Safeguarding human health is a shared vision for the sustainable development of humanity, and strengthening international cooperation is an essential pathway to overcoming medical challenges. On 2nd December, the "Cambridge Nanjing Forum 2024 - Biomedical Innovation and Collaboration" was successfully held in Nanjing. The event was hosted by the Cambridge University - Nanjing Centre of Technology Innovation, with support from the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Government.

Renowned scholars from leading Chinese universities, including Fudan University, Nanjing University, Southeast University, Sun Yat-sen University, China Medical University, and Soochow University, as well as top professors from overseas universities such as the University of Cambridge, gathered alongside medical professionals from local clinical institutions like Nanjing Brain Hospital. Together, they engaged in lively and insightful discussions on such issues as obesity-associated metabolic complications, brain science & geriatric disease research and the bioengineering application of photoacoustic microscopy. The forum provided a platform to explore cutting-edge application-oriented technological advances and innovative practices in the fields of biomedicine and healthcare services.

Attendees of the opening ceremony included Yanfei Shen, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Government; Wenbin Chen, Member of Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Party Working Committee and Deputy Director General of Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Management Committee; Jia Le, Director of Division of European Affairs, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China; Catherine Sinclair-Jones, Director East China of the British Council, and Consul (Culture and Education) of the British Consulate-General Shanghai; Daniel Brooker, Director for UK Research and Innovation China; and Daping Chu, Tenured Professor of the University of Cambridge, and the Academic Director and CEO of the CUNJC. More than 100 guests representing government, academia, industry, research, and investment sectors participated in the event on-site, while over 2,000 attendees joined virtually.

Strengthening Global Collaboration to Promote Human Health and Well-being 
 

The biomedicine and healthcare industries are not only strategic emerging sectors crucial to our country's prosperity and people's well-being, but also "ever-flourishing sunrise industries" vital to global well-being. These sectors play a pivotal role in enhancing the public's life quality and happiness index, underscoring the importance of strengthening international cooperation in these fields.

In line with Nanjing's industrial needs to cultivate and expand innovative clusters within the biomedicine sector, and leveraging the disciplinary advantages of the University of Cambridge in biomedicine and healthcare, the "Cambridge Nanjing Forum 2024" focuses on the theme of "Biomedical Innovation and Collaboration", and serves as a platform for exchanges of technological innovation and international cooperation.

At the Forum, Wenbin Chen stated that Nanjing Jiangbei New Area is firmly aligned with the strategic positioning of the "Three Zones and One Platform" initiative and has vigorously promoted four key actions: services for enterprises, project development, integration of research and industry, and investment attraction. He emphasised the Area's commitment to striving to lead the dynamic endeavour of building a core hub for new-quality productive forces in Jiangsu, setting an example, and positioning itself at the forefront of this mission. He expressed his hope that the outcomes of this Forum would soon translate into robust momentum to propel the high-quality development of the biomedicine industry in the Area.

"Scientific and technological innovation is one of the key areas of Sino-UK cooperation, with both countries agreeing on life sciences and medicine as priority in collaboration. The cooperation in joint research, academic exchanges, and other areas has been extensive and fruitful", Director Jia Le stated, "We look forward to using this forum to focus on cutting-edge topics such as the medicine, healthcare, and ageing and their latest developments, and to address global health challenges together".

 
Catherine Sinclair-Jones, Director of the British Council in East China, stressed the immense value of exchanges in the fields of culture, knowledge, and education in driving innovation, broadening horizons, and deepening mutual trust. She said, "the more that we can engage face to face, understand the nuance in one another’s contexts and embrace the fact that together we are greater than the sum of our parts, the better we are able to shape a safe, secure and sustainable future for us and those who follow.”

 
Daniel Brooker emphasised the critical importance of global partnerships in advancing research and innovation. He highlighted Nanjing's leading research capabilities, which have earned it a place among the world's top ten innovative cities. With the CUNJC serving as a vital link, the mutual benefits and complementary nature of collaboration between the top researchers from the University of Cambridge and Nanjing are important for tackling global challenges such as health, climate and sustainable development.

