Luna Zhang PhD 张馨月 博士

Luna Zhang is a quantitative genetics consultant at AbacusBio. She holds a PhD in Animal Genetics and Breeding from the University of Georgia. Luna specialises in turning complex, abstract breeding concepts into practical, end-to-end solutions—developing robust, scalable, and user-friendly tools, models, and pipelines that help clients make better breeding decisions.

She works across a diverse range of projects on varies animal and plant species and enjoys bridging the gap between theory and application.

Her responsibilities include:

• Build production-ready genetic and genomic evaluation pipelines
• Develop selection indices and translate results into clear, visually engaging insights
• Develop Shiny apps for survey analysis, index aggregation and testing
• Supporting consultants with efficient, reproducible analytical workflows

Recent projects include:

• Bayer Crop Science — selection index development
• Polish Dairy (CGEN) — genomic evaluation pipeline
• DairyNZ — validation pipeline
• Shiny apps for survey analysis, index aggregation, and testing

Recent professional accomplishments include:

• Invented with Dr Peter Amer a weighted selection index emphasis method, adopted by USDA, New Zealand, Irish and Australian organisations. Her scientific publications can be found here
• Developed Shiny applications that are widely used across the company to streamline analysis and reporting, improving analysis efficiency by 200% and expanded user adoption 3x
• Received the ABIGBA Top Performer Award in 2021

Luna is passionate about translating complex data into meaningful insights through clear storytelling and visualisation. She enjoys identifying problems and building practical solutions that directly address client needs.

Within AbacusBio, she is known for supporting her teammates by developing robust methods and efficient tools, enabling others to deliver high-quality work alongside her own analytical contributions..

Outside of work, Luna has a strong creative side. She plays violin and sings in a folk band, Just Nuts, and enjoys drawing and painting as a member of a local art workshop #fortheloveofdrawing. During weekends she participates in orienteering with her partner and his children.

A lifelong learner, Luna continues to expand her skills in areas such as ML, programming, UX design and most recently, AI.

Originally from China and having studied and worked in the United States before coming to New Zealand, Luna brings a global perspective shaped by her unique experiences across countries.

“I want to build a world with nutritious, healthy and sustainable food resources.”

美国佐治亚州立大学动物遗传育种博士，美国俄亥俄州立大学动物遗传育种硕士，中国农业大学动物科学技术学士。AbacusBio中国市场经理。主要领域为经济选择指数的应用、基因组育种、遗传评估、混合模型、育种流水软件开发、机器学习和生物信息。与Peter Amer博士合作发明了选择指数的分组加权比重，被美国国家农业部奶牛育种采用。读博期间发表了single-step GBLUP的加权算法，被各国育种产业广泛采用。

AbacusBio在中国市场的业务包括：动植物育种项目设计，育种目标和经济选择指数的建立，数据管理工具，遗传多样性管理（近交控制），育种规划中的碳排放，遗传评估和育种值估计分析。业务模式为顾问指导，培训员工，以及策略合作。