Founded in 2015 and officially approved for construction, the Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Human Disease Animal Models is housed at the School of Life Sciences, Xuzhou Medical University. It operates in close collaboration with the Jiangsu Open Laboratory Animal Center, sharing resources and expertise. As a premier municipal-level research platform in the Huaihai Economic Zone, the Laboratory is dedicated to the development of human disease animal models, mechanistic studies of diseases, biomedical evaluation, and scientific research services.
With a strategic vision rooted in the Huaihai region, serving the entire Jiangsu Province, and addressing the research and industrial needs of biomedicine, the Laboratory drives interdisciplinary innovation at the intersection of medicine and life sciences. Its core mission centers on the creation of standardized and customized human disease animal models, with research focusing on the pathogenesis of major diseases, screening and evaluation of new biomedical products, and innovative developments in animal biotechnology. Four distinctive and well-established research directions have been formed: (1) preparation and application of human disease animal models; (2) host-microbe symbiosis; (3)animal embryo engineering and biotechnology; (4) cardiovascular pathophysiology.
The Laboratory operates under a "five-in-one" framework that integrates scientific innovation, technological R&D, technology transfer, talent cultivation, and social services. It is deeply aligned with the university's advantageous disciplines—including basic medicine, clinical medicine, and pharmacy—effectively bridging gaps in medical research infrastructure. By providing core technical support for disease mechanism exploration, drug discovery, and innovative experimental teaching, the Laboratory not only strengthens the university's research capabilities but also drives the transformation and upgrading of the regional biomedical industry, demonstrating significant value in both scientific innovation and regional public service.
The Laboratory strictly adheres to ethical standards for laboratory animal use, biosafety regulations, and the university's research platform management policies. Built upon standardized infrastructure, it operates through an integrated framework encompassing management systems, quality assurance, and performance evaluation. Four operational support systems are in place—covering personnel management, equipment maintenance, quality control, and research/education assessment—supplemented by comprehensive regulations on operational protocols, equipment upkeep, safety control, project services, and emergency response, ensuring the coordinated and efficient deployment of manpower, financial resources, and facilities.
A dynamic quality control system has been established, spanning experimental teaching, research training, and technical services, forming a closed-loop management model of "inspection → multi-dimensional evaluation → real-time feedback → rectification and improvement." Full-process standardized oversight is implemented across all critical stages—including animal husbandry, model construction, experimental operations, specimen handling, and waste disposal—to proactively identify and mitigate potential safety risks, thereby ensuring that scientific innovation, research projects, and external technical services proceed with high quality and in full compliance.
The Laboratory boasts a well-structured, high-caliber research and technical service team characterized by strong innovative drive and proven hands-on expertise. The academic team comprises 21 members, including 2 doctoral supervisors and 5 master's supervisors, with 4 professors, 7 associate professors, and 2 senior experimentalists. Eight team members hold doctoral degrees. Among them, 1 is a selected candidate of the Jiangsu "333 High-Level Talent Training Program," and 1 is an Outstanding Young Faculty Member under the Jiangsu "Blue and Green Project." Together, they form a research team led by senior experts and driven by young and mid-career academic leaders.
The core technical team has long been engaged in the development of disease animal models, possessing deep technical expertise and extensive practical experience. A dedicated transgenic R&D team has been established, proficient in core CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. The team independently performs the full cycle of custom design, genetic modification, and validation of gene-knockout mouse and rat models, as well as the construction, optimization, and application of standardized humanized mouse models. The model preparation success rate and precision rank among the highest in the Huaihai Economic Zone, providing a solid technical foundation for both university research and external service engagements.
The Laboratory features state-of-the-art facilities with a standardized layout and comprehensive platform systems, encompassing a total floor area of 800 m². Constructed in strict compliance with national standards for animal experimentation, it houses multiple specialized functional laboratories, including facilities for genetically engineered animal model development, small animal studies, large animal studies, surgical suites with intensive care units, and behavioral analysis labs for small animals. These facilities fully support the entire experimental workflow—from animal housing and model construction to surgical intervention, behavioral testing, specimen analysis, and molecular verification.