 
"Guided by cutting-edge technologies, local leading industries, and market demands, CUNJC, as a flagship project of UK-China scientific and technological innovation cooperation, actively aligns itself with frontier research outcomes and practical industrial technological prospects, advancing international research collaboration driven by application and market orientation", explained Professor Daping Chu. "Leveraging the advanced experimental research platforms at the University of Cambridge, the Centre integrates Cambridge's research framework and expert teams, and strengthens in-depth cooperation with Chinese universities, hospitals, and industrial partners to promote high-quality development in pharmaceutical innovation and healthcare services jointly".

Decoding Metabolic-Related Diseases from a Perspective of Molecular Biology
 

"From an epidemiological perspective, the risk of metabolic diseases increases linearly with weight gain. The hypothesis of adipose tissue expansion suggests that an individual's situation follows a sigmoid curve", stated Professor Antonio Vidal-Puig, Fellowships of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Royal College of Physician·and Professor of Molecular Nutrition and Metabolism at the School of Clinical Medicine of University of Cambridge, in his presentation titled "Molecular Basis for Healthy Obesity Paradox: Adipose Tissue Expandability" during the session of "Obesity-associated Metabolic Complications".

What is meant by "adipose tissue expansion"? "Compared to the absolute amount of fat tissue an individual possesses, the ability to expand fat mass for lipid storage is a more critical factor in determining obesity-related metabolic issues. When energy intake is positively balanced, if adipose tissue cannot expand appropriately, this leads to 'metabolically unhealthy obesity,'" explained Professor Antonio Vidal-Puig. "However, adipose tissue expansion is not infinite. When the maximum expansion point is surpassed, excess fat leaks and accumulates in organs such as the liver, heart, pancreas, and blood vessels, leading to ectopic fat deposition (i.e. lipotoxicity) in areas outside of adipose tissue, which in turn triggers metabolic complications".

 
"Therefore, less fat does not necessarily mean better, and more fat does not necessarily mean worse", Professor Antonio Vidal-Puig recommended a research strategy that decouples obesity from metabolic complications, aiming to understand the genetic information behind paradoxical phenotypes and identify biomarkers for metabolic diseases.

In the presentation titled "In Vivo Self-assembled Small RNAs as a New Generation of RNAi Therapeutics", Chenyu Zhang, Professor and Dean of the School of Life Sciences of Nanjing University, shared his team's groundbreaking work in the field of extracellular miRNA.

Sixteen years ago, Professor Zhang challenged the traditional belief that RNA molecules exist solely within cells, discovering that miRNA can be stably present in human and animal serum and plasma. Building on this discovery, with extracellular RNA as the molecular foundation, he led his team in developing the third-generation RNAi therapy – an in vivo self-assembled small RNA delivery system. Based on the strategy of in vivo self-assembled exosome sRNA, this therapy allows for the automated expression, loading, and delivery of sRNAs. Using this strategy, the team has successfully achieved targeted gene intervention for three diseases: lung cancer (targeting EGFR/KRAS), glioblastoma (targeting EGFR/TNC), and obesity (targeting PTP1B), silencing key pathogenic genes with significant therapeutic results. The project "Original Discovery, Function, and Application of Extracellular small RNAs", led by Prof. Zhang won the second prize of National Award for Natural Science in 2023.       

The forum featured the focus on application-oriented research to serve public health.

Cuilin Zhang, Chair Professor and Director of the Global Centre for Asian Women's Health at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of National University of Singapore, delivered a presentation titled "Determinants and Health Consequences of Diabetes in Pregnancy - A Life Course Perspective". 

 
Takashi Miki, Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine of Chiba University, proposed feasible paths for diabetes treatment in his presentation titled "Regenerative Potential of Adult Pancreatic β-Cells: Towards a Cure for Diabetes Mellitus". 

