CNLN News (Oct. 10, 2005)

Dutch-Chinese Life Science Forum 2005 held successfully in Groningen

The third Dutch-Chinese Life Sciences Forum was held successfully at University Medical Center of Groningen (UMCG) during October 7 and 8, 2005. The meeting received 130 participants during two-day programs with 14 invited lectures in addition of poster presentations and many abstracts.

The series of forums were initiated by Chinese Network of Life Sciences in the Netherlands (CNLN) and co-organized by CNLN with Wageningen University in 2003, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in 2004 and UMCG this year.

Dr. Y. Liao, chairman of the organizing committee and a managing co-coordinator of CNLN, announced the opening of the forum and introduced briefly the CNLN and the forum organization. Prof. F. Zwarts, rector magnificus of University of Groningen and Prof. S. Poppema, dean of UMCG both delivered the welcome speeches with warm greetings. Prof. G. Tong, first secretary Education of Embassy of P. R. China in the Netherlands, addressed on behalf of Chinese Ambassador, expressed the greeting to the forum and his willingness to explore a fruitful cooperation on education and research between China and the Netherlands.

Among the invited keynote speakers, Prof. H. Wang, director general of China National Center for Biotechnology Development, summarized the developments and strategies of the so-called “4B” in China – Biotechnology, Bioindustry, Bio-economy and Biosafety. Prof. L. Dijkhuizen, scientific director of Groningen Genomics Center outlined the developments in genomics and proteomics research. Dr. J. Cheng, a professor of Tsinghua University and CEO of CapitalBio, introduced the very remarkable development of biochip technology in China. He delivered an important message that China can produce not only cost-efficient but also innovative products. Prof. G. Robillard, a distinguished member of KNAW and CEO Biomade presented the perspective of medical application of Nanotechnology.

Several prominent scientists in Groningen were also invited to give their distinguished lectures. The forum participants discussed diverse issues covering a wide range of life science fields, specifically in manipulation and regulation of apoptosis in human or cell death in plant, biomedical science, drug research and discovery, Chinese traditional medicines and bioinformatics etc. The enthusiasm of the speakers and the audience was contagious and all sessions with perspective topics were rewarding for all attendants. After attending and co-chairing the meeting, Prof. S. Poppema is very impressed by the well-organized program and highly praised the success of the forum.

It was appreciated very much that University of Groningen via UMCG, Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW), the Embassy of P.R. China in the Netherlands, BioMedCity Groningen and Axon Biochemicals BV provided financial sponsorships and support.

The mission of the forum is to provide a scientific platform for Dutch and Chinese professionals in life science fields to share new insights, to provide extensive updates on the recent developments and to stimulate the communication and collaborations between scientists and organizations in two countries. Encouraged by the success of the forums organized, CNLN is going to organize the next forum in Utrecht.

For more information of CNLN and the Dutch-Chinese Life Science forum, please read at www.hybtech.org/cnln.htm.

(Reported by J. Fu and D. Wang in Groningen)