1. Review of Discipline History
The Immunology discipline at Xuzhou Medical University is a key supporting discipline within the university’s first and second-phases strengths in Jiangsu Province. The Master's degree program was authorized in 2012, and the Doctoral degree program was approved in 2022. In 2010, the Laboratory of Infection and Immunity was established, spanning the three first-level disciplines of Basic Medicine, Clinical Medicine, and Preventive Medicine. The laboratory has been recognized as a university-level and city-level key laboratory and was designated as the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism in 2016. The discipline has established long-term and stable collaborations with internationally renowned universities in the United States, Australia, and Japan. In June 2022, it was approved as the Jiangsu International Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism. This partnership enables joint academic discussions and collaborative research with high-level international laboratories and research centers.
2. Main Research Direction of the Discipline
This discipline emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation across Basic Medicine, Biology, Clinical Medicine, and Pharmacy. It has developed three distinctive research areas: neural immune metabolism, tumor immune metabolism, and immune-metabolic diseases, with a focus on identifying potential drug targets.
3. Discipline Leader and Team Introduction
Introduction of Discipline Leader: Xiaomei Liu, Ph.D., Professor, doctoral supervisor, Xuzhou Medical University outstanding young backbone teacher. She was a member of the glial Cell Branch of the Chinese Society of Neurology, a member of the Jiangsu Immunology Society, a deputy chairman of the Education and Teaching Committee of the Jiangsu Immunology Society, and a member of the Jiangsu Microbiology and Immunology Society. She is a reviewer for J Neuroinflammation, Cell Biology, and Toxicology, European Journal of Pharmacology, Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, Molecular Immunology, and other journals. Her research focuses on multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other neurological diseases and autoimmune disease molecular mechanism research. 2017.10-2018.11, she studied "Astrocyte mechanism in spinal cord injury and repair" at the Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, USA. She has published more than 30 scientific research papers, including those published in J Neuroinflammation, GLIA, and J Biol chem. And J. Pathol. Journal. She won 1 national invention patent, 1 the third prize in Xuzhou Natural Science Excellent academic paper, the second prize in the Ministry of Education Natural Science Award. As a major participant, she also won the first prize in the Huaihai Science and Technology Award, and the third prize in Jiangsu Medical Science and Technology Award. In the strocytes and the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, she has hosted over 9 projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation projects, and other municipal scientific research projects.
The discipline consists of 50 faculty members, with 30% holding senior titles (15 individuals), 34% holding associate senior titles (17 individuals), and 36% holding intermediate professional titles or below, including postdoctoral researchers (18 individuals). Among the faculty, 80% (40 individuals) hold doctoral degrees. The discipline also has 11 doctoral student supervisors and 14 postgraduate student supervisors.
4. Scientific Research Status
In recent years, the discipline has successfully undertaken over 130 research projects of various types. These include a sub-project of the national "Twelfth Five-Year" plan, a sub-project of the National "973" Program, a sub-project of a National Science and Technology Major Project, and 25 projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Additionally, team members have contributed to the completion of 2 European Union projects.
The discipline has earned several prestigious awards, including 3 provincial and ministerial science and technology achievement awards, 1 second-place national teaching achievement award, 4 provincial teaching achievement awards, and 7 national invention patents.
The discipline has published more than 280 research papers in both domestic and international journals, including over 190 SCI-indexed articles in high-impact journals such as PNAS, Microbiome, HEPATOLOGY, Cellular & Molecular Immunology, Theranostics, and Obesity Reviews. The team has also edited 5 monographs and 8 textbooks. Notably, the book “Biology of Clonorchis Sinensis and the Prevention and Treatment of Clonorchiasis Disease” has become a key reference for researchers in the field.