The Laboratory is equipped with a full array of advanced research instruments. Core equipment includes transgenic microinjection systems, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) systems, integrated intelligent behavioral analysis systems for small animals, stereotaxic instruments, electronic syringe pumps, veterinary anesthesia ventilators, dedicated animal monitors, veterinary color Doppler ultrasound systems, animal-specific electrocardiographs, and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR instruments. This comprehensive equipment portfolio enables multi-level research and technical services, including gene-editing model construction, animal physiological monitoring, behavioral assessment, molecular mechanism validation, and drug screening and evaluation, providing robust hardware support.
Guided by the philosophy of "promoting teaching through research, integrating science and education, prioritizing talent development, and fostering innovation through service," the Laboratory has established a science-education integration model that "empowers teaching through research, hones competence through practice, and drives growth through innovation." This model bridges the educational pathway from foundational experiments to research training and innovative practice, cultivating high-caliber innovative medical research talents.
In terms of teaching, the Laboratory provides strong support for multi-level undergraduate and postgraduate education across the university. It offers both theoretical and laboratory courses—including Laboratory Animal Medicine, General Biology, Laboratory Animal Science, and Developmental Biology—to domestic and international students at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels in medical and related disciplines, consolidating students' foundational knowledge, scientific thinking, and experimental skills.
As a core training platform under the university's Master's program in Biology (Zoology), the Laboratory has successfully trained and graduated 10 consecutive cohorts of master's students, with a sustained graduate employment rate of 100%. Graduates have secured high-quality positions primarily in universities, research institutes, healthcare institutions, and public organizations, engaging in research, teaching, and administrative roles—demonstrating the remarkable effectiveness of the Laboratory's talent cultivation efforts.
Over the past five years, students have achieved outstanding results in discipline-specific competitions, including 1 Silver and 1 Bronze Award at the China College Students' Entrepreneurship Competition, 1 Silver Award at the "Challenge Cup" China College Students' Entrepreneurship Plan Competition, and 2 First Prizes at the Jiangsu Provincial College Students' Innovation Competition.
Leveraging its full qualifications and mature technical systems in partnership with the Jiangsu Open Laboratory Animal Center, the Laboratory fully fulfills its role as a regional research platform with significant radiating impact. Rooted in the Huaihai Economic Zone and serving the entire Jiangsu Province, it provides comprehensive, integrated professional technical services to universities, research institutes, and biomedical enterprises in the region. These services include customized animal model development, gene-editing model R&D, laboratory animal technical support, scientific testing, and efficacy and safety screening evaluation of pharmaceuticals.
By addressing the regional gap in high-end animal model development and pharmaceutical experimental services, the Laboratory facilitates the advancement of basic life sciences research and clinical translational research in the region, empowering the high-quality transformation and upgrading of the biomedical industry. It continuously enhances its industrial influence and regional public service capacity.
Looking ahead, the Laboratory will closely align with the university's high-quality development goals and address the medical research and biomedical industry needs of the Huaihai Economic Zone, with a continued focus on its three core missions: scientific innovation, talent cultivation, and social services. Building upon its existing platform infrastructure, technical systems, and talent pool, the Laboratory will further refine its priority research directions, deepen its work in human disease animal model development, animal biotechnology R&D, and disease mechanism studies, and continuously improve its scientific innovation and operational management systems.
Simultaneously, the Laboratory will steadily upgrade its hardware facilities and optimize its technology platforms for transgenic and humanized mouse model development, thereby strengthening the region's capacity for disease animal model R&D and pharmaceutical evaluation services. It will further deepen the science-education integration mechanism, standardize postgraduate training procedures, and steadily enhance the quality of innovative medical research talent cultivation.
The Laboratory will actively expand industry-university-research collaborations, continue to provide standardized technical services to regional universities, research institutes, and biomedical enterprises, and contribute to the advancement of regional basic medical research and biomedical industry upgrading. Our ultimate goal is to establish a distinctive, service-oriented, regionally leading key laboratory for human disease animal models.
