By Chen Zichuan  Editor: Chen Zichuan  

WUST News (By Chen Zichuan)  On the occasion of the first anniversary of Wuhan’s triumph in combating the pandemic of COVID-19, the Third TCM Brain Science Conference and Summit on New Advances in Cognitive Disorders was held in WUST from April 8 to 108th to 10th. The conference invited two individuals who had won the honorary title “the People’s Hero”, two members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, more than 20 leading figures and over 40 experts in the field to the "City of Heroes", Wuhan, to address the worldwide challenges of dementia and depression and the countermeasures available in TCM. Zeng Yan, a professor at the School of Medicine of WUST, hosted the opening ceremony.

Prof. Ni Hongwei, president of WUST, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of the organizer at the opening ceremony and expressed his sincere hope that the conference would be an opportunity to promote scientific decision making and forward-looking planning of TCM brain science research in China and establish an important platform for TCM brain science research.

Prof. Zhang Dingyu, the People’s Hero and deputy director of the Commission of Hubei Province, appointed a special person to deliver a speech, in which he hoped that the two national strategies of TCM development and brain science could be combined to vigorously improve the prevention and treatment of brain diseases.

Prof. Wu Qingming, dean of the School of Medicine of WUST, and Prof. Chen Gang of Jinan University, introduced the School of Medicine of WUST and the Specialist Committee of TCM and Brain Homeostasis Regulation to the attendees respectively, expressing their determination to attract talent and extending their welcome to the guests, experts and scholars of the conference for their attendance.

Prof. Shen Yong from the University of Science and Technology of China, Prof. Kong Lingdong from Nanjing University, and Prof. Li Shao from Tsinghua University gave keynote presentations separately at the conference.

Zhang Boli, the People’s Hero, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, gave a presentation titled Achievements in and Reflections on the Use of TCM in Combating COVID-19, which comprehensively showcased the role of TCM in the prevention and control of COVID-19, and provided experience and wisdom of China for the prevention and control of the pandemic worldwide as a highlight of the Chinese solution for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

Before the conference, Prof. Ni Hongwei met with Academician Zhang Boli, and the students of the School of Medicine of WUST presented flowers and greetings to Academician Zhang Boli.

On April 10, Su Guohui, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration at Jinan University, gave an important presentation titled Research and Development of Non-Pharmaceutical Antidepressant Strategies: From the Preclinical to the Clinical.

The conference also presented awards for outstanding scholars and young scientists of the year, with Prof. You Zili of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China being awarded the honorary title of “Outstanding Scientist of the Year” and Prof. Hu Ji of Shanghai Tech University “Outstanding Young Scientist of the Year”.

The key agenda of this conference was the new progress of TCM in cognitive disorders. The conference lasted for three days, during which more than 60 experts and scholars and more than 400 participants discussed the progress of TCM research in cognitive disorders and brain diseases. The conference saw the interdisciplinary exchange between preclinical medicine and clinical medicine, promoted the process of translating technology into achievements, and facilitated the exchange and collaboration between TCM and brain science research.

The conference was organized by the Specialist Committee on TCM and Brain Homeostasis Regulation of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences, with Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Jinan University and the Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Materia Medica of World Science and Technology as co-organizers of the summit. The conference aimed to promote the integration of research on TCM development and brain science, and to build a high-level research platform for TCM and brain science.

At the Youth Forum on April 8, Hu Feifei and Li Jinquan, young scholars from WUST, gave their keynote presentations respectively.

(Photographers: Fang Bin and Chen Zichuan)