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Academician Gao Fu bravely shoulders national responsibilities and actively promotes the development of China's bioeconomy and bioindustry

 Last Update: 2023-02-03
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The people of the country bravely shoulder the national responsibility and actively promote the development of China's bioeconomy and bioindustry

author

Gao Fu

cite

GAO Fu.
The people of the country bravely shoulder the national responsibility and actively promote the development of China's bioeconomy and bioindustry.
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology, 2022, 38(11): 4012-4018.

Abstract: As a national research institution, the important mission of institutes at all levels of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has always been to care about national affairs, shoulder national responsibilities, always be a national person, stand at the forefront of international scientific development, grasp the scientific and technological issues of major needs in the national social development, lay out the institute and its projects and attract talents
。 From a personal perspective, this paper reviews that after returning to China in 2004 to take over as the director of the Institute of Microbiology, he began to think about the development of industrial biotechnology, laid out the Tianjin R&D center, and after years of efforts, under the leadership and support of the party group of the academy, the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was established and has achieved important results; It also reviewed the original intention and early growth of the institute and the relationship with
the Institute of Microbiology.
By thinking about the relationship between science, technology and engineering (medicine), the path of transformation and application of researchers engaged in basic scientific research is proposed, that is, the 9-layer logical relationship of "idea-hypothesis-experiment-concept-paper-technology-sample-product-commodity", hoping that scientists can make practical work to solve practical problems, and looking forward to the future vision of industrial biotechnology
.

Summary:

On September 24, 2021, Science published online the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology") The team's major breakthrough: the artificial synthesis of starch [1].

This study is the first in the world to initiate de novo synthesis of carbon dioxide to starch, which is a typical 0 to 1 research and a major breakthrough
in basic research.
For a time, the world's major media rushed to report, which attracted great attention from the scientific and technological community and all walks of life! Seeing this news, I was very excited, cheering for the success of Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biology, which made me, the "initiator" of the Institute of Tianjin Industrial Biology, feel extremely gratified, and made me think a lot, remembering all aspects of the layout of Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biology.
.
.
It also makes me think that under the current global challenge of dual carbon and sustainable social development, how to play a better role in biotechnology, how the world can unite to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, what we may need most is to use our brains, put forward more ideas and put them into experimental research
.
All ideas and hypotheses need to be verified and tested by experiments and practices, just as the so-called bold hypothesis, careful verification, adhere to the scientific spirit, bold innovation, in the solution The problem of "stuck neck" is not "stuck in the brain", and innovative ideas are used to guide practice
.

1 The initial idea of establishing the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology

On March 11, 2004, Academician Chen Zhu, then Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "CAS"), was at the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "Institute of Microbiology") On behalf of the party group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, I was appointed as the director of the institute, and he earnestly urged our new leadership team to have an international vision, bear the motherland in mind, do national affairs and national responsibilities, do a good job in the "dream team", innovate and start a business, grasp both basic research and application development, and push the work of the Institute of Microbiology to a new height
.
Previously, the then president Academician Lu Yongxiang came to me to talk alone, asking me to break through the thinking of "small wealth is security" of the Institute of Microbiology, do a good job in all the work of the Institute of Microbiology, and dare to work hard and go to the world
.
In 1999, President Lu's inscription for the Institute of Microbiology was: Microbiology, High Technology, Big Industry
.

Since I became the director, I have earnestly implemented the instructions and instructions of the two leaders, actively participated in the management of the institute, and grasped all the work
.
At the same time, I began to think about the future development
of the Institute of Microbiology.
As a recruit in the Institute of Microbiology (I studied and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States for 13 years and returned to China, worked in Beijing Agricultural University before going abroad, and I am not very familiar with the system of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Microbiology), it is very important to understand the past and familiar with the development history, understand the foundation and professional strengths of the institute, and combine the needs of the international frontier and national development strategy, it is necessary
to plan for the future development of the institute and find a path for development breakthrough.
After full interviews and investigations, we learned about the development history
of the Institute of Microbiology.
At that time, the small space of the Zhongguancun Park, where the Institute of Microbiology was located, and the reality that it was not conducive to fermentation experiments, made me think about the development path
of "microbial high-tech industry".
Although the new site of the Institute of Microbiology was in the Olympic Park at that time The construction of the Tiandi Science Park of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was already on the agenda, but its planning was not conducive to the development of industrial biotechnology, so soon after I took office, I began to think about the expansion
of the institute.

