The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) marks the fifth anniversary of its establishment

From 2017 to 2022, the five-year period is a continuous relay, marking the investment of CUST in grasping the historical initiative and strategically planning the development of the Life Sciences and Medicine Department. Looking back on the memorable day of December 23, five years is a leap to the future, witnessing the original intention and mission of "HKUST people" who have the courage to innovate, dare to surpass, and strive for first-class.

From the Department of biophysics at the beginning of the University of Science and Technology of China in 1958, to the Department of Biology (8 departments) in 1978, and then the School of Life Sciences was established in 1998. 20 years of reincarnation, 20 years of gorgeous butterfly change. On December 23, 2017, on the basis of the former College of Life Sciences, the National Health Commission, the People's Government of Anhui Province, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly established the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (hereinafter referred to as the "Department of Health and Medicine"). As a hospital directly affiliated to the University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui Provincial Hospital has become an important part of the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine and is named "The First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China (Anhui Provincial Hospital)". The Department of Life Science and Medicine carries forward the fine tradition of running schools, gathers the strength of alumni at home and abroad, adheres to the "cross-integration of science and technology and medicine, collaborative innovation of medical teaching and research, and integrated development of life science and medicine", adheres to the innovation in the development, and seeks development in the innovation. 

Since its establishment five years ago, under the guidance of the Anhui Provincial People's Government, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Health Commission, under the friendly care of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other departments, under the strong leadership of the university and the strong support of the functional departments of the University, all the faculty and staff of the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine have worked hard and forged ahead. Moral cultivation, talent introduction, innovation "trinity" comprehensive development, to achieve a new bureau to stimulate internal power, seek innovation to shape the future advantage of a good start.

Concentrate on moral cultivation and build a new pattern of top-notch innovative talent training. "Based on the foundation", moral education has always been the top priority of the Department of health. The Department of Health and Medicine consists of four schools: School of Life Science, School of Basic Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, which spans the three disciplines of science and technology and medicine. Through continuous establishment and improvement of talent training programs, the training system of top-notch innovative talents is improved. There are 2 national first-class undergraduate programs in biological science and biotechnology, 4 first-level doctoral degree programs in biology, ecology, clinical medicine (science degree) and biomedical engineering, and 2 professional degree programs (clinical medicine (doctor) and Biology and medicine (master)). The construction of the Ministry of Education's top basic discipline program "Beishiang Life Science and Technology Talent Class", biology was selected as the national strong foundation plan. "Construction and Practice of scientific research innovation ability training mechanism for Biological Science Undergraduates" won the second prize of National Teaching Achievement Award of Higher Education in 2018. The first round of construction of biology first-class discipline has achieved remarkable results, ranking in the forefront of 16 domestic universities in the construction of biology first-class discipline. As a national life science and biotechnology personnel training base, the Ministry of Health and Medicine has trained 6 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Wang Dacheng, Wang Zhizhen, Chen Runsheng, Shi Yunyu, Chen Lin, Rao Zihe), 2 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (Xu Xun, Tian Zhigang), and 2 academicians of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and Canada (Luo Li-Qun, Zhuo Min). More than 200 alumni work in leading international universities and research institutions. Since the organization participated in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) in 2007, it has won a total of 16 gold MEDALS, 7 silver MEDALS, 2 bronze MEDALS, and 3 individual awards. Relying on the affiliated hospital to build a clinical medical school, continue to consolidate the foundation of clinical medicine education: in 2019, it was approved to set up a clinical medicine undergraduate major, in 2020, it was approved to set up a first-level discipline doctor authorization of "clinical medicine" science degree, and in 2022, it was approved to set up a professional doctor authorization of "clinical medicine". To build a "burn-master - doctoral" talent training system for clinical medicine, and cultivate a few but fine, high-level, high-level, international clinical medicine future leading talents with the potential of doctors and scientists. Three undergraduates from a medical excellence class published a series of newsletter essays on social and scientific understanding in Science.

Talent introduction and education are promoted simultaneously, and the team of high-quality teachers has achieved new breakthroughs. "Talent is the first resource", the fundamental source of the development of the department of health and medicine lies in people. The Department of Health and Medicine implements the introduction and education simultaneously, integrates the resource advantages and collaborative support of the university and the affiliated hospital, strengthens the supporting and leading role of high-level talents, focuses on introducing top scholars at home and abroad, and gathers outstanding talents in the world. Relying on the national talent plan and the Talent Plan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we have introduced a group of leading academic talents such as Prof. Cheng Linzhao, Prof. Weng Jianping, Prof. Liu Lianxin, Prof. Zhou Shaohua, Prof. Shi Jiong, and 59 outstanding overseas young talents such as Prof. Bao Wei. System documents such as "Management Measures for the Dual Employment of Talents in the Department of Life Science and Medicine" have been formulated successively, and a dual employment mechanism for the introduction of talents has been established. Relying on the National Innovative Talent Plan, the Talent plan of the Ministry of Education, the talent plan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other ways to introduce a group of academic leaders and overseas outstanding young talents. In terms of institutional mechanisms, we should focus on cultivating fertile soil for talent growth and building an ecological environment for innovation. Formulated and issued the "PI Qualification and Assessment Management Measures for the School Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (Trial)". Through the establishment of PI system + teamwork, encouraging cross-integration and vigorously promoting the atmosphere of collaborative innovation, established mechanisms and projects such as the Life Science and Medicine sub-forum of Mozi Forum, academic regular exchange, academic annual meeting and graduate annual meeting. Attaches great importance to the cultivation of young talents, launches the youth PI growth and support program, including new PI training, new PI Mentor, mid-term evaluation and other systems, and strives to build a high-level teacher team with reasonable age echelons, obvious discipline characteristics, and first-class professional skills. The teaching staff has developed by leaps and bounds. Since 2017, 60 new PIs have been added, nearly 70 people have been selected for various talent projects, and three national Foundation committees have created innovative groups.

