On October 11th, the 3rd Deans Forum of Wuhan University was held in College of Life Sciences. Prof. Song, the dean, made an inspiring speech about his scientific research and patriotism.
In 1997, Prof. Song was still a graduate then in Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He studied hard and sedulously did research supervised by Prof. Li Boliang. When he firstly studied cholesterol metabolism, it was so intriguing to him that he had then been determined to dedicate himself to this field for further research.
As an old proverb puts it, “little drops wear stone”. Prof. Song’s perseverance and persistence have so far brought him a series of original and leading edge research achievements, including discovering intracellular cholesterol transport[1], cholesterol modification of Smoothened [2] and regulation of cholesterol homeostasis[3]. What’s more, he is the author of a good number of high level scientific papers in such top international journals as Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, Cell Metabolism, Nature Cell Biology and Molecular Cell. He said frankly that academic masters are no more than the average people with diligence. Young students should get down-to-earth and work hard before the success and achievements finally come around. He emphasized that academic work permits not dishonesty or fluke and advocated a responsible and serious attitude towards learning and scientific research. Besides following the guidance of their supervisors, students are encouraged to have their own ideas about their subjects and select a proper research strategy. More importantly, they should take everything into consideration before getting down to their research.
Afterwards, Prof. Song mentioned that this new era was featured by, the ‘The Great Rejuvenation of The Chinese Nation’, increasingly intense international competitions, the perfect alignment of Life Sciences to ‘The Community of Shared Future for Mankind’. Based on the characteristics of the study and research in the master period, he proposed the students to make great efforts with a lofty future aspiration. “We should stay in persistent pursuit for excellence with the courage to explore unknown academic fields; graduates should shoulder social responsibilities.”
Then students seized the opportunity to put forward some questions of common concern for further discussion with Prof. Song. Applause broke out from time to time during his speech. Finally, Secretary of Wuhan University Committee of Communist Youth League, Yang Linqing awarded him a certificate of honor for his speech.
The Dean Forum, hosted by Wuhan University Committee of Communist Youth League and organized by Graduate Student Union of Wuhan University, mainly focused on the WHU’s ‘students-oriented’ strategic plan. Deans from different schools and other masters and scholars in WHU were invited to share their stories in their studies and researches. It is significant that the spirit of scientific research and academic mindset can reach all graduates via this forum, broadening their academic horizons and cultivating their sense of social responsibility.
References
[1] Chu B, Liao Y, Qi W, et al. Cholesterol Transport through Lysosome-Peroxisome Membrane Contacts[J]. Cell, 2015,161(2):291-306.
[2] Xiao X, Tang J, Peng C, et al. Cholesterol Modification of Smoothened Is Required for Hedgehog Signaling[J]. Molecular Cell, 2017,66(1):154-162.
[3] Zhang Y, Fu Z, Wei J, et al. A LIMA1variant promotes low plasma LDL cholesterol and decreases intestinal cholesterol absorption[J]. Science, 2018,360(6393):1087.
(Rewritten by Lu Xinqiang, edited by Zheng Lingling, Shen Yuxi, Hu Sijia)
