I. Overview and Development History
The Key Laboratory of Neurobiology is a municipal-university joint laboratory approved by the Xuzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau and Xuzhou Medical University. It is affiliated with the School of Basic Medical Sciences and Life Sciences and shares offices with the Department of Cell Biology and Neurobiology. The laboratory occupies an area of 200 square meters and houses a molecular biology experimental platform, a cell culture platform, a morphological experimental platform, and an animal behavioral testing platform, with equipment assets valued at approximately 5 million RMB. In addition, the laboratory is supported by the Xuzhou Neurodegenerative Disease R&D Engineering Center and the Public Experimental Research Center of Xuzhou Medical University, among other platforms, sharing large-scale instruments and equipment including transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer, high-pressure freezer, ultramicrotome, fluorescence confocal microscope, quantitative fluorescence PCR system, multi-functional microplate reader, infrared fluorescence scanning system, stereomicroscope, and microinjection system. The laboratory focuses on research into the molecular mechanisms and intervention strategies of neurodegenerative diseases, and is committed to building a regional neuroscience innovation hub integrating scientific research, talent cultivation, and social service.
The laboratory oversees two secondary disciplines — Neurobiology and Cell Biology — each with a Master's degree program. The Master's degree program in Neurobiology was approved in 1996, making it the first neurobiology Master's degree program in Jiangsu Province, and is currently a university-level key discipline. The Master's degree program in Cell Biology was approved in 2010. After nearly thirty years of development, the laboratory has achieved significant results in discipline construction, talent development, and scientific research output, and has become an important supporting platform for basic medical research at our university.
II. Faculty
The laboratory currently has 13 staff members, including 2 professors and 7 associate professors. Among them, 11 hold doctoral degrees, representing a doctoral degree rate of 84.6%. The team includes doctoral and master's student supervisors, forming a research group characterized by high academic qualifications, a balanced age structure, and strong innovative capacity. In recent years, multiple faculty members have served as committee members or youth committee members in domestic and international academic organizations. Several faculty members have overseas visiting or postdoctoral research experience and maintain close academic ties with internationally renowned neuroscience research institutions.
III. Research Directions and Features
Closely aligned with national major disease prevention and treatment needs and neuroscience frontiers, the laboratory has developed the following characteristic research directions: molecular mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of Parkinson's disease, mechanisms of glioblastoma development and drug resistance, and molecular mechanisms and prevention of central demyelination.
IV. Research Projects and Achievements
The department has undertaken over 30 research projects, including 13 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and 5 projects funded by the Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation. The laboratory has received 2 second-prize awards and 1 third-prize award from the Jiangsu Provincial Higher Education Science and Technology Research Achievement Award (Natural Science Award), 1 second-prize and 1 third-prize from the Xuzhou Municipal Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 third-prize from the Huaihai Science and Technology Progress Award, and 3 authorized national invention patents. In the past three years, the team has published over 30 SCI papers in journals including Seminars in Cancer Biology, Molecular Neurobiology, Advanced Science, npj Parkinson's Disease, and Aging Cell, among others, with 10 papers published in Chinese Academy of Sciences Tier 1 journals.
V. Talent Cultivation and Social Service
The Neurobiology discipline was the first approved neurobiology Master's program in Jiangsu Province. To date, it has trained over 100 master's degree students, secured more than 10 provincial and university-level graduate innovation projects, produced 3 Jiangsu Provincial Outstanding Master's Theses, and published over 20 SCI papers during students' enrollment. Since 2011, the laboratory has been recruiting master's students in Cell Biology and has trained 16 graduate students, obtained 3 university-level graduate innovation projects, and published 6 SCI papers.
The laboratory's faculty members participate in textbook compilation, integrating teaching content with cutting-edge research advances, and contributing to the cultivation of neurobiology talent. Faculty members also serve as peer reviewers for academic journals and participate in the evaluation of research projects such as the Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation, providing intellectual support for regional scientific and technological innovation and academic development.
