"Harvard Eight Swordsmen" (from left to right: Ren Tao, Zhang Na, Wang Junfeng, Wang Wenchao, Zhang Xin, Liu Jing , Liu Qingsong, Lin Wenchu) took a photo at the Center for Strong Magnetic Field Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Photo by our reporter Shen Hui
Hefei Science Island, Anhui, has a well-known team, and they have a very chivalrous name - "Harvard Eight Swordsmen". In 2009, under the leadership of Wang Junfeng, the "Seven Swords" who worked on the other side of the ocean - Liu Qingsong, Zhang Xin, Zhang Na, Liu Jing, Wang Wenchao, Lin Wenchu and Ren Tao, left Harvard Medical School one after another and stepped onto the Science Island to concentrate on scientific research.
They rely on the strong magnetic field large scientific device of the Hefei Institute of Material Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to carry out life science research, achieving "joining" with the top international standards. "The more you go abroad, the more patriotic you are." Liu Qingsong's feelings express the common voice of Harvard doctors returning home.
"Stay away from the hustle and bustle, most suitable for scientific research"
Hefei? Science Island? "How did you pick it all over the place and finally choose this place?" Five years ago, Zhang Xin, who was still working at Harvard Medical School at that time, heard that her friend Liu Qingsong was going to settle on Science Island, and she couldn't believe her ears. Not only that, Liu Qingsong also enthusiastically invited her and her husband Wang Wenchao to go with her.
Science Island is located in the northwest of Hefei City, Anhui Province. It is surrounded by water on three sides and is sparsely populated. "If you want money, you don't have money, you don't have people, you don't have a job." Not only Zhang Xin was surprised, but his colleagues around him didn't understand, but Liu Qingsong was extremely firm: "The island is full of green trees, far away from the hustle and bustle, which is most suitable for scientific research." Of course, he also believed that the choice of "big brother" Wang Junfeng would not be wrong.
On one day in June 2009, after more than ten hours of long-distance flight, 39-year-old Wang Junfeng set foot on the Science Island for the first time. After talking to the Kuangguangli researcher who was then the secretary of the Hefei Institute of Material Science and Director of the Strong Magnetic Field Center for a morning, Wang Junfeng could not suppress his excitement and called his wife to cross-border phone: "A brand new national large scientific device platform will rise here. On this platform, as long as you dare to think, there are countless possibilities..." On this side, he talked endlessly like a child, describing all kinds of experiences on the Science Island. The wife listened quietly without expressing any opinions.
He knew what his wife was hesitating about: they lived comfortably in the United States and had obtained a green card. She also had a stable job. The United States, which has been in the United States for more than ten years, is so familiar, why should I return to China? In the end, the wife chose to support her husband. She knew very well what Wang Junfeng longed for - to do the scientific research work she liked in a quiet place.
In 2012, Liu Qingsong came to visit Science Island at the invitation of Wang Junfeng. After several talks, the two hit it off. After obtaining the support of his wife Liu Jing, who was also a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, the couple resolutely decided to return to China. Soon, under Liu Qingsong's persuasion, Zhang Na came back, and Wang Wenchao and Zhang Xin came back. Later, with the addition of Lin Wenchu and Ren Tao, the "Eight Swordsmen of Harvard" completed the final puzzle.
"It's very happy to be able to use first-class experimental devices."
is not from Anhui, nor has he studied here. The reason why the "Eight Swordsmen of Harvard" can travel thousands of miles to work and live in Science Island is very important because of the charm of a strong magnetic field. Like extremely low temperature and ultra-high pressure, the strong magnetic field, as a tool for scientific exploration, is one of the most important extreme conditions in modern scientific experiments, and can change the properties of matter. The understanding of strong magnetic fields is often accompanied by major scientific discoveries. Since 1913, 19 scientific and technological achievements related to magnetic fields have won the Nobel Prize.
