获得湖南大学博士学位，现为江西中医药大学大型仪器中心仪器主管。曾主持和参与省部级项目有：新型高效液相色谱固定相的制备研究、高精密仪器三维虚拟和3D打印研究，基于磁纳米技术的中药中多环芳烃检测研究、藏药裂叶独活的活性成分的制备研究等多项，在国外和国内核心等期刊发表论文20篇，SCI收录12篇。
参与课题
1.参与完成了国家自然科学基金:高速逆流色谱分离手性化合物的研究。
2. 国家中医药管理局项目:痛泻要方及其核心药组的代谢物组学研究。
3. 主持完成了江西省卫生厅中医药科研项目: 枳壳“陈久者良”的科学内涵研究。
相关论文：
1. Zhihong Yan, Jinbin Yuan, Genhua Zhu, Ying Zou, Chunyan Chen, Shaolei Yang , Shouzhuo Yao，A new strategy based on cholesterol-functionalized iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by high-performance liquid chromatography with cholesterol column，Analytica Chimica Acta 780 (2013) 28-35.
2. Zhihong Yan，Ying Cai，Genhua Zhu，Jinbin Yuan，Lidan Tu，Chunyan Chen，Shouzhuo Yao，Synthesis of 3-fluorobenzoyl chloride functionalized magnetic sorbent for highly efficient enrichment of perfluorinated compounds from river water samples，Journal of Chromatography A 1321（2013）21-29.
3. Shaolei Yang，Chunyan Chen，Zhihong Yan，Qingyun Cai，Shouzhuo Yao，Evaluation of metal-organic framework 5 as a new SPE material for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental waters，Journal of Separation Science，36（2013）1283–1290.
4. Ying Zou, Yingzhuang Chen, Zhihong Yan, Chunyan Chen, Jianping Wang, Shouzhuo Yao, Magnetic solid-phase extraction based on tetrabenzyl modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles for the analysis of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples, Analyst, 2013, 138, 5904-5912.
5.Y. Cai， Z. H. Yan， M. Zi， and L. M. Yuan. Preparative Purification of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes by High-speed Countercurrent chromatography. Journal of Liquid Chrom atography & Related Technologies， 2009， 32 (3): 399-406. (SCI， IF0.814)