A few steps into the College of Life and Science building and after a left-turn, there is a long corridor with doors opening on both sides revealing complete sets of beakers and rapt figures in white overalls. Behind one of those plain-looking doors, we were warmly received by a gentleman of 5’10 in an office that almost seemed austere for a professor, let alone for a dean— Song Baoliang, our distinguished interviewee.
“Research is fun, once you’ve discovered what truly interests you”
Ever since the year 1997 when he entered the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences as a graduate student, Song dedicated himself to a sole research field: the metabolism of cholesterol and metabolic diseases. When asked about his latest publication in Cell magazine, that had just came out this year, Professor Song readily shared his team’s findings with us with the excitement and proficiency of a biology enthusiast: “You see each cell is in itself an intricate system, divided by the cell membrane into thousands of inner chambers so that multiple biological reactions can be performed simultaneously. And the substance in question here, the cholesterol, determines the nature of the membrane by its differing percentages. Cholesterol is dynamically transported among different cellular compartments to maintain the proper functions of the cell. The defects of cholesterol transport in most cases cause deceases like atherosclerosis and NPC,” Said Professor Song, “What we did was sifting through some ten thousand genes in the human genome to find out the 300 genes responsible for the successful transportation of cholesterol. Lysosomes will transfer cholesterol to peroxisomes through membrane contacts.” He went on to extrapolate that a loss of peroxisomal function will lead to peroxisomal disorders as manifested by developmental and neurological symptoms, to which there is no effective treatment. Professor Song and his team was the first to identify that one cause of peroxisomal disorders is cholesterol accumulation. This finding is significant in that it opens a new door to treat these diseases.
“Many people refer to scientific research as tedious and toilsome, but I just find it intriguing,” Professor Song told us. He continued explaining that he has always reveled in walking through science puzzles even when difficulties, in this case the lack of an effective method to mark cholesterol or to screen the genes, arose. According to Professor Song, it is his passion for the field of cholesterol metabolic that has been fueling his research for the past two decades. “Once you find a topic that draws your interest, then you will realize how exciting academic research can be because you are constantly amazed at the new findings coming out every single day. And it feels even better with the awareness that you are making a difference to the lives of people.” The same thing is said to inspire students to make innovations.
“I don’t see myself as successful; there is always room for improvement”
The name Professor Song Baoliang often comes with an array of blinding labels—the youngest dean in WHU history, Principle Investigator of state scientific project, Post-doctoral research fellow of UT Southwestern Medical Center, author of multiple international publications. Yet underneath these labels, Professor Song remains a modest scientist who simply finds academic research the love of his life.
“Success is too big a word for me,” Professor Song grinned at our question about what makes him succeed “There are so many people out there who are doing just as good as I do or even better and they don’t consider themselves successful, either. I believe the one thing that every one of us can do is to make the best out of what we are given and leave lasting legacies for the younger generations.” Instead of taking all the compliments himself, Professor Song likes to credit his achievements to the current socio-political situation—with the increasing importance that our country and leaders of Wuhan University attaches to scientific research projects. The outlook has never been better.
In the meantime, Professor Song also pointed out that we are still lagging behind in terms of research level. Compared to various western countries whose history of modern scientific research traces back to the 19th century, China started late. “But not necessarily slowly,” said Professor Song with much assertion. “I have faith in our young scientists today. Some of them are already doing much better than their western counterparts, both in China and abroad. Given time and effort, there will be great changes.”
“What matters most for a college or university is its research level, and I want to be part of what matters”
On March 4th 2014 when Professor Song’s official appointment was announced, WHU’s worldwide recruitment for four dean positions came to a full stop. At the age of 39, Professor Song became the youngest Dean in WHU’s history.
From a prime investigator position of a state science project and Dean of the College of Life Science, what Professor Song has been through was more than a mere transition. Yet the drive is again, his passion for science and his readiness to make a difference. “I used to be the leader of a research team in the lab, but as the leader of the College of Life Sciences at Wuhan University, I feel I am even more empowered to attain greater achievements, in science and in educating the younger generation.” In his first year as the Dean, Professor Song devoted himself to the establishment and maintenance of the Core Facilities—the equipment shared by the College of Life Sciences. According to Professor Song, the platform will provide great help to all young and aspiring researchers.
With greater power come greater responsibilities. Falling on the shoulders of Professor Song was not only spearheading research projects but also mountains of executive orders. It is a question of balance and priority. Confronted with the dilemma, Professor Song stands steadfast by his principles: “I have always believed that what defines a university is its research capacity; and what makes a good dean is the ability to never let executive work override research.” Professor Song also holds a similar view toward the “going-overseas” trend of Chinese Universities: since a higher level of scientific research is the prerequisite and ultimate goal for any attempt to enter the international arena, investing more in research and stepping up the effort in talent recruitment are the first things we should do to ensure greater openness to the world.
In a world where it always seemed easier to recall and praise past achievements and indulge in raves and rhapsodies, we see in Professor Song a shining light that guides not only himself but all of us in our quest for the better. It is the light of the eternal flame that burns only in a true science enthusiast.
(Edited by Sijia Hu, Yue Rao & Diana)
For information about Professor Song Baoliang, please refer to http://en.whu.edu.cn/info/1073/1819.htm
