Zhao Yi certainly had no interest in becoming the director. Biomedical research was just one part of his job; he was already pushing the limits by finding time to occasionally conduct research.
As a pure scientist, he had no desire to take on administrative duties.
From a professional standpoint, the directorship was not particularly impressive. It might be a higher administrative position, but with a myriad of mundane tasks, it could not compare to being the head of a laboratory.
The laboratory was much simpler, with only a few researchers, making it easier to manage due to the smaller number of people.
The laboratory's funding was also flexible. Most of the daily expenses, such as equipment purchases, maintenance, project development funds, and staff salaries, were all covered by the institute.