 
Leming Shi, Professor of the Human Phenome Institute of Fudan University, focused on "Quality Control of Multi-omics Profiling and Precision Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes", to further the understanding and management of human insulin resistance. 

 
Xiaohong Jiang, Professor of the School of Life Sciences of Nanjing University, presented on "Glucolipid Homeostasis Regulation in Metabolic Disease Prevention", discussing how reshaping the balance between glucose and lipids can help prevent and treat metabolic diseases.

 
Yong Zhang, Professor and Director of the Cambridge-Suda Genomic Resource Centre of Soochow University, interpreted the relationship between "Feeding Rhythm and Metabolism". 

 
Linzhang Huang, a Researcher from the Institute of Metabolism & Integrative Biology of Fudan University, indicated lactate as an endocrine signalling molecule that modulates glucose homeostasis independently of the insulin pathway, offering novel insights into its therapeutic potential for metabolic disorders. 

 
Yang Yu, Associate Researcher from the Institute of Health Sciences of China Medical University, explored the "Atg7 in the Regulation of T2DM via the Non-Autophagy Pathway"... 

 
Diabetes, a common metabolic disease, emerged as a central topic between many experts at the forum.

Biology, Medicine and Engineering Empowering Brain Science Research to Actively Address the Challenges of Ageing

The primary application goal of brain science research is to maintain brain health, promote brain development, and delay brain degeneration. Particularly as the issue of global ageing becomes more pronounced, to strengthen the research into the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative brain diseases is crucial for public health. In an era marked with a high degree of intersection between biology, medicine, and engineering, it is essential to employ interdisciplinary approaches to empower brain disease research and address the challenges. At the forum, scholars discussed from various dimensions, including bioelectronic medicine, systems engineering, organ-on-a-chip technology, and brain-machine interface technology.

“Bioelectronic medicine, which utilises the electrical signals spread throughout the human body for interaction and neural intervention, represents an innovative approach that could revolutionise the current paradigm of pharmaceutical treatment,” said Professor George Malliaras, Fellowship of the Royal Society, and Prince Philip Professor of Technology, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge. His research group has achieved high-precision functional imaging of the cerebral cortex at the level of single neurons using an array of 256 microelectrodes, each with a diameter of 10 micrometres.

 
Currently, a key challenge in bioelectronic medicine is: how to minimise the invasiveness of implants while retaining the benefits of minimally invasive implantations like those of transcutaneous electrodes and the low migration of paddle electrodes? The self-driven thin-film implantation technology developed by Professor George Malliaras provides a solution: microelectronic thin film electrodes expand and unfold after being implanted, achieving a minimally invasive effect. “This thin-film implantation technology makes it possible to implant electrodes of different shapes under minimally invasive conditions. By collaborating with regenerative medicine, the implanted electrodes and tissue can work together to enhance their function,” he concluded.

 
Under the title "Multiscale Biofabrication for System Engineering Biology", Yan Yan Shery Huang, Professor of Bioengineering at the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, presented the latest advancements made by her research team in the fields of organ-on-a-chip, organoid, tumoroid bioassembly; 3D printing of soft and biological materials; and fibre biofabrication for wearable sensors and bioelectronics. She shared, "Through multiscale biofabrication, we can expand the influence of 'systems engineering biology', create more complex in vitro models and make sustainable e-textile or imperceptible bioelectronic interfaces for living systems".

As a model of inter-disciplinary integration among biology, medicine, and engineering, "organ-on-a-chip" utilises the self-organisation of cells, in combination with cutting-edge technologies such as stem cells, biomaterials, and nanofabrication. This enables the reconstruction of human physiological systems on microfluidic chips in the size of a USB stick, offering significant benefits in shortening new drug development timelines, reducing costs, effectively evaluating drug toxicity, and improving R&D efficiency.

