Aoying Zhang

Visiting PhD student

email: xxhn27@durham.ac.uk

Aoying Zhang is an MS-PhD joint student at Northeast Forestry University, focusing on insect behavioral responses under adverse environmental conditions and pest management strategies. Since enrolling, she has participated in two key research projects: one investigating the digestive physiology and multi-host adaptability of the fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea), leading to the development of nucleic acid pesticides targeting key genes; the other utilizing the nuclear protein of the fall webworm to construct a cell-penetrating peptide-mediated dsRNA delivery system for novel pest control approaches. Additionally, she independently leads a doctoral innovation fund project, examining the trends and mechanisms of resistance responses in Tilia amurensis to the fall webworm under microplastic pollution. In 2025, she was selected for the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST – Doctoral Student Special Plan.

In 2026, supported by the China Scholarship Council, she will join the InsectNeuroLaboratory at Durham University in the UK as a visiting doctoral student. There, she will investigate the survival mechanisms of mosquito pupae under drought stress and explore novel mosquito control strategies based on these findings. She is curious and enthusiastic about this new research direction.