The Joint International Research Laboratory of Reproduction and Development was accredited by the Ministry of Education of China. It is composed of four institutions of CQMU and three British institutions. Professor Yang Zhu, the Vice President of Chongqing Medical University, is the Chinese Director of the Laboratory and Professor Philip Baker, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of College of Life Sciences, Dean of Medicine at the University of Leicester, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, is the British Director of the laboratory.
Chinese institutions are:
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Maternal and Fetal Medicine
Research Center for Reproductive Development and Stem Cell Therapy
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders
Foreign institutions are:
Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, the University of Auckland
College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, the University of Leicester
Townsend Family Laboratories, the University of British Columbia
The Joint International Research Laboratory has tremendous strength in science and technology with a multidisciplinary academic team dedicated to basic and clinical researches for a long time. There are more than 90 researchers in the laboratory, among whom 8 are in the national academic team, 10 are in the provincial or the municipal academic team, 23 with senior professional title, 21with associate senior professional title, 13 are doctoral supervisors and 32 are master supervisors. Moreover, the laboratory has 3 academicians, 2 experts from the "Ten Thousands Talents Program" and 2 experts with the State Council Special Allowances.
The laboratory has made remarkable achievements in scientific research, discipline development, talent cultivation and research platform development. It has undertaken 4 international cooperation projects including projects of Ministry of Science and Technology and National Natural Science Foundation of China, with a total of 26 million yuan of research funds for international cooperation. It has presided over and joined international research projects including three "973" projects, four major projects and 40 projects of National Natural Science Foundation. Researchers in the laboratory has published more than 300 papers in the prestigious journals including Nature, Science, Nature Genetics, Lancet and BMJ, among which 32 papers are completed by international cooperation.
1. Main Research Fields
(1) Study on female reproduction
(2) Epigenetics of embryonic pluripotency lineage differentiation
(3) Intrauterine programming and epigenetic study on fetus
(4) Molecular pathology of major pregnancy diseases
(5) Screening and prevention of major birth defects
2. Research site, equipment and facilities
The laboratory has a fixed experimental site of 2000 square meters and its experimental equipment worth more than 25 million yuan, which takes the lead in China’s research institutions of reproductive biology, embryo development and maternal-fetal medicine.
3. Important events
(1) In June 2010, Chongqing Medical University and the University of British Columbia (UBC) reached a strategic cooperation agreement. Under the agreement, the two universities establish the Canada-China Joint Center for Translational Medical Research in Child Development and Alzheimer’s Disease and Key Laboratory of Translational Medical Research in Cognitive Development and Learning and Memory Disorders with the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University as the base. This introduced several world-leading scientists from Centre for Brain Health of UBC, including Wang Yutian, Fellow of the Academy of Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada and Song Weihong, one of the leading researchers on Alzheimer’s disease in Canada.
(2) Annual Meeting of International Pregnancy Research Alliance (2015)
Annual Meeting of International Pregnancy Research Alliance (2013-2015)
(3) Alistair Crozier, Consul General of the Consulate General of New Zealand in Chengdu, visited CQMU and talked with Professor Philip Baker (December 3, 2014)
(4) Chongqing Medical University and the University of Auckland signed a cooperation agreement on CLIMB program.Chongqing Medical University and the University of Auckland signed a research collaboration agreement to jointly undertake the research program "pregnant women fat intake nutrition intervention study" (climb). The program obtained research funds of 10 million yuan.
(5) In 2016, the joint laboratory was approved as "National Base for Innovation and Talent Introduction in Maternal and Fetal Medicine (Plan 111)" by Ministry of Education and State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of China.
(Plan 111 International Collaborative Innovation Symposium of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (2017, 2018, 2019)
(6) Mr. Huang Qifan, the former mayor of Chongqing, presented the "Chongqing Friendship Award" to Professor Philip Baker (April. 10, 2015)
(7) Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences visited Laboratory of Reproductive Biology and gave a report. (June. 26, 2018)
(8) Professor Seang Lin Tan, member in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologiststs (RCOG), the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), founding Director of Reproductive Medicine Center of McGill University (Canada), visited the Research Center of Reproductive Development and Stem Cell Therapy Engineering Technology and was employed as visiting professor of CQMU (April 12, 2018)
(9) Mr. Udo R. Markert, former president of American Society for Reproductive Immunology, professor of University of Jena, Germany, visited the Research Center of Reproductive Development and Stem Cell Therapy Engineering Technology and was employed as visiting professor of CQMU (July 3, 2018)
(10) Dr. Zhang Jin, founder of New Hope Fertility Center (United States) visited the Research Center of Reproductive Development and Stem Cell Therapy Engineering Technology. (May 6, 2019)
(11) Ian Frazer, inventor of cervical cancer vaccine, chairman of the Australian Cancer Society and nominee of Nobel Prize in medicine, visited the Research Center of Reproductive Development and Stem Cell Therapy Engineering Technology (May. 16, 2019)
