NEWS-Nankai University (Correspondent: Zhao Nan) To advance antiviral and infection research and promote international academic exchange and cooperation, an international seminar on the mechanisms and control strategies of pathogenic microbial infection, hosted by the College of Pharmacy and the Antiviral Drugs Research Center, NKU, was held in the lecture hall of the College of Pharmacy from December 13 to 14. Relying on "the Research on Pathogenic Microbial Infection Mechanisms and Control Strategies" Talent Recruitment Base of the Ministry of Education, and with the theme of mechanisms and control strategies of virus, pathogen, and pathogenic microorganism infection, the seminar aims at building a platform for domestic and foreign experts and scholars in the field of viruses and infections to exchange ideas and share the latest research achievements.
The Chairman of the seminar and the dean of the College of Pharmacy, extended a warm welcome and expressed sincere gratitude to the attending experts, scholars, and guests. He pointed out that the College of Pharmacy, NKU, has always been committed to promoting scientific innovation and academic exchanges in antiviral and infection, carrying out systematic research work for combating viruses and infection, providing solutions for scientific issues and research hotspots of major public health diseases, laying a scientific foundation for the development of specific and efficient preventive and diagnostic drugs, and escorting the national strategy of "the Belt and Road Initiative" in biomedicine and human health.
Experts and scholars attending the seminar were from universities and research institutions at home and abroad, including the University of Liverpool, University of Massachusetts, University of Missouri, Wuhan Institute of Virology, CAS, and College of Life Sciences and College of Pharmacy, NKU. They shared the latest achievement in the field and gave keynote speeches, such as “IFIH1 is required for type 1 interferon induction by intron-containing RNA expressed from the HIV-1 provirus”, “Anti-viral drug development against SARS-CoV-2”, “A jingmenvirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase structurally resembles the flavivirus counterpart but with different features at the initiation phase”, “Structure-guided Design of Biological Macromolecules”, “Identification of potent human neutralizing antibodies against Nipah virus”, “Research on the long-acting sustained-release delivery system of spherical crystallized antiviral proteins driven by metal coordination”, and “Role of host-viral and co-pathogen interactions in controlling infectious diseases”.
At the seminar, experts, scholars, and attending guests from various fields exchanged and discussed scientific issues related to the mechanisms of invasion, transcription, replication, and release processes of pathogenic microorganisms, their interactions with the host immune system, and the development of therapeutic drugs in key infection steps targeting pathogenic microorganisms. With the in-depth exchange of the latest research achievements in the field of combating infections and viruses and sharing the latest drug research fronts, the new situation of deep cooperation and development among all parties has been expanded, and a new direction for future scientific research has been opened up.
It is reported that the College of Pharmacy has focused on international academic exchange and cooperation for years and adhered to the interdisciplinary characteristics of Pharmacy. Long-term exchanges and cooperation with international peers have become key measures for talent cultivation and scientific research in the College.
