With steadfast ideals and beliefs, she dedicated her whole life to fighting for the Party. With great bravery to challenge a new height in pharmaceutical innovation, she opens up a new chapter in genetic diagnosis of hereditary diseases in China. With a passionate love for teaching, she has cultivated numerous outstanding talents for our country. With a public spirit for over 20 years, she has helped many young students build their dreams and future. With a wide range of interests, she has painted magnificent pictures of life with ink and brush since she began to learn painting in her eighties.

She is Wu Guanyun, a renowned biochemist, medical educator, and 100-year-old professor.

Profile of Professor Wu Guanyun

Wu Guanyun was born in 1924, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Her childhood experiences of war made her understand that only when a country was prosperous and strong could its people live a happy and peaceful life. She chose the road of studying resolutely and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1956. In 1961, Wu Guanyun was officially transferred to the Department of Biochemistry at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS). In 1978, she moved back to Beijing together with her institute and continued to carry out research, cooperation, and exchange in a down-to-earth manner. Anchored at the forefront of the times, she formed unique strategic visions and yielded achievements in research one after another.

Medical research is my lifelong career

As one of the pioneers in studying the therapeutic principles of traditional Chinese medicine at the molecular level, Professor Wu Guanyun elucidated the molecular mechanism of indirubin’s anticancer effect and the inhibitory effect of harringtonine on protein synthesis, which was unique in research on the action principles of traditional Chinese medicine in China.

In 1980, the team led by Professor Wu Guanyun took the lead in collaborating with six institutions in the south of China to conduct research on genetic analysis and early prenatal diagnosis of α-thalassemia. They established a complete set of genetic analysis methods and completed theα-globin genotype of 54 HbH patients in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Sichuan provinces in China. They provided the tissue characteristics and basic information ofα-thalassemia genes in China for the first time and discovered a new genotype.In 1981, she, in collaboration with Guangxi Medical College, established a method for prenatal genetic diagnosis by extracting fetal villi in early pregnancy. She successfully completed the prenatal diagnosis of 30 cases ofα-thalassemia, paving the way for genetic diagnosis of hereditary diseases in China.

Since then, she has continuously updated and iterated genetic research and prenatal diagnosis techniques, winning the Second and Third Prizes of National Science and Technology Progress Award, multiple ministry-level awards, as well as awards from National Science Conference, the People’s Liberation Army, and Beijing. Wu Guanyun’s laboratory and related research teams have been identified as the “World Health Organization Community Control Collaborating Center for Hereditary Diseases (Thalassemia)”.

When asked about the hardships of scientific research, she said smilingly, “I enjoy doing research. Of course, it’s not easy to make some achievements, but even a small achievement makes me happy.”

I teach my students not only knowledge but also how to be good people

Professor Wu Guanyun has a great love for teaching. From leading the rapid development of the Organic Chemistry Teaching and Research Group at East China Normal University, to the tireless teaching as a mentor at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences (IBMS) and a teacher of the Biochemistry Class and the Genetic Diagnosis Training Class, from serving as the Executive Deputy Director and Party Branch Secretary of the Department of Biochemistry, to her resolute ten-year reemployment after retirement, Professor Wu Guanyun has always adhered to the concept that “the prosperity and strength of a country needs a wealth of talent and the mission of a teacher is to cultivate more outstanding talents with both ability and political integrity for the country”. For her unique insight and willingness to help, she has been well received by students. She has given strong support to the development of the Department of Biochemistry. “The Department of Biochemistry at IBMS is well-known because it not only has but also attracts many excellent talents.”

When recalling the details of lesson preparations, Professor Wu Guanyun said that she used to go to other universities to attend lectures and record the highlights of these lectures. She then integrated the essence of these lectures into her class. So the students liked her and her class very much. When it comes to the original aspiration of education, she said sincerely and earnestly, “I teach my students not only knowledge, but also how to good people that can bring benefit to our country and the people.”

Saplings growing in harsh environments can withstand hardships

It’s a duty to give a helping hand to students who encounter difficulty in their studies. This is the simplest idea Professor Wu Guanyun has.

Even after retirement, she still has those impoverished college students in her mind. She has been donating her own pension to society to support education since 2003. She is the oldest donor in the New Great Wall Donation Program of China Poverty Alleviation Foundation and has won multiple awards such as the “Capital Spiritual Civilization Construction Award”. In 2015, Professor Wu Guanyun donated520,000 yuan to the Education Foundation of PUMC to reward eight-year program students with excellent academic performance. So far, 36 PUMC students have received this honor.

Like other intellectuals who aspire to “ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth and secure life and fortune for the people”, Professor Wu Guanyun, the scientist and educator who is always active at the forefront of medical sciences, has dedicated herself wholeheartedly to the research and teaching of medical sciences with great passion and hard work throughout her life.

On the occasion of her 100th birthday, we sincerely wish Professor Wu Guanyun a happy birthday and a long and healthy life! Let’s take our predecessors as our role models and transmit HUMC’s spirit of dedication and responsibility from generation to generation.