Academician Zhang Xue Reviews PUMC’s Contributions to Discipline Development and Shares His Insights and Experiences as a Researcher | The Opening of the 14th Session of PUMC Broad Innovation Forum

On May 13, 2025, the 14th Session of PUMC Broad Innovation Forum was held in the West Lecture Hall on the eighth floor of Kesheng Building. Zhang Xue, the famous expert in medical genetics, academician of CAE, and Chairman of Department of Medical Genetics of Institute of Basic Medical Sciences (IBMS), delivered a lecture entitled “Reviews on PUMC’s Contributions to Discipline Development and Sharing of His Insights and Experiences as a Researcher”. Chaired by Professor Wang Jing, Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Dean of IBMS, and Professor Huang Yue from Department of Medical Genetics, this forum attracted nearly a hundred participants, including faculty and staff members and student representatives from IBMS.

As Chairman of the Department, Professor Zhang Xue has a deep affection for Department of Medical Genetics and always shows great concern for the development of the IBMS and PUMC. At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Zhang gave a systemic review of PUMC’s groundbreaking contributions in the field of medical genetics and outlined the historical development of Department of Genetics. Taking the pioneering achievements made by teams of Professor Wu Min, Luo Huiyuan, and Wu Guanyun in research on human cytogenetics and genetic disease diagnosis as examples, he told the stories about scientists of the old generation who were indifferent to fame and fortune and upheld the unyielding spirit in their pursuit of truth, their devotion to research, and their collaborative efforts to tackle challenges. Professor Zhang emphasized that the term “inheritance” was fully embodied in PUMC and that since the beginning of the 21st century, groups of strategic scientists from PUMC had achieved a series of original results in the research of disease-related genes, which provided scientific basis for the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases and further enhanced China’s international influence in this field.

On the path of research, Professor Zhang has been deeply involved in research on rare diseases for decades. By telling four vivid stories about his own research, he shared his insights and experiences of the research on pathogenic genes of rare diseases with the teachers and students present at the forum. Professor Zhang believed that scientific research required patience and perseverance, and that breakthrough results could be achieved only when one could endure the solitude of long-term dedication. He added that to tackle problems of medical sciences and promote the progress and development of human civilization, it was crucial for researchers to collaborate with excellent research teams at home and abroad and to closely combine basic and clinical research. He encouraged young scholars to inherit and carry forward the tradition of PUMC and make greater contributions to disease research by exploring unknown fields bravely.

This forum has sparked deep thinking among students. Both teachers and students at the forum have expressed their commitment to taking this sharing session as an opportunity to learn from the perseverance of the older-generation scientists and vowed to forge ahead on the path of scientific exploration and strive for greater glory for HUMC in the future.