34-year-old Chinese scientist Zhang Feng was one of five scientists to be promoted to a tenured position at the MIT School of Science, breaking the record set by Qian Xuesen, who was tenured at the age of 35, uschinapress.com reported on Saturday.

As the youngest Chinese tenured professor in the history of MIT, Zhang is keen about the life sciences, and he is focused on developing tools to better understand nervous system function and disease. He has pioneered the development of genome editing tools for use in eukaryotic cells, including human cells.

Zhang has done extensive study on the role of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying diseases, and he is especially interested in complex disorders, such as psychiatric and neurological diseases.

Zhang attended MIT and joined the departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering at the Broad McGovern institutes in 2011.