1. Review of Discipline History
The Genetics discipline at Xuzhou Medical University serves as a key supporting pillar for the university’s Advantage Discipline in Jiangsu Province (Biology, Medical Biology) and the Jiangsu Provincial Key Discipline. It is also a member unit of the Jiangsu Society of Genetics. The discipline traces its origins to Mr. Hao Xihong, a pioneer educator who came to the Xuzhou Branch of Nanjing Medical College in 1958. In 1962, Mr. Fan Qianzhong established the Biology Teaching and Research Group, and in 1977, Ms. Niu Xiuning founded the Biology Teaching and Research Office. In 1996, Professor Cai Shaojing became the director of the Biology Teaching and Research Office and began offering the Medical Genetics course.
In 2005, the office was renamed the Department of Cell and Genetics. In 2014, the Department of Genetics was independently established, with Dr. Song Yuanjian serving as deputy director (in charge of daily operations). That same year, the discipline was authorized to confer master’s degrees in Genetics. In 2019, in collaboration with Forensic Medicine, it secured approval for the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Center for Medical Genetic Testing. In 2020, it received approval for the Xuzhou Municipal Engineering Research Center for Medical Genetics and Translational Medicine, and an industrial research institute was established. In 2021, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Platform for Undergraduates in Genetics was built within the College of Life Sciences, and the Key Laboratory of Genetic Basis and Clinical Applications of Xuzhou Medical University was approved. In 2022, Dr. Song Yuanjian became director of the department, and Dr. Zhu Zuobin became deputy director (in charge of daily operations). Today, with the care and support of the university and college leadership, the discipline has achieved substantial development.
2. Main Research Direction of the Discipline
Genetics is one of the fastest‑growing fields in the life sciences. Building on years of research experience and following the general trends of the discipline, our department has established three stable research directions:
(1) Genetic mechanisms and clinical applications of central nervous system (CNS) disorders: Focusing on neurological diseases, this direction integrates medical big‑data analytics, behavioral genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and structural biology to systematically investigate the mechanisms of neural injury and repair at multiple levels.
(2) Genetic mechanisms and clinical applications of reproductive system diseases: This direction studies the genetic mechanisms of reproductive aging, the pathogenesis of reproductive dysfunction, and potential therapeutic approaches.
(3) Genetic mechanisms of tumor development and progression, and precision therapy: Research in this area covers genetic polymorphism analysis and epigenetic mechanisms in cancer.
3. Discipline Leader and Team Introduction
Discipline Leader: Dr. Zhu Zuobin, Associate Professor, is the head of the Genetics discipline and the director of the Genetics Innovation Platform. He has led 10 research projects, including those funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation. He has published over 50 SCI‑indexed papers as first or corresponding author. His main research interests focus on genetic mechanisms and clinical applications, with a series of achievements in reproductive genetics. He serves as a council member of the Jiangsu Society of Genetics and, as the discipline leader, is fully responsible for the construction and development of the discipline.
Department Director and Core Team Member:Dr. Song Yuanjian, Ph.D., Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor, is the Associate Dean of the School of Basic Medical Sciences and the Director of the Department of Genetics at Xuzhou Medical University. He has presided over 4 NSFC projects, 1 key R&D project of Jiangsu Province, and 5 other provincial and ministerial‑level projects. He has published more than 30 academic papers, including over 20 SCI‑indexed articles as corresponding or first author in international journals such as Aging Cell and Molecular Neurobiology. He holds 3 patents and has received one Second‑Class Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from Xuzhou City. He is responsible for teaching genetics to graduate students, undergraduates, and international students.
Team Overview: The discipline currently has 12 full‑time faculty members, all of whom hold doctoral degrees (100% PhD rate). The team includes recipients of the Jiangsu “Six Talent Peaks” program and the “Qinglan Project” for young and middle‑aged academic leaders and core teachers. The team’s research directions are focused on the genetic mechanisms and translational applications in CNS disorders, reproductive diseases, and cancer.
4. Scientific Research Status
Over the past five years, the discipline has undertaken more than 20 research projects, including 8 NSFC projects, 3 Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation projects, and over 10 municipal and departmental projects. Faculty members have published over 30 SCI‑indexed papers in international journals such as Journal of Neuroscience, Molecular Neurobiology, iMetaOmics, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Gut Microbes, and Advanced Science. Additionally, 2 national patents have been granted. The discipline has established stable research directions in neurogenetics, reproductive genetics, and cancer genetics, and has carried out systematic and in‑depth basic research as well as translational explorations.
