Lei Guo

Environmental and Agricultural Scientist with a PhD and over 7 years of academic research and project-delivery experience specialising in soil biogeochemistry, nitrogen cycling, environmental chemistry, soil–plant interactions and sustainable agricultural systems. My Australia-based research focused strongly on nitrogen transformations in soil–plant–atmosphere systems and on developing soil-management approaches to reduce nitrogen losses and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. I combine field experimentation and soil/plant analysis with hands-on PCR-based analysis of key microbial functional genes involved in nitrogen transformation, providing an interdisciplinary bridge between soil chemistry, microbial processes and greenhouse-gas mitigation.

Experienced in multidisciplinary project coordination, laboratory QA/QC, data interpretation, scientific publication and postgraduate research training.

CSC Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Visiting Scholar / Collaborative Project Researcher / Laboratory Manager - Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University - Brisbane

(2022-10 - 2025-12)

Hosted by Professor Zhihong Xu. Retained substantive Lecturer appointment at Shenyang Agricultural University.

• Conducted field and laboratory research integrating soil biogeochemistry, nitrogen cycling, environmental chemistry, soil–plant interactions and biochar-based materials.
• Contributed to Australian competitive, government and industry-supported projects examining nitrogen cycling under climate change, carbon-negative fertilisers, climate-smart agriculture and environmental sustainability.
• Led day-to-day delivery of the Australian component of a Queensland–Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborative project, including fieldwork, soil/plant sampling, laboratory analysis, data management, milestone reporting and partner coordination.
• Managed the Soil and Plant Research Laboratory, including chemical safety, equipment maintenance, instrument access, QA/QC, and training of postgraduate students and visiting researchers.

Lecturer - College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University - China

(2019-06 - 2026-06)

• Led research in environmental chemistry, soil biogeochemistry, agricultural soil contamination, nutrient processes and sustainable remediation.
• Secured and managed multiple competitive grants as Lead Investigator, including a National Natural Science Foundation of China project.
• Designed, coordinated and delivered the postgraduate unit Special Topics in Environmental Chemistry and contributed to interdisciplinary undergraduate environmental units.
• Principal Supervisor for five Master's research students (completed and current candidates) and contributor to PhD research training.

Research Assistant (Casual Academic) - Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University - Brisbane

(2026-02 - 2026-08)

Current casual appointment outside core soil-science research programme.

• Prepare research reports and policy briefs using literature, historical benchmarks and sectoral data.

Industrial Project Assistant - Collaborative Mine-Waste Reclamation Projects, Liaoning Province - China

(2015-09 - 2018-12)

• Supported geochemical and ecological rehabilitation of mine tailings, using site-scale chemical analysis to inform remediation and vegetation-establishment strategies addressing acid mine drainage and heavy-metal leaching.

Research Assistant - Agricultural Product Safety and Environmental Quality Testing Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences - China

(2009-09 - 2010-09)

• Conducted quality-controlled environmental testing and chemical analysis using ICP-MS, AAS, AES, SEM and HPLC.

PhD - Agricultural Environmental Protection - Shenyang Agricultural University (2014-09 - 2018-12)

Master of Science - Environmental Engineering - Shenyang Agricultural University (2011-09 - 2014-06)

Bachelor of Science - Environmental Engineering - Shenyang Ligong University (2005-09 - 2009-06)