国家优秀青年基金、安徽省杰出青年基金获得者，全国核电子学与核探测技术分会“微电子学”专业委员会副主任，图书馆VIP物理电子学专业副主任。

主要研究领域为专用集成电路（ASIC）设计, 高速、高精度信号采集与处理、超高精度时间测量等。 2010年至今个人研究经费2064万元（作为项目负责人经费954万元），其中在“国家发改委十二五”规划项目LHAASO中，带领研究团队进行其中核心探测器之一WCDA（8万平方米）的读出电子学系统的具体设计和工程实施。2010年至今发表及录用论文共93篇（包括英文论文76篇）。其中第一及通讯作者论文74篇，包括SCI论文40篇、EI论文38篇。作为第一发明人国家发明专利：两项已授权，另两项已公示。

• 图书馆VIP，物理电子学
• 工学博士，博士生导师

• 2014年中国科学院卓越创新中心（粒子物理前沿）“青年拔尖人才奖”
• 安徽省“教坛新秀”称号

• Lei Zhao, Xiaofang Hu, Changqing Feng, Shaochun Tang, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “A 1.6-Gsps High-Resolution Waveform Digitizer Based on a Time-Interleaved Technique”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 60, No. 3, June 2013, pp.2180-2187.
• Lei Zhao, Xueye Hu, Shubin Liu, Jinhong Wang, Qi Shen, Huanhuan Fan, Qi An, “The Design of a 16-Channel 15 ps TDC Implemented in a 65 nm FPGA”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 60, No. 5, Oct. 2013, pp. 3532-3536.
• Lei Zhao, Weihao Wu, Jianfeng Liu, Yu Liang, Jiajun Qin, Li Yu, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “Prototype of a front-end readout ASIC designed for the Water Cherenkov Detector Array in LHAASO”, Journal of Instrumentation, Vol. 10, Mar. 2015, pp. P03015-1 –P03015-13.   
• Jiajun Qin, Lei Zhao*, Boyu Cheng, Han Chen, Yuxiang Guo, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “Prototype of a transient waveform recording ASIC”, Journal of Instrumentation, Vol. 13, Jan. 2018, pp. P01004-1 - P01004-11.
• Yu Liang, Lei Zhao*, Yuxiang Guo, Jiajun Qin, Yunfang Yang, Boyu Cheng, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “A multichannel front end ASIC for PMT readout in LHAASO WCDA”, Journal of Instrumentation, Vol. 13, Jan. 2018, pp. P01023-1 - P01023-15.
• Boyu Cheng, Lei Zhao*, Jiajun Qin, Han Chen, Yuxiang Guo, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “An overdetermined linear equations-based time calibration method for fast sampling ASICs”, Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research, A, Vol. 916, Feb. 2019, pp. 71-76.
• Jianfeng Liu, Lei Zhao*, Li Yu, Yu Liang, Jiajun Qin, Yunfan Yang, Weihao Wu, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “An Analogue Front-End ASIC Prototype Designed For PMT Signal Readout”, Chinese Physics C, Vol. 40, No. 6, Jun. 2016, pp. 066101-1 – 066101-10.
• Jianfeng Liu, Lei Zhao*, Jiajun Qin, Yunfan Yang, Li Yu, Yu Liang, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “Design and simulation of a 12-bit, 40 MSPS asynchronous SAR ADC for the readout of PMT signals”, Chinese Physics C, Vol. 40, No. 11, Nov. 2016, pp. 116103-1 - 116103-7.   
• Lei Zhao, Shaoping Chu, Cong Ma, Xingshun Gao, Yunfan Yang, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “Precise Clock Synchronization in the Readout Electronics of WCDA in LHAASO”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 62, No. 6, Dec. 2015, pp. 3249-3255.
• Lei Zhao, Cong Ma, Shaoping Chu, Xingshun Gao, Zouyi Jiang, Ruoshi Dong, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “Prototype of the Readout Electronics for WCDA in LHAASO”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 64, No. 6, Jun. 2017, pp. 1367-1373.
• Jinhong Wang, Shubin Liu, Lei Zhao, Xueye Hu, Qi An, “The 10-ps Multitime Measurements Averaging TDC Implemented in an FPGA”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 58, No.4, August, 2011, pp. 2011-2018.
• Lei Zhao, Xingshun Gao, Xiaofang Hu, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “Beam Position and Phase Measurement System for the Proton Accelerator in ADS”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 61, No. 1, Feb. 2014, pp. 538-545.  
• Chunfeng Ye, Lei Zhao*, Zhongyue Zhou, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “A field-programmable-gate-array based time digitizer for the time-of-flight mass spectrometry”, Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 85, Apr. 2014, pp. 045115-1 – 045115-7.  
• Xiaofang Hu, Lei Zhao*, Changqing Feng, Wei Zheng, Shubin Liu, Qi An, “Time Measurement System Based on Waveform Digitization for Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 60, No. 6, Dec. 2013, pp. 4588-4594.  
• Xueye Hu, Lei Zhao*, Shubin Liu, Jinhong Wang, Qi An, “A Stepped-Up Tree Encoder for the 10-ps Wave Union TDC”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 60, No. 5, Oct. 2013, pp. 3544-3549.