Tianjin has a long history in the field of industrial biotechnology, Tianjin has set up the Institute of Industrial Microbiology, more importantly, the Chinese Academy of Sciences does not have any direction of research in Tianjin, therefore, the establishment of Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology has become our new leadership team (our leadership team includes: Secretary Tan Huarong, Deputy Secretary Wang Dali, Deputy Director Sun Yuqin and Deputy Director Huang Yicun, and later Deputy Director Huang Yicun was transferred and replaced by Deputy Director Ma Shuheng) of the plan
.
On July 29, 2004, he visited Tianjin Science and Technology Commission for the first time, Director Li Jiajun, Deputy Director Zhao Haishan, Director Li Baochun (later Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biology) After receiving us, Director Su Ronghui of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (later Deputy Director of the Bureau of Biology and Deputy Director of the Faculty Bureau) Let's do the research together (Figure 1 shows the minutes of the meeting at that time).

The second time, on August 24, accompanied Vice President Chen Zhu to meet with Li Jiajun of Tianjin Science and Technology Commission; On November 6, he visited the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Commission again; On December 27, the council discussed and decided to carry out two projects in Tianjin The feasibility of establishing a R&D base and a joint center was born.

On March 2, 2005, President Lu inspected the Institute of Microbiology, accompanied by Vice President Chen Zhu and others, pointed out the development model of the Institute of Microbiology: local joint branches, and affirmed our concept of a base in Tianjin
.
Since then, the establishment of a branch or base of the Institute of Microbiology in Tianjin has mentioned the work schedule
.
On the same day, I asked Dean Lu to re-inscribe his inscription for us - "Microorganisms, high technology, big industry
.
" We decided to place Dean Lu's inscription in Taishan Stone at the entrance of the institute (Figure 2), so that all staff, students and people from all walks of life can deeply understand the great role of
small microorganisms.
These 9 words incisively summarize the role of small microorganisms in basic research of life sciences and China's new industrialization road, highlighting the position of
bioeconomy in the comprehensive development of national society 。 I remember that I said in my speech when President Lu inspected at that time: Looking forward to the future, we are full of confidence, under the guidance of the new scientific development concept of "people-oriented, leapfrog innovation, competition and cooperation, and sustainable development", the Institute of Microbiology will play a greater role in establishing a circular economy with "high scientific and technological content, good economic benefits, low resource consumption and less environmental pollution", and gradually become an international first-class research institution
that can make significant contributions to the national strategic development and the world's scientific and technological progress.

Figure 1 Minutes of the first meeting in Tianjin to discuss the establishment of a R&D center (Academician Gao Fu on July 29, 2004)

1 (2004729)

Figure 2 Academician Lu Yongxiang inscribed the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences "Microbiology, High Technology, Big Industry
.
(Located in front of the office building of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

2 “”()

Our proposal to establish the "Tianjin Base" has received strong support from the Party Group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences from the beginning, and Vice President Chen Zhu has patiently and meticulously guided and strongly promoted
.
It is precisely in order to better promote Tianjin-related work, our leadership team also boldly appointed Ma Yanhe as assistant director of the Institute of Microbiology, specifically to assist Tianjin's related work and the layout of industrial biotechnology of the Institute, and established the Tianjin Industrial Biotechnology Base of the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Tianjin R&D Center)
。 After more than a year of preparatory work, on December 25, 2005, the party group of the academy approved the establishment of a college-level institution - Tianjin Industrial Biotechnology R&D Base of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was rebuilt into Tianjin Industrial Biotechnology Research and Development Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007 and renamed Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008 In 2011, Academician Bai Chunli served as the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In 2012, the institute was approved by the Central Institutional Preparation Committee, and Ma Yanhe served as its director in 2012 until today
.
The establishment of Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biology and today's achievements are indeed exciting
.

