On October 23, 2020, the “Science and Innovation Forum on Translational Medicine in Yangtze River Delta and Yangtze River Economic Belt” was successfully held in the Translational Medicine Building of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU).

Prof. Ding Kuiling, Executive Vice President of SJTU, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the forum, in which he mentioned that the National Facility for Translational Medicine (Shanghai) is one of the focuses of the 12th Five-Year Plan and also an important public platform for the implementation of the “Healthy China” strategy. SJTU has been adhering to the principle of “breaking new ground and pursuing excellence” to make contributions to China’s medical career and hopes that the distinguished guests can give advice, and jointly promote further exchanges and cooperation in translational medicine. After that, Ding awarded the “Certificate of Open and Shared Resources of National Facilities for Translational Medicine”   to representatives of Fudan University, Nanjing University, Zhejiang University, University of Science and Technology of China, and East China Normal University, encouraging in-depth cooperation among sister institutions in translational medicine.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Sichuan University also signed a joint research fund agreement on the National Facility for Medicine (Shanghai-Sichuan) to lead collaborative innovation in the field of life medicine and promote the integrated and high-quality development of medical services and talent training.

Fu Xiao, Director of Regional Cooperation Office of the Yangtze River Delta, and Li Li, Director of the Science and Technology Commission of Minhang District, gave their keynote reports on “Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development Strategy” and “Construction of Minhang National Demonstration Zone for the Transfer and Commercialization of Scientific and Technological Achievements” respectively.

Prof. Ke Yuehai from Zhejiang University presented on the exploration and practice of the construction of Liangzhu Laboratory. As a medical center, the laboratory aims to gather outstanding talents, organize research on new medical needs, new technologies, and new paradigms, and continuously resolve challenges and make breakthroughs.

Prof. Wang Xiangdong from Fudan University shared his views on “Clinical Targeted Treatment and the Yangtze River Delta Genetic Testing Alliance”. He suggested that we should have a deeper understanding of the importance of genetic testing, and should integrate the advantageous resources of the alliance to strengthen cross-research cooperation.

Prof. Gong Qiyong from Sichuan University explained the research method of promoting the development of clinical disciplines based on translational medicine. He pointed out that research hospitals should persist in clinical and scientific research, and continue to cultivate high-level talents and pursue breakthroughs in independent innovation, and thus promote the continuous improvement of clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Zhang Xianming, Secretary of the Party Branch of SJTU Institute of Translational Medicine, gave an overall introduction to the construction and open operation of the translational medicine facilities. He said that as the first batch of national major science and technology infrastructure of life medicine in China, the National Facility for Translational Medicine is fully open to domestic and foreign users at several levels, including testing services, technical services, clinical trials, user laboratories, and scientific popularization, and has built a new national public platform with large-scale equipment, integrated service functions, and systematic technical capabilities.

Zhu Na, Deputy Director of SJTU Instrumental Analysis Center, led the experts to visit the NMR Center, Electron Microscopy-Imaging Center, Spectrum-Wave Spectrometry Mass Spectrometry Platform, and other public instrument platforms and gave a general introduction on the open sharing of instruments and equipment, one-stop service management system of the technology center, and service effectiveness.

Tan Hua, Vice President of SJTU Frontier Innovation Institute, introduced to the experts about the breakthroughs and representative scientific and technological achievements made by SJTU in recent years, which are based on the major strategic needs of the country, economy, world science and technology, and the wellbeing of the people.

At the exhibition of the capability of translational medicine technology system, the experts and the heads of various centers and platforms had an in-depth discussion on the capability construction and operation mode of the translational medicine technology system.

The Forum was hosted by the Yangtze River Delta Research University Alliance and the National Facility for Translational Medicine (Shanghai), organized by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sichuan University, and the National Science Center for Translational Medicine, and co-organized by the Science and Technology Commission of Minhang District, Shanghai. With the purpose of high-level and high-quality cooperation, it promotes the concerted development of the Yangtze River Delta and Yangtze River Economic Belt and gives full play to the role of research universities in the coordinated sharing of science and innovation resources. This forum not only builds a partnership between different sectors but also lays the foundation for further deepening cross-research cooperation, broadening the scope of cooperation, and leading regional development.