On the afternoon of April 29, the 63rd Distinguished Scientist Lecture was held in the Lecture Hall on the second floor of the Social Sciences Complex. Guo Zijian, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Professor at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, delivered a lecture entitled “Progress and Prospects at the Frontier of Chemical Biology”. Li Hu, Chairman of the HNU Council, and other members of the university’s leadership attended the lecture. The lecture was chaired by Li Buhong, Vice President of HNU.

The 63rd Distinguished Scientist Lecture held at HNU (Photo by Yu Boyuan)

Starting from the national strategic demand for the development of interdisciplinary research, Professor Guo analyzed the development of the intersection of chemistry and biomedicine. Against the backdrop of the growing prominence of life science research among recent Nobel Prize in Chemistry winners, he illustrated that interdisciplinary research has become a major source of scientific and technological innovation and an irreplaceable research paradigm in modern science. He noted that chemical biology, different from traditional biochemistry, is a dynamic and promising emerging interdisciplinary branch in the field of chemistry. He also introduced the rapid development and academic frontiers of chemical biology from the perspectives of molecular probes in living systems and biosynthetic chemistry. Based on his own research and that of his team, Professor Guo systematically elaborated on the frontiers of metallochemical biology, focusing on sensing and imaging of biological metal ions and advances in platinum-based anticancer drugs and their clinical applications. He stated that the future development of chemical biology of metals will focus more on functional regulation beyond the central dogma, and encouraged students to engage in in-depth research and strive for more academic breakthroughs.

Professor Guo Zijian delivering the report (Photo by Lin Jingwen)

The lecture hall was at full capacity. Faculty and students had in-depth exchanges on topics including the cultivation of interdisciplinary innovation awareness among postgraduates, the research and development of metal anti-tumor drugs, as well as challenges in interdisciplinary research, with Professor Guo giving detailed answers to their questions.

The Q&A session (Photo by Yu Boyuan)

Representatives from the Hainan Association for Science and Technology, related societies and associations, relevant schools and departments of Hainan University, as well as faculty and students from its Haidian, Danzhou, Mission Hills (including the Chengxi Teaching Site), and Yazhou campuses, attended the lecture both online and offline.

Translated by Yan Xinyang

Proofread by Liu Sujun