Prof Lianghuo Fan went to university at age 15 and completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics at Ningbo Normal College, now Ningbo University, Ningbo, China in 1981. He obtained his MSc as well as Postgraduate Certificate in mathematics education and mathematical history at East China Normal University, Shanghai in 1989, and his PhD in education at the University of Chicago, USA in 1998. He also received a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from SIM University, now Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore in 2003.

Since 1981, Professor Fan had been a mathematics teacher, a mathematics and science department head in three high schools in his hometown, Ningbo, and later a teacher educator as a lecturer at Zhejiang Institute of Education, now Zhejiang International Studies University, Hangzhou, China, for about ten years. Since 1998, Professor Fan was on the faculty of the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore until 2010, in which he joined the University of Southampton as Chair in Education. In 2018, he was appointed Distinguished Professor and Director for the Asian Centre for Mathematics Education at East China Normal University. In 2024, he joined the University of Macau as Dean and Chair Professor in its Faculty of Education; currently he also serves as a member of the University Council, University of Macau.

Professor Fan has extensive international experience in education, research and publication in the field of mathematics education. He was chief editor of The Mathematics Educator (2006-2010) and is currently on the editorial or advisory boards of about ten research journals published in Australia, China, Singapore, Sweden, UK, etc. He was on the development team of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP), a consultant for both primary and secondary mathematics textbooks published by Shinglee Publishers, editor-in-chief for the series of secondary mathematics textbooks by Multimedia Publications in Singapore, and has been editor-in-chief for the series of secondary mathematics textbooks published by Zhejiang Education Publishing House, China since 2001. As the IPC Chair, Prof Fan conceived and organised the inaugural International Conference on Mathematics Textbook Research and Development (ICMT) held in the UK, 2014; he continued to serve as the Co-Chair of IPCs for ICMT-2 held in Brazil, 2017, ICMT-3 held in Germany, 2019, and ICMT-4 held in Beijing, 2022.

Professor Fan has also served in different roles such as international consultant/advisor and external examiner/referee to universities, governments and non-governmental organizations in many countries/regions including Croatia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands, UK and most frequently, Chinese mainland.

Professor Fan is Vice President and Secretary General of the Chinese Society of Mathematics Education. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Asian Journal for Mathematics Education, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education and Chief Editor of Frontiers in Education (STEM Education). Prof Fan was elected in 2022 as President of Shanghai Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Association.