2 Foundation of Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tianjin R&D Base

The Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biology was established on the basis of the R&D base of the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
.
Microbiology has a long history and is an important national microbiology research institution established after the founding of China, with complete disciplines, strong talents and high level, which can be traced back to the 50s of the 20th
century.
As early as 1954, senior leaders and experts of the Chinese Academy of Sciences began to conceive the establishment of the Institute of Microbiology, in 1958 On December 3, the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was formally established, which was formed by the merger of the Institute of Applied Mycology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Beijing Microbiology Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with Academician Dai Fanglan as the director and Academician Fang Xinfang as one of
the deputy directors.
It is the strong scientific research strength of the Institute of Microbiology that 11 researchers have been elected as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is also the first Cell in China (1980) The birthplace of the article[2].

Mr.
Fang Xinfang is a pioneer of industrial (micro) biotechnology in China, and he was the head of the Beijing Applied Microbiology Laboratory when the two institutes merged (Deputy Director), as the deputy director and also the director of the Industrial Microbiology Department, has been leading the industrial microbiology research of the Institute of Microbiology, and continues to lead the development of industrial microbiology research in the country, so that the Institute of Microbiology has maintained lasting innovation vitality
.
Academician Fang Xinfang inherited the tireless spirit of his predecessors and paid great attention to cultivating talents
.
He is also the director of the Culture Collection Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Microbiology has the largest microbial culture repository in Asia, which provides important support
for the development of microbial biotechnology in China.
Looking back at history, in the 80s of the 20th century, the patent of the two-step fermentation method of microorganisms to produce vitamin C once set a single technology transfer fee in China (Transfer to foreign multinational companies) The highest record[3], highlighting the deep accumulation
of microorganisms in the field of industrial biotechnology.
It is precisely with the hard work of Academician Fang Xinfang's generation of scientists that the development of our institute and the establishment
of Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biology have been achieved.
Drink water without forgetting the well diggers, recount the merits and virtues of the ancestors, and inspire future generations
.
In 2007, when I was the director, coinciding with the centenary of the birth of the late Academician Fang Xinfang, we organized a commemorative event and decided to make a sculpture of Fang Xinfang (Figure 3) to commemorate this great pioneer
of industrial biotechnology.

Figure 3 Statue of Academician Fang Xinfang (located in the office building of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

3 ()

Mr.
Fang Xinfang has always insisted on choosing his own research work based on the needs of the country and the people, and his famous saying "The needs of the people are (research) Direction", to this day, this concept has guided the development of the Institute of Microbiology, and thus cultivated the Tianjin Institute
of Industrial Biology.
At present, the Chinese Academy of Sciences puts forward the development concept of "national people, national responsibilities, and national affairs", adheres to the "four aspects" of "facing the international frontier of science and technology, facing the major needs of the country, facing the main economic battlefield, and facing the people's life and health", in the fierce international competition, innovation and creation, aiming at key core technologies and basic scientific problems, solving the "stuck neck" and the "stuck brain" problem behind it [4], boldly hypothesizing and meticulously seeking verification with free scientific thinking, daring to be the first in the world, and creating a precedent for China's industrial biotechnology.
Start a business
with your feet on the ground.
In the fight against the new crown pandemic, the team I led developed the world's first monoclonal antibody drug (Etesevimab)[5], and cooperated with Shanghai Junshi Biomedical Technology Co.
, Ltd.
and Eli Lilly Company of the United States to obtain clinical approval in the United States and Europe, playing an important role in the early treatment of patients in the early stage of the epidemic; At the same time, we cooperated with Anhui Zhifeilong Kema Biopharmaceutical Co.
, Ltd.
to also develop the world's first new crown protein recombinant subvaccine [6-7], which obtained national emergency use approval and conditional marketing, and was widely used in China, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Colombia
.
This kind of work benefits from Academician Fang Xinfang's teaching that "the needs of the people are the direction
".

