The 40th Distinguished Scientist Lecture was held at the auditorium of the Social Sciences Complex on the morning of March 21. Wu Jiarui, Director of the National Facility for Protein Science in Shanghai (NFPS) at the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), delivered a keynote lecture titled “Big Data-driven Research in Life and Health Sciences.” CAS member Ye Chaohui, Vice Chairman of HAST (Hainan Association for Science and Technology) Xu Wei, HNU President Luo Qingming, also a member of CAS, as well as other senior HNU leaders were in attendance. President Luo chaired the event.

Lecture venue (Photo by Chen Sitian)

Wu Jiarui began by comparing traditional hypothesis-driven research with the emerging paradigm of big data-driven research, outlining how advances in life sciences have been shaped by projects such as the Human Genome Project. Drawing on examples from cancer research, precision medicine, and protein structure prediction, Wu highlighted the transformative role of big data in driving sci-tech breakthroughs.

He pointed out four key trends in big data applications within life sciences: correlation-based research, open-ended exploration, personalized studies, and AI-powered protein research. Wu emphasized the importance of fostering innovation through hypothesis generation, tool development, experimental design, and large-scale data analysis to facilitate biomedical research.

Wu Jiarui delivering the lecture (Photo by Chen Sitian)

The auditorium was fully packed with an attentive audience. During the Q&A session, Wu offered insightful answers to questions regarding the future of precision medicine.

Q&A session (Photo by Chen Sitian)

After the lecture, Wu met with young scholars for a roundtable discussion at the HNU International Academic Exchange Center, which provided an opportunity for in-depth exchange of ideas.

Wu Jiarui meeting with young scholars (Photo by Chen Sitian)

Over 700 people attended the event in person or online, including the representatives from HAST and other sci-tech associations, heads of HNU’s departments concerned, as well as faculty and student representatives from all HNU campuses and science & education parks.

Translated by Han Yunsheng

Proofread by Kuang Xiaowen, Yang Jie