In September 2015, “Sino-Swiss Science Forum in Tianjin” has been successfully taken place in Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TUTCM) in Tianjin, China.
This Forum was held by the Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, TUTCM, and assisted by Alumni Association of University of Zurich, while the strong supports were also got from both the Swiss Embassy in Beijing and swissnex China in Shanghai.
As one of the oldest traditional Chinese medicine universities in China, it also hosts the Educational Instruction Committee of World Federation of Chinese Medicine Society and it is at the leading position of the research of traditional Chinese medicine.
TUTCM, as the main Chinese sponsor of this Forum, made elaborate preparation for the opening of the forum before the first lecture started on Sept 7th. The Deputy President of TUTCM, Prof. Dr. Xiumei Gao, made a welcoming speech to indicate the opening of the Forum. Following, Prof. Dr. S. Sturla, from ETH Zurich, as the first invited expert in the 2015 “Sino-Swiss Science Forum in Tianjin”, gave a lecture titled “Chemical and molecular basis for herb-drug interactions”. The theme of the lecture focused on the researching of the cytotoxicity of natural drug in cancer cells and the study was beneficial to explore herb-drug which may enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutics. On Sept 16th, another two lectures were given by Prof. Dr. M. Cuendet and Dr. Ph. Christen, from University of Geneva. Prof. Dr. Cuendet devoted herself to explore natural ingredients isolated from plants with chemopreventive activity and the lecture introduced several compounds acted as the inhibitors of HDAC (Histone deacetylase) in cancer cells, which may play important roles in chemoprevention through inhibiting the angiogenesis of cancer. Then Dr. Ph. Christen took Argemone Mexicana as an example and described the application of reverse pharmacology in the development of phytomedicine.
Visit of Tasly Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd
Numerous researchers, teachers and students not only from TUTCM, but also other colleges and universities including Nankai University, Tianjin University and Tianjin Medical University participated in the Forum, which more than 80 participants attended in the first forum. All the lectures caused the resonance of the participants and triggered a heated discussion. Through the forums, it gives opportunities for the Swiss experts to talk and discuss with the young Chinese researchers and provide the targeted suggestions and help. Besides, this Forum also gives the opportunities for them to get in touch with Chinese culture and feel the real China. The other arrangement for the Swiss professors was to visit Tasly Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd, the leading Company of TCM herbal medicine in China, which let the Swiss experts to know the status and the development of Modern Traditional Chinese medicine industry. Prof. Dr. M. Cuendet and Dr. Ph. Christen then visited Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and IMPLAD in Yunnan (Botanical Garden of Xishuangbanna South Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Science), where they had the direct feelings of the diversity for both the Chinese medicinal plants and the Chinese medicines, and discussed in the best of spirits with the local researchers.
This Forum is significant in deepening the science exchanges and communications between the Chinese and Swiss researchers in the field of natural drug discovery and pharmacology.
The following report in the future will be given by Prof. Dr. M. Hottiger from the University of Zurich in the late of October. Prof. Dr. M. Hottiger is an expert in the field of the NF-κB signalling and the posttranslational modification. At that time, the Deputy Director of Science and Technology Department of Swiss Embassy in Beijing will explain the rules of scientific and technological cooperation program which supported by Swiss and Chinese government in “Sino-Swiss Science Forum in Tianjin”. There are more than 50 colleges and universities in Tianjin, TUTCM will be expected to become the center of the Sino-Swiss science and technology cooperation in Tianjin.
Prof. Dr. Li-Kang Sun, from Switzerland and working in TUTCM, initiated this forum, took contact with professors from Swiss universities and realized this Forum in Tianjin. According to the wishes of the Swiss professors, this Forum has the possibility of extending to other Chinese cities and universities.