1. Review of Discipline History
Zoology is a secondary discipline within biology that elucidates the laws governing animal survival and development. Currently, the field is characterized by interdisciplinary integration with genetics, laboratory animal science, molecular biology, and medicine; it focuses on establishing animal models to investigate the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of human diseases at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels, making it one of the rapidly advancing areas in the life sciences. The Zoology discipline at Xuzhou Medical University was approved as a master's degree authorization site in 2015 and is a component of the university's "Biology" discipline—a key discipline in Jiangsu Province. It operates two specialized research platforms: a Xuzhou municipal key laboratory and a transgenic experimentation platform.
Zoology plays a pivotal role in medical institutions, laying the biological foundation for medical disciplines. It is instrumental in the development and application of animal models for human diseases and in drug screening, thereby making outstanding contributions to the university's disciplinary development and talent cultivation.
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:the generation and application of animal models for human diseases, the study of host-symbiont microbial interactions, and cardiovascular pathophysiology.
3. Discipline Leader and Team Introduction
Chen Renjin (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor and Master's Supervisor. He serves as the Head of the Department of Medical Laboratory Animal Science and leads the disciplines and platforms for Zoology, transgenic experiments, and humanized mouse models. He obtained his Ph.D. in Animal Genetics, Breeding, and Reproduction from Yangzhou University in 2011 and was a visiting scholar at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 2018 to 2020. In recent years, his research has focused on atherosclerosis and gut microbiota; he has presided over two provincial-level and four municipal-level research projects and published over 20 academic papers. He holds two granted invention patents and has filed applications for two others.
The discipline currently has 11 faculty and staff members, including two holding senior professional titles and five holding associate senior professional titles; 90% of the staff hold doctoral degrees.
4. Scientific Research Status
Over the past five years, the discipline has undertaken more than 20 research projects—including five funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and three by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province—and published over 20 SCI-indexed research papers. Additionally, it has produced two academic monographs, received one Second Prize for National Teaching Achievement and three provincial or ministerial-level awards, and secured six granted national patents (with ten applications pending).
5. Strength of the Disciplinary Research Platform
This discipline operates two experimental platforms—the Jiangsu Provincial Open Laboratory Animal Center and a Xuzhou Key Laboratory—spanning a total laboratory area of 1,800 square meters. Facilities include laboratories for small and large animals, surgical and monitoring suites for experimental animals, a laboratory for developing genetically engineered animal models, and a behavioral analysis room for small animals. Specialized equipment includes an integrated intelligent behavioral analysis system for small animals, stereotaxic instruments, electric infusion pumps, animal anesthesia ventilators, dedicated animal patient monitors, veterinary color Doppler systems, animal-specific ECG machines, real-time quantitative PCR instruments, and microinjection systems for transgenics.
6. Situation of Discipline Talent Cultivation
The discipline of Zoology is deeply committed to education and talent development, achieving excellent teaching outcomes. It offers both required and elective courses—such as "Medical Laboratory Animal Science," "General Biology," "Laboratory Animal Science," and "Developmental Biology"—to the institution's undergraduate and graduate students.
The discipline places great importance on the professional development of graduate supervisors, with a particular focus on nurturing young faculty members. On one hand, it actively recruits outstanding overseas talent to serve as graduate supervisors; on the other, it continuously advances training and promotion programs for existing faculty. To strengthen international cooperation, the discipline has established joint graduate training programs with foreign universities and research institutions, aiming to align graduate education with international standards and enhance its global competitiveness and influence. Furthermore, it encourages supervisors—especially young faculty—to engage in academic exchanges and collaborations with renowned institutions both at home and abroad, striving to build high-level academic teams.
7. Disciplinary Social Services
This discipline hosts the Jiangsu Provincial Open Laboratory Animal Center and a Xuzhou Key Laboratory, and operates platforms for transgenic experiments and humanized mice, providing laboratory animal-related services to research institutions and pharmaceutical companies in the Huaihai region.
8. Enrollment and Employment
Enrollment: Graduates with backgrounds in biology-related fields, basic medicine, medical technology, nursing, preventive medicine, or pharmacy are welcome to apply.
Employment: Four cohorts of graduate students have completed the program; the majority have secured positions in higher education institutions or public sector organizations, engaging in teaching, research, or administrative work.
