A "smart" resourceful | key laboratory parade

century, the ultimate frontier of human understanding of self is in brain science.
is not only about human health and well-being, but also about the great subversion of the way life exists. Therefore, brain science has become a big country's "must-fight place."
Over the past three decades, China's neuroscience research has grown from a toddler to a popular teenager, and the National Key Laboratory for Neuroscience has been born in that crucial turning point. . .The 1990s were known as the "10 years of the brain" and before that, basic research and clinical applications in neuroscience had yielded a series of results. In order to explore the mysteries of the human brain, overcome a variety of brain diseases, the development of artificial intelligence technology, Europe and the United States have begun to develop a long-term strategic plan for brain science research, and announced that the 21st century will be the "brain science era."
, however, neuroscience in China started late, small volume, the road to growth is quite difficult. In 1999, pu Muming, an internationally renowned neurobiologist, returned home to create a new institutional research institute, the Institute of Neuroscience of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Neuroscience), and the neuroscience research in China has ushered in a new period of development.
2000-2005 is the "starting period" of neurology. At this stage, the Institute established seven high-level task groups. They have been independently responsible for the basic frontier projects of the National "973" program, and the "Neurodevelopment and Plasticity Research" team has been awarded the 2011 Chinese Academy of Sciences Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievement Award (Collective Award). Du Yulin, director of the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, said nerves played a benchmark role in the field of domestic biological research at the time.
the next decade is the key "growth" of nerves. In 2007, the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience was born and grew and supported each other with the Institute.
with the foundation laid by the nerves, the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience quickly established its dominant position in the field of neurodevelopment and plasticity, and greatly absorbed a number of excellent research team leaders, thus expanding the research direction of the laboratory.
, half of the scientific research force in the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience is focused on neuro-information processing, and another important branch is the neuropathy system, said Dr. Dujulin. The former focuses on the neural basis of brain function, while the latter provides a rationale for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.
with the development of research direction, the national key laboratory of neuroscience is realizing the goal of becoming one of the major research bases of neurobiology in the world.
past, innovation discoveries in basic science were often "available but not snoutable", but laboratories had to "seek it" if they were to achieve more major breakthroughs.
", the neurology first brought the PI system to China, because the overall strength of China's neuroscience research is still very weak. A small and refined group of free exploration, blooming flowers, so that the fire of the stars can be the original. "In Dujulin's view, after more than ten years of development, the level of domestic brain science research has a qualitative breakthrough, "at this time, we need to adjust the research model, take the initiative to meet the country's major strategic needs."
, he told China Science that in addition to brain disease research, the latest export of the National Key Laboratory for Neuroscience is brain intelligence research. The cross-integration of neuroscience and intelligent technology will be one of the most important discipline directions in the development of human society in the coming decades, and it will also be the key cultivation direction of the national key laboratory of neuroscience.
Since 2012, as project leader and main force, members of the National Key Laboratory for Neuroscience have undertaken the "Brain Function Link Map", one of the first five Category B strategic pilot science and technology projects launched by
, and on this basis, as the main force, they have formed the Center for Brain Science and Intelligent Technology Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Dujulin believes that it is this "demanding" model that makes the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience pay more attention to top-level design and forward-looking layout, by gathering multiple laboratories, multidisciplinary forces, to overcome the major problems in the field of brain science in a team model.in the development of biological science, model animal experimental platform plays an important role.
" is different from other areas, one of the characteristics of brain science research is that the pattern animal species span is very large, from worms, fruit flies, zebrafish, to mice, rats, to non-human primates, including macaques, crab-eating monkeys and rhesus monkeys. Dujulin said.
The model animal platform of the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience has "everything", especially the ten-year efforts of the non-human primate model animal platform to grind a sword, which has laid an important foundation for the long-term development of the laboratory.
2008, the director of the Institute of Neurology, Pu Muming, made a very risky decision to conduct research on non-human primates as the main model animals.
have been developing traditional mouse models for brain disease drugs, but the distance between mice and species is far apart. The original purpose of creating this platform for primate research was to make macaques, both physically and brain-structured, the ideal model animals.