3 Seeking differences in science, seeking similarity in technology, and seeking perfection in engineering

The work of the Institute of Microbiology and shuttling between scientific research and management over the years made me always think [8], what kind of work should be done by the research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and even the national colleges and universities, whether scientific problem-oriented or national demand-oriented, which made me think further about science, technology and engineering (Medicine) relationship
.
In fact, scientific problems and national needs are not contradictory, aiming at the problems that need to be solved in China's social development, some are technical, that is, advanced developed countries have gone ahead, we "follow" that is, technological improvement problems, and our country's unique and no experience to learn from, or international problems that have not been solved, this is a scientific problem, Chinese scientists should take the initiative to solve, while solving the problem of China's social development needs, It has also made important contributions
to the development of science and technology in the world.
Scientific differentiation, specializing in solving unknown problems, solving is world-class; Technology convergence solves common problems in the process of social development and can learn from the achievements of others, so the technical level is often a problem that needs to be improved; Further integrate the things solved by science and technology, and the one who integrates the masters is the engineering problem and the engineering is complete
.
Medicine is the category of engineering, and the treatment of diseases and saving people and preventive measures are all practical and operable disciplines that integrate scientific and technological achievements, so medicine is not science but higher than science, and it is an effective practice
supported by science.
Therefore, we must have a clear understanding of the problems that need to be faced at the three levels of science, technology and engineering, so that we can make substantive contributions
that are beneficial to social development and environmentally friendly.

Looking back on my nearly 20 years of scientific research back to China, especially the research and development of vaccines, antibodies and drugs in response to the new crown pandemic[9], I feel that a scientist engaged in basic (scientific) research can also make practical solutions Practical work on (technical) issues if there is an industrial sector (engineering) Cooperation will definitely make products and commodities
that solve the problems of national economy and people's livelihood.
Therefore, I suggest that scientists engaged in basic research can do scientific research according to the following 9 levels of ideas (Figure 4):(1) The first is a science-inspired whim/"idea"; (2) With the basic "idea", then it is the bold and free to put forward the "hypothesis"; (3) Design "experiments" based on hypotheses to test ideas and hypotheses; (4) Based on the results of the experiment, we will form a "concept"; (5) For the concept of self-formation needs to be peer reviewed and criticized, this is what we often say that scientists should publish "papers", so that peers around the world, even non-peers, can review reviews on platforms such as scientific journals, if it is a scientific discovery that can withstand the test, it is naturally recognized by everyone; (6) If this discovery has practical value, it can be transformed into "technology", and then "samples" can be made according to this technology; (7) If the sample is optimistic about the market, it can further cooperate with the enterprise, and after being recognized by the regulatory authorities, it will form a "finished product" or "product"; (8) Entering the market, participating in competition, survival of the fittest, and ultimately relying on the winner, will naturally become a "commodity" that serves society and benefits mankind; (9) "Commodities" are "people's needs" that can withstand fierce competition, some of which will endure, and some of which may be replaced over time, thus returning to the logical chain
of the beginning of a new "idea".

Figure 4 Recommended ideas for basic scientific research and technology development

4 The bioeconomy benefits humanity

Looking to the future, we are full of confidence
.
What is the future of industrial biotechnology? What role it can play in the face of the many problems facing human development always makes us think deeply
.
Since entering the 21st century, we have always had unlimited expectations for industrial biotechnology, biotechnology (biotechnology, BT) and information technology (IT) It is regarded by humans as the two major technologies leading the development of society in the 21st century, especially in recent years, due to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning learning) The rapid development and wide application of drug design, intelligent medical care, big data application, etc.
, have greatly promoted the scientific development and technological progress
in agriculture, medicine, energy, food and health and other fields.
Counting the achievements of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and Chemistry in recent years, many of them are inseparable from applied technology, and the zero distance between science and technology and engineering applications provides us with infinite reverie.
.
.
The application of industrial biotechnology is speeding up to catch up with the pace of scientific research and development, the power of science and technology is being converted into real money productivity, and biotechnology and bioeconomy will bring infinite beauty
to mankind.

Gao Fu

He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a foreign academician of the National Academy of Sciences, a foreign academician of the Royal Society, an academician of the German National Academy of Sciences, and a foreign academician
of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

He is currently the deputy director of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the chairman of the Chinese Society of Bioengineering, the vice president of the Chinese Medical Association, and the director of the Academic Committee of the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences.
He used to be the director of the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the director of the
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
He is mainly engaged in the research of cross-host transmission of pathogenic microorganisms, infection mechanism and host cell immunity, antiviral methods, as well as public health policy and global health strategy, providing important support
for the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases.
He has won the Basic Medicine Award and Speech Award of the Third World Academy of Sciences, the Nikkei Asian Prize in Japan, the "Gamaleya Medal" in Russia, the Outstanding Chinese Scholar in the Centenary of the University of Hong Kong, China, the Qiushi Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievement Collective Award, and the Special Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award
.

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