Dr. Jianfeng Xu, assistant professor of Biochemical Engineering at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute and the Arkansas State University College of Agriculture, was presented with the 2008 British Petroleum (BP) Young Scientist and Student Award at the 13th International Biotechnology Symposium and Exhibition Oct.12-17, 2008, in Dalian, Northeast China. The International Biotechnology Symposium and Exhibition is held only once every four years and is recognized as the premier international conference in the field of biotechnology.

Xu was selected from more than two hundred applicants to receive this global award. At the conference, 10 experts in the field judged Xu on his poster, "High-yield Expression of Therapeutic Proteins with Extended Serum Half-life in Tobacco Cells," and his oral presentation, "Develop a Platform for High-Yield Secretion of Therapeutic Proteins in Plant Cell Culture." Xu was also judged on a question-and-answer discussion session.
Xu was presented his award by Professor Werner Arber, 1978 Nobel Laureate in Medicine of the University of Basel, Switzerland. He was also presented with an award of $1,500 by John Morgan, Senior Vice President of British Petroleum (BP), Group Research & Technology.

The overall theme of the Symposium for 2008 was "Biotechnology for the Sustainability of Human Society." The symposium examined the milestone achievements and successes in biotechnology and discussed how biotechnology can contribute to global sustainability in the 21st century.

Xu is part of the Arkansas Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Plant Powered Production (P3) Center. The EPSCoR P3 Center is a research partnership between ASU, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, and is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Research Infrastructure Improvement program (RII): Arkansas ASSET Initiative (Advancing and Supporting Science, Engineering and Technology), and the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority (ASTA).

The EPSCoR Center offers cross-disciplinary opportunities to engage with cutting-edge advances in plant-based bioproduction technology. The EPSCoR P3 Center focuses on enhancing research infrastructure and cross-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration, linking research competitiveness with outreach and entrepreneurship to ensure knowledge-based economic development.