As the sweet-scented osmanthus began to bloom at Manjuelong Village, we gathered in Hangzhou to enhance communication. On October 30, the Launching Ceremony of the IBMC Ophthalmology Research Center, jointly established by the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University and the Institute of Basic Medicine and Cancer (IBMC) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Summit Forum on Ophthalmic Innovation and Translation, was held in Hangzhou. 

Zhou Tufa, deputy director-general of the Science Technology Department of Zhejiang Province, Yu Xinle, deputy director-general of the Health Commission of Zhejiang Province, Chen Yingxu, vice mayor of Wenzhou Municipal People's Government, Li Lanjuan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Tan Weihong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of IBMC, Li Xiaokun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of WMU, Qu Jia, director of the Ophthalmology & Optometry Department of WMU, Lu Fan, director of the National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Yao Yufeng, chairman of the Zhejiang Ophthalmological Society, and other guests gathered in Hangzhou to discuss and explore the innovative development of ophthalmology.

Zhou Tufa, deputy director-general of the Science Technology Department of Zhejiang Province, is delivering a speech.

Yu Xinle, deputy director-general of the Health Commission of Zhejiang Province, is delivering a speech.

Chen Yingxu, vice mayor of Wenzhou Municipal People’s Government, is delivering a speech.

Academician Tan Weihong is giving a speech.

Academician Li Xiaokun is giving a speech.

At the meeting, the signing and opening ceremony of the IBMC-Eye Hospital of WMU Ophthalmology Research Center was held.

The center will focus on overcoming key bottlenecks in ophthalmologic research, such as the pathogenesis and development mechanism of eye diseases, visual function and optometry, visual genetic development, medical materials for ophthalmology and optometry, and ophthalmic targeted drugs. The center will make full use of the advantages of both sides and carry out all-round research in a focused and targeted manner to strive for original major breakthroughs and solve practical problems.

After the launching ceremony, the Summit Forum on Ophthalmic Innovation and Translation was held. Academician Li Lanjuan, Academician Li Xiaokun, Academician Tan Weihong, Professor Yao Yufeng, and Professor Qu Jia gave keynote reports respectively at the academician forum, which was a real feast of new knowledge for the audience.

At the roundtable meeting in the afternoon, the experts shared updated research results and cutting-edge views on themes of “major scientific problems, challenges, and opportunities in ophthalmology”, “how to enhance scientific innovation and cultivate talents”, and “how to promote the commercialization of scientific and technological advances”.

The launching of the center marks a new stage of substantive cooperation between IBMC and the School of Ophthalmology & Optometry, School of Biomedical Engineering, Eye Hospital of WMU since the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement between the two sides in January this year.

Li Xiaokun noted that strategic cooperation with IBMC is another essential exploration to deepen WMU’s development strategy of talent cultivation and innovation. Under the guiding principles of the CPC’s 20th National Congress, the center will work hard to intensify research on key technologies and boost the commercialization of research results, with the strategic needs of the country and bottlenecks in ophthalmologic research at its core. The center will strive to build itself into a high-level provincial platform, contribute its share to Zhejiang’s building of “an important window”, and inject strong impetus into Zhejiang’s construction of the "Peak of Medicine" and a national medical highland.

Text translated by Chen Ling and reviewed by Sun You.