Dr. Zhen Sun is an Associate Professor (Research/Ocean Sustainability, Governance & Management) at the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden. Her main research interests include law of the sea, international regulation of shipping, gender equality in ocean governance, climate actions and the protection of the marine environment.

At WMU, Zhen has played an active role in the launch and execution of a number of high-level research programmes, including serving as Co-Principal Investigator (PI) for both the Land-to-Ocean Leadership Programme and the Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme. She contributes to the delivery of the MSc Ocean Sustainability, Governance &Management (OSGM) specialization, and the PhD Programme in Maritime Affairs through substantial teaching and supervision commitments.

Prior to joining WMU, Zhen was a Research Fellow at the Centre for International Law (CIL), National University of Singapore. She was a member of the CIL Ocean Law and Policy team, in which she worked on a wide range of subjects in the law of the sea. Zhen was the researcher-in-charge for a number of research projects and capacity building activities at CIL, including projects funded by the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

Zhen has contributed tothe editorial work of a couple of book projects and published a number of book chapters and journal articles on various topics on the law of the sea.  Zhen received the Bachelor of Laws Degree from Hainan University and a LLM in International Law from China University of Political Science and Law in China. She continued her education in the United Kingdom where she received a LLM in Public International Law (with distinction) from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.