According to the established plan, the steady-state strong magnetic field experimental device will start construction in 2008. After completion, China will become the fifth country in the world to have a steady-state strong magnetic field device. In the eyes of the "Eight Harvard Swordsmen", with the strengthening of economic and technological strength, the domestic scientific research environment has undergone earth-shaking changes. In the words of "Eight Swordsmen", "Nothing is happier than this when using first-class experimental devices to explore freely in the field of magnetic resonance life sciences."
Moreover, relying on large scientific devices and technologies for strong magnetic field, major life science research is carried out at multiple levels such as molecules, cells, tissues, animal models, and human bodies. They have unique advantages: Wang Junfeng and Zhang Nao are good at studying the structural biology of proteins and nucleic acids, Zhang Xin is responsible for studying cell biology, Lin Wenchu focuses on studying new animal models, and Liu Qingsong, Liu Jing, Wang Wenchao and Ren Tao form a small team of pharmacology. A different but interlocking academic chain was formed in this way.
rolled up their sleeves and worked hard, and the facts confirmed their choice. Liu Qingsong and Liu Jing's research team found that the "old drug" ibrutinib can be used in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and non-small cell lung cancer; Zhang Xin's research team cooperated with Li Guohui's research team of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics to make a series of progress in the research on the mechanism of magnetic field inhibiting tumor cell growth, and magnetic field combined with chemotherapy drugs to inhibit tumor cell growth. Related studies have experimentally proved the potential application of steady-state magnetic field in tumor treatment.
In the few years since returning to China, the "Eight Swordsmen" have published dozens of academic papers, many of which have been published in authoritative and well-known domestic and foreign magazines such as "Nature" and " Science ". "In just a few years, this team has initially shown influence in related international fields, and many people's scientific research results are even greater than when they were at Harvard." Kuang Guangli commented in this way.
Sword Edge has been sharpened from
In 2009, the strong magnetic field center was still in the first five-year construction stage. The scientific research building has not been fully built, and most of the instruments have not arrived yet. In order not to delay the progress of scientific research, Wang Junfeng plunged into the dilapidated little red building and began experiments day and night. Even many experimental equipment were borrowed from brother units.
not only lacks "hardware", but also has constant doubts. A few years ago, I heard that Liu Qingsong and others were going to create new drugs, and some experts advised me kindly: "We have tried this, it's too difficult!" "It's better to do some basic research and publish some articles! Don't even be able to support the team in the end." The voice of worry is not without reason. Drug research and development is a highly interdisciplinary work. It is indeed quite difficult to carry out drug research and development and related research from the academic community. At that time, it was indeed quite difficult in the relevant environment in which the country was not very perfect.
Knowing that there is a tiger in the mountain, he tends to go to Tiger Mountain. "The occurrence of many tumors is caused by mutations in certain growth-related ' kinase ', causing abnormal activation. Developing 'targeted drugs' for mutant kinases to effectively inhibit the activity of these kinases can achieve the purpose of inhibiting the growth of cancer cells." Liu Qingsong believes that in order to screen drugs for these targets, a series of efficient "targets" are first necessary to establish a series of efficient "targets" to evaluate the quality of the drugs.
aimed at the direction. Liu Qingsong led the R&D team from scratch and spent more than 4 years to build a large cancer kinase cell library that only relies on the growth of target genes in targeted targets for common clinical cancer-related kinase targets.
At present, this cell library has become the world's largest whole-cell screening library based on kinase targets, filling the gap in such detection systems in the field of domestic new drug creation, and will provide strong support for the research and development of new anti-tumor drugs. "With the whole-cell high-throughput screening library, the drug's attack activity on kinase targets can be detected quickly and accurately, and at the same time, it can predict the possible clinical mechanistic toxic side effects of drugs." Wang Wenchao introduced.
has this cell library, and the team has developed a series of kinase inhibitors for cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, lung cancer, etc., and has applied for more than 40 domestic and international new drug invention patents. Among the results of this year's "Eight Swordsmen", an innovative drug for acute leukemia is applying for clinical trials to national regulatory agencies.
Swords are sharpened. Now, the "Harvard Eight Swordsmen" hope to use the strong magnetic field device to achieve more first-class academic results, develop new anti-tumor drugs and new methods for clinical precision medication, and cultivate more good students.
