1. Review of Discipline History
The Medical Biotechnology discipline at Xuzhou Medical University was developed on the basis of the university’s long-standing strengths in Biology, Basic Medicine, and biomedical sciences. Biology was selected for the first phase of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions Priority Academic Program Development, and in 2013 it was authorized as a first-level discipline for doctoral degree education. In 2014, a postdoctoral research station in Biology was approved. In the same year, Medical Biology was selected for the second phase of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions Priority Academic Program Development, further strengthening the integration of Biology and Medicine and providing an important academic foundation for the subsequent development of Medical Biotechnology.
In 2023, Medical Biotechnology was formally approved as a master’s degree discipline at Xuzhou Medical University. It is currently incorporated into the postgraduate education system of the School of Life Sciences. The School conducts academic postgraduate education in ten Biology-related secondary disciplines, including Zoology, Physiology, Microbiology, Neurobiology, Genetics, Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biophysics, and Medical Biotechnology. The establishment of Medical Biotechnology therefore represents a further extension of the university’s master-level Biology discipline toward interdisciplinary biomedical and translational research.
2. Main Research Direction of the Discipline
This discipline emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation across biology, basic medicine, clinical medicine, and pharmacy. It has developed two distinctive research areas: (1) mechanisms and molecular targets of neuropsychiatric diseases; (2) biomarker screening for aging-related disease. The discipline adopts a multidisciplinary training model that integrates theory with practice, requiring students to master cross-domain knowledge and develop competencies in experimental techniques, research and development, and clinical translation.
3. Discipline Leader and Team Introduction
The discipline leader is Can Gao, Ph.D., Professor, doctoral supervisor, Jiangsu Distinguished Professor, and Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Xuzhou Medical University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Medicine from Nanjing Medical University, her master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Xuzhou Medical University, and her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the Chicago Medical School and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the United States. Her research focuses on the mechanisms of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, perioperative cognitive dysfunction, and drug dependence. She has led five General Programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and several provincial research projects. She was selected as a leader of a Science and Technology Innovation Team under the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions “Qinglan Project,” a participant in the Jiangsu Province “333 High-Level Talents Cultivation Project,” and a recipient of the Jiangsu Province “Six Talent Peaks” program. She has published more than 40 SCI-indexed papers, including articles in 《The Journal of Neuroscience》.
The academic team combines expertise in neuroscience, developmental biology, molecular and cellular biology, infectious disease research, synthetic biology, microbiome science, diagnostics, drug development, and translational medical biotechnology.
4. Scientific Research Status
The Medical Biotechnology discipline emphasizes interdisciplinary integration among Biology, Basic Medicine, and Pharmacy and has established research programs in nanobiotechnology, synthetic biology, neurobiology, stem cell biology, developmental biology, infectious disease biotechnology, and biomedical applications.
Medical Biotechnology had undertaken a total of 28 research projects, including 10 projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and 8 provincial- or ministerial-level research projects and talent funding programs. The discipline had also published more than 70 research papers.
The research capacity of the discipline is further strengthened by its academic supervisors. Can Gao has led multiple National Natural Science Foundation of China General Programs in neurobiology and neuropsychiatric disease research. Chong Li has led seven research projects, including National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, and has published more than 20 SCI-indexed papers. Yong Qi has undertaken more than ten national and provincial projects, published more than 30 SCI papers as first or corresponding author, and obtained 16 authorized national invention patents.
The collaborative medical biotechnology research team associated with Yuexi Li has undertaken more than 30 major research projects, including National “863” Program projects, National Major New Drug Development projects, National Major Projects for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, and National Natural Science Foundation of China projects. Research outputs from this team include new drugs, diagnostic technologies, medical devices, patents, and academic publications, reflecting a strong capacity for translational and applied medical biotechnology research.
These achievements demonstrate a research structure extending from fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms to disease diagnosis, biotechnology product development, pharmaceuticals, infectious disease prevention and control, and translational biomedical applications.
5. Strength of the Disciplinary Research Platform
The Medical Biotechnology discipline is supported by a combination of university research facilities, provincial key laboratories, engineering research centers, and collaborative research platforms.
The major platforms include the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease Bioinformation, the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Medical Biotechnology, the Nanjing Medical Biology (Gene) Engineering Technology Center, the Public Scientific Research Laboratory of Xuzhou Medical University, and the Scientific Research Experimental Center of the School of Life Sciences.
The Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Medical Biotechnology and the Nanjing Medical Biology (Gene) Engineering Technology Center constitute important collaborative research platforms associated with Yuexi Li’s medical biotechnology research unit. Research conducted through these platforms covers infectious disease detection and prevention, molecular diagnostics, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other areas of biomedical technology.
In 2024, the School of Life Sciences was also approved to establish the Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Polygenic Diseases, further strengthening the infrastructure available for research into complex disease mechanisms, bioinformatics, molecular diagnostics, and precision medicine.
Together, these platforms provide comprehensive support for postgraduate research ranging from basic molecular and cellular biology to neuroscience, bioinformatics, infectious disease biotechnology, diagnostic technology, drug and vaccine development, and translational medicine.
6. Situation of Discipline Talent Cultivation
The Medical Biotechnology discipline places emphasis on the development of postgraduate research capability, interdisciplinary thinking, and scientific innovation. It was formally approved as a master’s degree discipline in 2023 and is integrated into the postgraduate training system of the School of Life Sciences.
The disciplinary foundation for postgraduate education is well established. Biology was authorized as a first-level discipline for doctoral degree education in 2013, and a postdoctoral research station in Biology was established in 2014. The School of Life Sciences currently trains academic master’s and doctoral students in ten Biology-related secondary disciplines, including Medical Biotechnology. The School has continued to strengthen postgraduate education through curriculum development, interdisciplinary integration, and research training. The School has also established a whole-process postgraduate management system that combines academic development with student management and educational support.
The discipline is supported by supervisors with extensive postgraduate training experience and expertise in neuroscience, developmental biology, infectious disease prevention, synthetic biology, molecular biology, and translational medical biotechnology. Students can participate in research projects using molecular biology, cell biology, animal models, electrophysiology, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, diagnostic technology, and pharmaceutical biotechnology.
7. Disciplinary Social Services
The discipline integrates its academic development with regional economic and social needs and emphasizes the transformation of biological and medical research into practical applications.
The discipline has established cooperative relationships with biotechnology enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region, undertaken multiple industry-sponsored research projects, and developed collaborative education activities with the Xuzhou Yunlong Lake 5A Scenic Area, including an industry–university collaborative education and innovation base and practical education activities.
Its social service capacity is further strengthened by research in infectious disease prevention and medical biotechnology. Yong Qi’s research focuses on basic and applied infectious disease prevention and control and has generated patents and scientific and technological awards. Yuexi Li’s collaborative team has developed diagnostic reagents, detection technologies, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other biotechnology products, including four national new drug certificates and 67 medical device certificates.
These activities demonstrate that the discipline’s social services encompass infectious disease prevention and control, biomedical diagnostics, drug and vaccine development, biotechnology product development, technology transfer, industry–university–research collaboration, and support for regional biotechnology and health-related industries.
8. Enrollment and Employment
Medical Biotechnology was approved as a master's degree discipline in 2023. The discipline currently has 8 postgraduate students enrolled in the program.
