Introduction

Research

The International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University (abbreviated as ZJU-IIM) was founded in May 2020. As a core research support and translational platform facilitating medicine-education-research collaboration, cutting-edge interdisciplinary exploration and high-level clinical translation, ZJU-IIM operates under an integrated “Three Institutes, One Entity” framework together with the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and the International School of Medicine, Zhejiang University.

Focused on frontier biomedicine, ZJU-IIM has established eight core functional systems covering medical research, medical technology innovation, medical equipment development, commercialization of research outputs, health industry incubation, medical talent training, scientific and technical services, and medical information dissemination. It aims to become an internationally influential hub for medical innovation and a leading base for translational medicine. Academician Huang Hefeng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences serves as Director.

ZJU-IIM hosts seven specialized medical centers in reproductive medicine, oncology, regeneration and ageing, metabolism, RNA research, genetics, and membrane receptors and brain science. Three shared core platforms are available on-site: the Laboratory Animal Center, Public Experimental Platform and Biobank. ZJU-IIM engages 21 national-level talents, including academicians, National Thousand Talents Program recipients, Yangtze River Distinguished Professors, awardees of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and leading talents under the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program. It also attracts 18 provincial-level talents, such as Zhejiang Kunpeng Program grantees, young top talents from the Zhejiang Ten-Thousand Talents Program, provincial recruitment awardees and senior provincial health professionals. The faculty includes 4 Qiushi Chair Professors, 7 Qiushi Distinguished Professors, 5 Tenured (Associate) Professors, 4 regular-track full professors, 13 ZJU 100 Young Professors (including platform researchers), 29 Distinguished (Associate) Researchers, 49 in-residence postdoctoral researchers and 13 international research fellows.

As one of the first batch of new-type R&D institutions in Zhejiang Province, ZJU-IIM has obtained national-level platforms: the Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation in Reproductive Medicine, the Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation in Cell-Microenvironment Interaction, and a National Postdoctoral Research Station. A series of high-level provincial platforms have also been approved: Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Intelligent Design of RNA Medicines, Zhejiang-Denmark Joint Laboratory for Regenerative and Ageing Medicine, Zhejiang-Sweden Joint Laboratory for Tumour Immunology, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Future Pathology, and Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Fertility Preservation and Promotion.

Driven by unmet clinical needs, ZJU-IIM continuously strengthens research capacity to deliver landmark scientific achievements. Since 2020, its researchers have secured 23 national key and major research projects, among which 5 are lead projects under the National Key Research and Development Program of China and national major science and technology special projects undertaken by ZJU-IIM. Researchers have won 98 grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, including 1 Distinguished Young Scholar project, 2 Excellent Young Scholar projects, 1 Integrated Project and 5 Key Projects. Another 17 Zhejiang Vanguard and Pilot Projects have been approved. Five high-impact studies have been published in Cell, Nature, Science, as well as the four leading general medical journals. Professor Wang Kai’s team received the First Prize of Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award for developing innovative core technologies for precision diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Professor Ying Songmin and Professor Lou Min were awarded the First Prize of Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Award and the First Prize of Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award respectively as first principal investigators.

Looking ahead, rooted in Yiwu while serving Zhejiang, China and the world, ZJU-IIM pursues innovation driven by science and technology. It endeavours to build a full-chain innovation ecosystem integrating basic research, clinical translation, industrial incubation and technological commercialization. ZJU-IIM strives to develop into an internationally oriented hub for health and medical research, a training ground for top-tier medical professionals, and a benchmark platform to translate biomedical discoveries into practical applications.