Zhao Zhihong (left), president of Suzhou City University, Mohamad Sawan (center), fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and Michael Levitt, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, attend the launching ceremony of the Life Sciences Research Institute at Suzhou City University. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Suzhou City University launches Life Sciences Research Institute
Nobel laureate Michael Levitt and Canadian academician Mohamad Sawan have joined Suzhou City University in launching a life sciences research institute.
The SCU Life Sciences Research Institute, in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, is expected to become a leading institution in carrying out international cooperation in scientific research and serving the local economy and society, said Zhao Zhihong, president of the university, at the launching ceremony of the institute on Thursday.
Michael Levitt, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks at a seminar. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Both Levitt and Sawan will work with the institute in biomedical science researches.
Levitt, professor of structural biology at Stanford University, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013. He is one of the first computational biologists to conduct molecular simulations of DNA and proteins.
Renowned Canadian academician Mohamad Sawan speaks at a seminar. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Sawan, professor of Electrical Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal in Canada, is fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is the world's pioneer in the application of microelectronics in biomedical science. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and is an owner of more than 10 patents.
Suzhou government plans to build the biopharmaceutical industry into its leading industry. It wants to build the city into a "Chinese medicine valley". The institute's launching ceremony was addressed by Cao Houling, deputy mayor of Suzhou, and Gu Xiaodong, magistrate of the city's Wuzhong district.