, Pu Muming proposed to conquer the clone monkey technology. Soy cell cloning monkey technology, that is, the use of monkey sorocytes to reproduce the same individual. Only by producing a large number of monkeys with exactly the same genetic family can the interference of individual differences on the experiment be avoided.
Pu Muming believes that the creation of this platform will be China's brain science research in the international leading position in the key link.
, however, the cost of primate experiments is staggeringly high. In order to get this moneyless, landless, no-man's "three no" platform to start, in the absence of any national project support, Pu Muming used almost all of the director's fund to support the construction of the monkey farm. He also boldly used Sun Qiang, then a little-named university lecturer, as platform director, responsible for primate reproduction and development and model animal construction research.
In 2009, Pu Muming convened Sun Qiang and qiu Zilong, who had just returned home, to discuss the use of non-human primate models to specialize in brain disease, and after repeated demonstration by the team, they determined to build the first non-human primate model of autism using the MECP2 genetically modified method.
Said that while scientists have made many important discoveries in studying how mutations in autism affect brain development by introducing mutations associated with autism in humans in mice, it is still confusing whether complex mental disorders such as autism can simulate autism in humans using mouse-like autism models. Therefore, the establishment of autism models in non-human primates is very important for the study of brain science and brain diseases.
Until 2016, they successfully constructed the world's first genetically modified crab-eating monkey model specifically expressing the MeCP2 gene in the nervous system, and conducted long-term signs observations and extensive behavioral tests, finding that genetically modified monkeys were clinically similar to esoteric patterns in patients with MeCP2 multiplies syndrome. This provides an important basis for the laboratory to further study autism pathology and explore therapeutic interventions. This achievement won the "Top Ten Advances in Science in China" selected by the Ministry of Science and Technology that year.
November 2017, the successful birth of Huahua in so many soy cell cloning monkeys was hailed as a "landmark breakthrough in the world life sciences" and officially ushered in a new era of soda cell cloning monkeys as experimental animal models. And this crucial turning point has ushered in another big achievement for the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience.
, a researcher at the Institute of Neurology, has long been involved in the study of biological rhythms and aging diseases. In 2016, the team removed the rhythmic gene BMAL1 and obtained five diseased monkeys with biological rhythm disorders. However, due to the severity of their sleep disorders, depression and other symptoms, the first rhythmic disorder monkeys are not suitable for use as mature animal models for disease intervention. With the birth of "Hua Hua" in somatic cell cloning monkeys, Zhang Hongxuan and Sun Qiang started the cloning of biological rhythm-disordered monkeys for the first time.
just over a year, they successfully built the world's first model of a biological rhythmic disorder called somatic cell clone monkey with a consistent genetic background and no inlay, using difficult somatic cell nuclear transplantation techniques.
in Pu Muming's view, the realization of bulk and standardization to create disease clone monkey models can provide the most ideal animal models for brain cognitive function research, early diagnosis and intervention of major diseases, and drug research and development. This also means that it will help laboratories shorten the process of research into the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. May 28-31, 2020, Pu Muming, Dujulin and others stayed up for four days, from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. every night, for video conferences across four time zones. The conference was attended by 10 academicians from the California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, New York University, Stanford University, the German Institute of Neuroscience, the French Academy, the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Peking University. This is a regular international academic assessment by the head of the research team.
this international scientific research evaluation system was first introduced in 2003 by the Institute of Neurology in the National Research Institute. By the international first-class neurobiologists composed of international assessment team, combined with anonymous peer communication review opinions, research team leader on-site report evaluation, graduate students, such as the evaluation of the views. The evaluation committee submits a written review report to the Neurology Institute for each team leader's progress. The newly-promoted researchers are reviewed once every four years, the first time for the interim review. Promoted to Senior Fellow after two reviews, but still needs to be reviewed every six years.
