Zhong Nanshan, born in 1936, is a specialist on respiratory diseases. Heading a National Health Commission expert panel, he is conducting research on the novel coronavirus. He was the first to report that the virus can transmit between people on January 20.

Since graduating from the Beijing Medical College (today the Peking University Health Science Center) in 1960, Zhong has been engaged in clinical practice, teaching and scientific research on respiratory health.

Appointed as the head of an expert task force, Zhong made great contribution to the fight against the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in Guangdong Province, south China, in 2003, and became a household name across China. He was president of the Chinese Medical Association from 2005 to 2009. Now, he is the head of the Guangzhou Institution of Respiratory Health and the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1996.