - 2022 Casual Research Technician CSIRO
    2016 - ongoing Post-doc Researcher The University of Adelaide
  • Language Competencies

    Language Competency
    Chinese (Mandarin) Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
    English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
  • Education

    Date Institution name Country Title
    2010 - 2014 The University of Adelaide Australia PhD
    2007 - 2009 North West Agriculture and Forestry University China Master of Science
    2003 - 2007 North West Agriculture and Forestry University China Bachelor of Engineering
  • Certifications

    Date Title Institution name Country
    2022 First Aider Certification Real Response Australia
    2022 Fire Warden Certification Chubb Australia
    2018 Advanced Wine Spirit Education Trust Certificate WSET United Kingdom
    2011 Intermediate Wine Spirit Education Trust Certificate WSET United Kingdom
  • Research Interests

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2023 Co-Supervisor Novel microbes from Australian plants: Characterisation and industrial potential Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Tea Knezevic
    2021 Co-Supervisor Exploring the diversity of bacteriophage in wine production Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Zhecun Xu
  • Position: Grant-Funded Researcher (A)
  • Phone: 83130402
  • Email: jin.zhang01@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 83137415
  • Campus: Waite
  • Building: Wine Innovation Central, floor 3
  • Org Unit: Agricultural Science

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