On the afternoon of October 31st, a PTB’ signing ceremony of the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement (CGI) was held in HZAU. More than 400 people attended, including Professor Zhang Qifa, the Chairman of the Academic Committee of the Lab and Professor Xiong Lizhong, the director of the Lab. All the faculties and some graduate students of the Lab were also present at the meeting. The meeting was presided over by the Executive Deputy Director of the Lab, Professor He Xishu.
Professor Zhang delivered a keynote speech on exploring the concept of “preventive treatment of diseases.” He quoted the saying from Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine), "A sage does not treat diseases that have already occurred, but prevents diseases from occurring. A sage does not quell chaos that has already arisen, but prevents chaos from arising. This is the way." He also shared the wisdom in Tao Te Ching: “People often fail on the verge of success, and if they are always careful, they will not fail easily.” He believes that the concept has a long history in China and is consistent with that in modern medical research. Both advocate early intervention to prevent diseases, aiming for lifelong health. He pointed out that high-sugar foods, such as polished rice and refined flour, are one of the main causes of various health problems in China. Prolonged consumption of large amounts of such food can lead to insulin resistance, causing sub-health and various major diseases. To address this issue, he proposed three suggestions: firstly, optimizing the dietary structure and pursuing a diet that is healthy for both humans and the planet; secondly, adhering to a human-centered strategy for preventing and treating diseases, focusing on health indicators, monitoring the data roundly, evaluating physical situation and correcting unhealthy living habits; thirdly, regulating one’s own genes and establishing personalized genome-precise nutrition and life habits.

Then, with the theme of "Inheritance and Innovation: Further Promoting Organized Research", Professor Xiong reviewed the spirits, missions, development strategies, key tasks, organized research deployment and other conditions of the Lab together with the attendees. Based on the restructuring objectives of the lab, he also introduced each team, different tasks and indicators for performance check in detail. He emphasized that, to become a leading role of the national strategic science and technology force requires all the members to unite and cooperate, and meet the national and regional strategic needs with systematic approaches.
At the meeting, the representative of CGI signed task books with the leaders of ten teams and platforms.
Signing task books is a measure to promote organized research. The Lab has revised the management methods for special funds, improved the regulations for rewarding academic achievements, and organized faculties to practice in industries and bases, thus promoting the close integration of chains of innovation, industry, and talent through various channels. After the meeting, the leaders will organize team members to sign PTB and ensure that everyone has clear research tasks and goals.

Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2023/1101/68244.shtml?bsh_bid=5972899247
Translated by Chen Yuhan
Proofread by Xie Tianwei
Supervised by Wang Xiaoyan