Dedicated to research and innovation, and contribute to people's life and health. In the past five years, the scientific research projects of the Department of Health and Medicine have repeatedly reached new highs, and the academic output has continued to accelerate. In the past five years, 823 million yuan of vertical research funds (excluding appropriations) were received, and the total amount of transfer and transformation contracts was 319 million yuan. In the "Cell", "Nature", "Science", "New England Journal of Medicine" 4 top academic journals published 12 articles (first unit or corresponding author unit). Major innovation achievements show an accelerated trend, and 6 papers are published in Cell, Nature, Science, and The New England Journal of Medicine in 2022 as the first unit/corresponding author unit. Eight disciplines (Biology and biochemistry, Clinical medicine, Environmental Science and Ecology, Botany and Zoology, Molecular biology and Genetics, immunology, pharmacology and Toxicology, Neuroscience and behavior) have entered the top 1% of ESI disciplines globally, with a total number of nearly half of the university. There are 9 key laboratories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Anhui Province and Ministry of Education and Anhui Province Medical Biotechnology Engineering Research Center, including Structural Biology, Natural Immunity and Chronic Diseases, Brain function and brain diseases, membraneless organelles and cell dynamics, Molecular medicine, Cell dynamics and Chemical Biology, Biomedicine and Health, Aging Biomedicine, blood cell Research and application. Establish a high-level public health research platform, and jointly build a public health research institute with Wuhan Institute of Virology, Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, and Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention to promote interdisciplinary research on public health; Aiming at the "stuck neck" problem in the health field, the Clinical Research Hospital of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Anhui Clinical Research Hospital) is built. Through the "bench to bedside" model integrating basic research and 300-500 research beds, a new clinical research hospital from basic research to clinical trials is built, and an innovation platform integrating production and education is built. It will lead the construction of the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center's Big Health Research Institute, and accelerate the construction of a system for the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements. Original innovation achievements have emerged, represented by the second prize of the National Natural Science Award, the "Tocilizumab + conventional treatment" program for the treatment of severe and critical cases of COVID-19, and a number of top ten advances in China's life sciences. In the past three years, the transfer and transformation contract of the Department of Life Science and Medicine totaled 319 million yuan, including the transformation of heavy achievements such as anti-inflammation and anti-tumor technology, gene therapy technology for hereditary blindness and wAMD, and new technology of NK cell immunotherapy, initially formed an innovation ecology of effective connection between basic, transformation and clinical, and realized the institutional and systematic service of national and regional strategic needs. To provide innovative impetus for promoting high-quality development.

Promoting the integration of schools and hospitals, the development of affiliated hospitals across the new speed. The First Affiliated Hospital is an important part of the Department of Health and Medicine, and the collaborative innovation of medical teaching and research adds new impetus and acceleration to the development of the hospital. In the construction of affiliated hospitals, adhere to the "integration of university and college, science and education to revive the hospital", adopt the system of university and college double researchers, and build a high-level professional personnel team in an all-round way; Guided by the "HKUST New Medicine" joint fund, medical, teaching and research collaborative innovation, optimize the discipline layout, and overcome the difficulties and pain points of the integration of science, technology and medicine; With the construction of smart hospitals as the starting point, we will comprehensively improve the people's medical experience and ensure the medical safety of patients. We will promote high-quality development with the guidance of Party building, and lead innovative development with the humanistic spirit. The first affiliated hospital ranked 21st in the national third-level comprehensive public hospital assessment in 2021, and the evaluation grade was A+ for four consecutive years, continuing to lead Anhui. In 2021, the number of Level 4 surgeries in the hospital ranked 8th in the country, the technical difficulty (CMI) ranked 32nd in the country, and the total scientific research funding ranked 28th in the country. As the first unit, Rheumatology has published research papers in top journals such as NEJM, Lancet, Nature Reviews Rheumatology, Circulation, etc. The Hospital Nature Index ranked 45th in the world and 7th in China, and participated in 79 projects funded by the National Nature Foundation. Ranked 22nd in the country's medical institutions. Adhere to the "service-oriented, technology-first", comprehensively improve medical quality, from 2019 to 2021 won the Anhui Province service industry residents satisfaction survey "medical industry first", successively approved the national trauma regional medical center, national emergency medical rescue base, national clinical key specialty construction project and other major national projects. Listed as the national "Demonstration Advanced Stroke Center" and "China Chest Pain Center Demonstration Base", the overall service level and brand influence of the hospital have been significantly improved.

Looking back on the road of five years, the footprints of hard work to leave prints, vividly.

Looking forward to the new journey, "HKUST New Medicine" has unlimited potential and promising prospects.

When the wind is good, we sail to the future. The Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine of the University of Science and Technology of China will continue to uphold the school spirit of "red professional development and integration of science and practice", adhere to the school philosophy of "quality education and talent education", serve the national strategic needs of "healthy China", fulfill the national mission of "dedication to moral education, persistent research and innovation", and uphold the spirit of medical cooperation and collaborative innovation. Make unremitting efforts to build the Department of Life Science and Medicine into the top domestic and world-class science and education innovation core base in the field of life and health!