5. Strength of the Disciplinary Research Platform
The Immunity and Metabolism Laboratory is a key laboratory of Jiangsu Province, spanning an area of 3,000 square meters. The laboratory is equipped with 10 advanced technology platforms, including an immune molecular platform, flow cytometry and sorting platform, antibody engineering platform, molecular biology platform, cell culture platform, proteomics platform, metabolomics platform, pathology platform, bacterial culture and isolation platform, and a P2 laboratory research platform. The laboratory's total value of instruments and equipment exceeds 25 million yuan and includes 36 major instruments, such as a flow cytometer, MACS magnetic bead sorting system, automatic immunohistochemistry instrument, laser confocal microscope, AKATA protein purification system, patch clamp system, ultra-thin microtome, tissue embedding machine, scanning electron microscope (fluorescence), and transmission electron microscope, among others.This comprehensive array of state-of-the-art equipment provides an excellent hardware platform to support a wide range of research activities and meets the needs of talent training in related fields.
6. Situation of Discipline Talent Cultivation
This discipline emphasizes the development of graduate research and innovation capabilities. It has established a comprehensive teaching system for graduate students, including protocols for laboratory entry and exit, a management system for graduate student "three assistants," and a regular graduate assessment system. These frameworks aim to provide an optimal environment for students to engage in scientific research training. The discipline actively encourages graduate students to apply for projects at various levels and offers multi-channel, comprehensive training to enhance postgraduate research thinking and academic innovation skills. Many master's graduates have been accepted into doctoral programs at prestigious universities such as Peking University, Southeast University, and Soochow University. PhD graduates have gone on to exchange and study at high-level research platforms, including the University of California and other leading international institutions.
The discipline attaches great importance to the training of graduate supervisors, especially young teachers. On one hand, it attracts distinguished foreign talents to return and work as graduate supervisor. On the other, it continues to promote the training and promotion plan of current faculty members. To strengthen international collaboration, the discipline has implemented a joint graduate training program with foreign universities and research institutions. It strives to align graduate education with international standards, enhancing its global competitiveness and influence. Additionally, the discipline encourages graduate supervisor, especially young faculty, to engage in academic exchanges and cooperation with renowned institutions at home and abroad, working towards the establishment of a high-level academic team.
Currently, the discipline offers courses for 26 undergraduate programs, including clinical medicine, anesthesiology, imaging medicine and nuclear medicine, biology, preventive medicine, pharmacy, nursing, laboratory science, and related master's and doctoral programs such as Medical Immunology, Medical Microbiology, and Human Parasitology. It offers doctoral and master's degrees in biology, basic medicine, and clinical medicine. The teaching of these courses has received positive feedback from both faculty and students.
7. Disciplinary Social Services
The discipline has made significant contributions to social service, achieving a series of notable accomplishments. These include conducting surveys and prevention efforts related to infectious disease pathogens and playing a pivotal role in the prevention and control of major infectious diseases, such as the first O157:H7 hemorrhagic Escherichia coli epidemic in China and the first diagnosis of hepatitis TT virus. Additionally, it serves as the only designated center for parasitic disease screening and diagnosis in northern Jiangsu.
The discipline has also been involved in the detection of autoimmune diseases, providing clinical diagnostic services to Xuzhou and its surrounding areas. Through initiatives such as sending doctors to rural areas and promoting science education, the discipline has supported township hospitals in improving medical technology and enhanced public knowledge of disease prevention and control. The discipline actively collaborates with relevant units and institutions in Xuzhou and the surrounding region to promote scientific literacy.
In the past three years, the laboratory has hosted several national and provincial academic conferences and summit forums, positioning itself as a regional hub for academic exchange. These efforts have fostered academic collaboration within the industry and enhanced the discipline's influence.
8. Enrollment and Employment
In the past three years, the discipline has enrolled 30 postgraduate students and 2 doctoral students, with 19 graduate students currently in the program. In 2022, it was approved as a doctoral degree authorization point in immunology Graduates have achieved notable success in their respective careers, earning high recognition both within the province and beyond, as well as internationally.
