In July this year, Professor Lai Maode of Faculty of Basic Medicine, Vice-President of Zhejiang University, was elected to the German Academy of Sciences. From September 23 to 25, Professor Lai was invited to attend the General Assembly at the headquarters of the German Academy of Sciences, Halle. German Chancellor Merkel attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote address at the conference.
Professor Lai Maode has been long engaged in studies in tumor pathology, specifically molecular pathology of colorectal cancer. He is a director of Chinese Pathology Society, a member of Editorial Board of Journal of Pathology, Journal of Practical Oncology, Chinese Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology. His major findings include the change of expression of 27 proteins in colorectal cancer decreased expression of mimecan and increased expression of TXNDC5 in colorectal adenomas and cancer based on two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry analysis. This approach can help find biomarkers for early detection of colorectal cancer and targets for future gene therapy.
Originating from Leopoldina Academy established in 1652, German Academy of Sciences boasts a history of more than 350 years. Now it’s composed of more than 1400 academicians in fields including natural science, medicine, social sciences, humanities, etc. The election of academicians calls for recommendation from academicians and screening for several rounds. Currently academicians are from more than 30 countries, of which three-quarters are from the 3 German-speaking countries, namely Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the other quarter from other countries.
Till 2007, there have been 157 Nobel laureates elected to the German Academy of Sciences, including Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Alexander von Humboldt and other world-renowned masters.
Chinese scholars elected to the German Academy of Sciences include Wu Zhongbi (Professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, elected in 1988), Lu Yongxiang (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, elected in 2005), Lu Ke (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, elected in 2005), and Zhang Jie (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, elected in 2007).