5. Strength of the Disciplinary Research Platform
The discipline’s laboratories occupy an area of over 3,000 m² and include molecular biology laboratories, morphology laboratories, behavioral testing facilities, and supporting units such as electron microscopy rooms, fluorescence microscopy rooms, cell culture rooms, and animal housing facilities. The platforms are highly accessible, equipped with state‑of‑the‑art instruments, and maintain internationally competitive technical standards, providing spacious, bright, and comfortable learning and working environments.
The discipline also leverages several high‑level research platforms, including: the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Center for Medical Genetic Testing, the Xuzhou Municipal Engineering Research Center for Medical Genetics and Translational Medicine, the Key Laboratory of Genetic Basis and Clinical Applications of Xuzhou Medical University, the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Center for Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Polygenic Major Diseases, and the Xuzhou Municipal Key Laboratory of Animal Models of Human Diseases. These platforms provide solid hardware support for core precision medicine technologies, including genetic mechanism elucidation, gene editing, and bio‑big‑data analytics.
6. Situation of Discipline Talent Cultivation
The discipline places great emphasis on cultivating the research and innovation capabilities of graduate students. The postgraduate course Advanced Medical Genetics is taught to students from various undergraduate programs, including clinical medicine, medical imaging, laboratory medicine, rehabilitation medicine, and nursing, and serves multiple master’s programs such as clinical medicine, anesthesiology, pharmacy, public health, pathology, developmental biology, and nursing. Relying on the Genetics Innovation and Entrepreneurship Platform for undergraduates, the discipline integrates extracurricular scientific training for top students with project‑based experimental teaching. Faculty actively guide undergraduate students in participating in various competitions, and have mentored students to win one Gold Award at the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition and one First Prize at the China Undergraduate Life Science Competition.
The discipline actively engages in international exchanges and collaboration, hosting high‑level academic events such as the Pengcheng International Conference on Medical Genetics. Graduates have pursued further studies at renowned institutions both domestically and abroad, including Sungkyunkwan University (South Korea), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, and China Pharmaceutical University. Career destinations for our graduates include biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, research institutes, colleges and universities, and environmental protection and food industries, where they engage in scientific research, technology development, teaching, and management.
7. Disciplinary Social Services
The research platforms of the discipline provide electron microscopy testing services to major hospitals and research institutes in northern Jiangsu. The “Institute of Reproductive Genetics” serves as an important center for eugenics, genetics, and prenatal diagnosis in the region. The discipline plans to collaborate with biopharmaceutical companies to develop gene detection kits for neurological diseases, facilitating early disease detection. Faculty members actively participate in domestic and international academic conferences and engage in extensive exchanges and collaborations. Professor Cai Shaojing has served three consecutive terms as a committee member of the Medical Genetics Specialty Committee of the Jiangsu Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. In addition, the discipline holds an annual Laboratory Animal Memorial Day on April 24 to cultivate among faculty and students a sense of respect for life and care for laboratory animals.
8. Enrollment and Employment
The Genetics discipline admits academic master’s degree students (Discipline Code: 071007). Research directions include: mechanisms and targeted therapy of genetically susceptible encephalopathies, mechanisms and interventions of reproduction and aging, and genetic mechanisms of tumor development and progression. The preliminary examination subjects are: ① 101 Ideological and Political Theory, ② 201 English (I), ③ 701 Comprehensive Biology, and ④ 901 Biochemistry. The re‑examination subject is Genetics. Applicants who have passed the College English Test Band 6 (CET‑6) are preferred. Graduates from biology, pharmacy, and medical‑related fields are welcome.
In recent years, the employment rate for our graduates has reached 100%. Graduates can pursue teaching, research, or management positions in universities and research institutes; engage in applied research, technology development, industrialization, and administrative management in enterprises and public institutions related to medicine, food, and quarantine; or continue to doctoral studies or study abroad. Many graduates have advanced to prestigious institutions such as Sungkyunkwan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, and China Pharmaceutical University for further education.