Professor Zhongze Gu, Dean of the Institute of Microphysiological Systems of Southeast University, has led his team to achieve a series of leading results in this field. The team successfully developed China's first vascular chip model to be carried to a space station for scientific experiments, and spearheaded the formulation of the first national standard for organ-on-a-chip technology in China, titled "General Technical Regulations of Epidermis-on-a-chip".

 
At the forum, Professor Gu outlined the latest collaborative research progress with Chinese experts and industrial application practices in vascularised brain organoids, cardiac organs, skin organs, liver organs, and malignant tumours. "Organ-on-a-chip technology is a universal, underlying technology, and the vast amounts of data it efficiently generates will have a significant impact on the future of medical artificial intelligence," Professor Gu predicted.

Medical technology development ultimately needs to serve clinical needs. Taking the clinical practice in the Nanjing Brain Hospital, a leading institution in neuropsychiatric medical research in China, as an example, Dean Li Zhang systematically shared the current advancements and challenges in brain-machine interface technology.

 
Emphasising the intersection of clinical medicine and engineering research, the hospital's team spans the entire "clinical medicine - science & technology - transformation and application" chain, thoroughly decoding brain functioning mechanisms and biological intelligence. They have developed a brain-machine interface platform that includes a sleep-related medicine platform and AI, medical imaging for brain and intelligent diagnosis, non-invasive neural modulation, invasive brain neural modulation and feedback, as well as neuropsychiatric rehabilitation and wearable devices. "Brain-machine interfaces are the key to unlocking the mysteries of neurological diseases," Dean Zhang explained. "On one hand, with the support of AI, machine learning, and neural networks, brain-machine interface technology shows vast application potential in the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of dyskinesia and neurological diseases. On the other hand, when conducting large-scale clinical trials, establishing sound codes of ethics and regulatory frameworks is equally crucial".

Focusing on Biomedical Imaging to Drive Innovation in Medical Devices
 

Minimising invasiveness while enhancing diversity and resolution of imaging is a steadfast goal in the field of medical imaging. During the session on "Photoacoustic Microscopy and Its Bioengineering Applications", experts engaged in discussions on "novel biomedical imaging technologies based on the photoacoustic effect".

Starting with the power of photoacoustic imaging to visualise haemoglobin, Sarah Bohndiek， Professor of Biomedical Physics from the Department of Physics of University of Cambridge, shared clinical practices using multispectral imaging techniques to shed light on tumour evolution.

 
"Combining the advantages of both optical and acoustic imaging, photoacoustic imaging based on the photoacoustic effect offers rich contrast and high resolution for deep tissue," emphasised Professor Chao Tao from the Department of Acoustics and Engineering at the School of Physics of Nanjing University. Drawing on some collaborative outcomes from the Centre's research project "Multi-modality and Hybrid 3-D Ultrasound/Photoacoustic Imaging System", he provided detailed examples of the applications of optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy based on optical resolution in various scenarios, including pathological sample examination, microvascular imaging in mouse ears, cranial imaging, and drug action imaging. He also shared the significant advantages of the bimodal ultrasound/photoacoustic microscope in terms of resolution and elasticity parameter metrics. It is shared that the Project of "Multi-modality and Hybrid 3-D Ultrasound/Photoacoustic Imaging System", in collaboration with Professor Chao Tao, has now entered the phase of prototype development and commercialisation exploration.

Converge the wisdom in biology, towards a healthy future. Aligned with local industrial needs and the research strengths of the University of Cambridge, CUNJC has established "biomedicine and healthcare" as a key focus since its establishment in 2018, embarking on a series of R&D initiatives. Aimed at building a communication bridge between research institutions and enterprises, the Centre seeks to deepen the exchange and integration of scientific and industrial innovation. It will continue to accelerate the pace of collaboration among industry, academia, research institutions, and application, to establish a high-level, open international platform, and to shape the future of cooperation in the biomedical industry.