ECNU announces the inauguration of the biomedical synthetic biology research Center
ECNU announced the inauguration of the Biomedical Synthetic Biology Research Center on April 20.
On the field of life sciences in China, President Xi Jinping addressed scientists and academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) to be nurturing towards new changes represented by synthetic biology, gene editing, brain science and regenerative medicines. In this speech given in 2018, Xi also emphasized that original breakthroughs provide more sources of innovation for disruptive and cutting-edge technologies.
As an emerging and interdisciplinary field, synthetic biology seeks to make the design, construction and optimization of biological systems easier, more predictable and reliable while playing a leading role in promoting the integrational aspects of original breakthroughs of various disciplines.
It is dubbed as the third biotech revolution - a scientific field strategically essential for contending among world powers - following the revolution in molecular biology generated by the discovery of the DNA double helix and the genomics revolution brought about by the Human Genome Project.
Synthetic biology not only reveals the nature of life with new ideas, new strategies and new means for the exploration of the basic laws of life. The discipline may be used to revolutionize biotechnology, provide new solutions to the major challenges facing human society, and fundamentally transform the way humans produce and live within the natural environment.
Compared with research institutes in Shanghai and throughout the Chinese Mainland, the remarkable results from research of synthetic biology in ECNU specializes in mammalian synthetic biology and medical synthetic biology, making significant achievements in theoretical research, methodology, technological innovations and applications for research of synthetic biology, gene editing, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine.
The clinical medicine discipline is one of the university's 12 disciplines that have entered ESI Global Top 1%, a valuable honor for a university without a medical college. The discipline has formed its own characteristics in mammalian synthetic biology and medical synthetic biology, demonstrating its superiority.
The establishment of the Biomedical Synthetic Biology Research Center is an important move for the university to enhance the development of the biomedical field.
To coincide with the inauguration of the center, the Chinese Society of Biotechnology 4th Youth Science & Technology Forum took place at ECNU on the same day. The forum brought together more than 500 young bioengineering researchers from home and abroad whom prioritized synthetic biology and massive health, gene editing, gene therapy and cell therapy, biological materials and nano biotechnology, big data and precision medicine, biological catalysis and metabolism engineering, disease and biomedical engineering, agricultural biotechnology and biotransformation.
Proofread by Joshu Mayfield Reviewed by Wenjun Guo