, Qiu Zilong, who is already the deputy director of the National Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, lamented: "No amount of good experimental conditions and start-up funds are worth the freedom of time and space that the evaluation mechanism can give." Wang Yan, secretary of the party committee of the
Institute of Neurology, said that the goal of the nerve institute at the beginning is not only to do first-class scientific research, but also to do a reform of the "test field", to implement the operation and management mechanism in line with international standards, so as to create a different institutional environment and academic atmosphere from the traditional scientific research institutions in China.
national key laboratory for neuroscience was established, the institutional mechanisms of the Institute were also fully absorbed. In addition to the international evaluation system, the laboratory also adheres to the graduate rotation system, the annual appraisal system and the dual tutor system.
there is continuity and innovation.
a series of youth talent development policies established by the National Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, the Youth Innovation Incentive Fund, which has been dedicated since 2016, has established a good reputation among young people. Qiu Zilong said.
For laboratory research, post-doctoral or graduate students, personal projects 60,000 to 100,000 yuan / year, team projects 100,000 to 200,000 yuan / year, for two consecutive years, such support has been a high-level funding project. Moreover, in order to encourage independent innovation and free exploration, the subject content of the application may not be within the original direction of the laboratory. This has played a significant role in mobilizing the original motivation of young researchers.
, the National Key Laboratory for Neuroscience has launched a unique forum for young neuroscientists. The Forum invites young researchers from both laboratories and non-laboratories to present their work in the form of thematic reports or posters. In order to mobilize the enthusiasm of young researchers to participate, the Forum Working Committee has also established a "council" system since last year, so as to enrich the form of forum activities, to train the working organization capacity of the members and build their own scientific research network.
the forum was intended to create a soft environment for free academic exchanges and cooperation among growing researchers. "Cross-cooperation is the trend of discipline development, but also the cultural gene of neurology." Qiu Zilong smiled and said, "Cooperation" these two words, listen to more than ten years, are about to hear the dragonfly come. "
from being taught to feeling the same way, "you can't do a good job without cooperation" has become an academic belief in the hearts of neurology and laboratory members. staff feeding zebrafish researchers are doing electrophysiological experiments Pu Muming attends the opening ceremony of the 2020 Shanghai Science and Technology Festival C laboratory 2018 academic committee meeting laboratory independently developed new light field microscopy Mirror Sophysic Cell Clone Monkey Team Advanced Deeds Report Researcher Xu Ninglong (first from left) instructs graduate students to do experiments either unknown or amazing, used to describe the national key laboratory researcher in neuroscience Cai Zhiqing is the most appropriate.
until 2014, Cai had not yet joined the National Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, when he wanted to use nematode-patterned animals to explore the molecular neural mechanisms of animal behavior aging.
past 20 years, research in the field of aging has focused on life-regulation, and hundreds of genes have been found to regulate animal life expectancy. Behavioral and cognitive function degradation is also an important feature of aging in animals and humans, and studies have shown that the molecular mechanisms that regulate longevity and nervous system aging are not identical, but studies on the molecular and neural mechanisms of animal behavior and cognitive function that decline with aging have been in the minority.
"minority" is equal to "edge". Although Tsai has achieved some foundational results, he will continue to develop in this direction with little funding for the project.
when the mountains were exhausted, the international assessment of performance without looking at the paper pulled him off. The judges' recognition gave Cai a lot of confidence and helped him successfully join the National Key Laboratory for Neuroscience as a big platform.
was most moved by the fact that in his first few years in the lab, he received strong support from the lab without visible scientific output.
2017, Cai's team published a lengthy research paper in Nature that revealed for the first time the genetic basis for differences in the rate of aging between individuals. They found a new signaling path, which regulates animal aging, and shed light on the important role of glial cell-neuron signals mediated by neuropeptides in the regulation of aging velocity.
research is an important breakthrough in the field of international aging at that time, and the method of delaying aging has surfaced. Cai's research direction has suddenly attracted much attention.
is not surprised by this. "We've always had an institutional culture where choosing which study to support depends on the 'person' in the study." "A study that doesn't matter, whether it has potential, is fundamentally about how much people can do it, " Du Yulin, director of the lab, told China Science Daily. Seemingly 'non-mainstream' direction, the people who study it do deep, do solid, still can become 'mainstream'