On the afternoon of October 19, the Chia Family Foundation Health Fellowship Program Application and Achievements Presentation Meeting, co-hosted by the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange and the Department of Nursing, was held in the meeting room at the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Zhu Liyong, vice president of the hospital, and six Chia Fellows including Yan Jin, director of the department of nursing, Liu Xinchun, director of the office of international cooperation and exchange, Liu Jia, head nurse of the department of transplant surgery, Xie Jianfei, deputy director of the department of nursing, Yan Chunli, head nurse of the department of oncology, Zheng Feng, head nurse of the department of cardiovascular medicine, attended the meeting, while another Chia Fellow, Qin Chunxiang, head nurse of the health management center, made a brief report via WeChat. The meeting was presided by Liu Xinchun.

Director Liu Xinchun started with an introduction of the close ties between “Xiangya” and Yale-China Association and the Chia Family Foundation Health Fellowship Program of the Yale-China Association. She stated that the relationship between “Xiangya” and Yale-China Association can be traced back to a century ago. Yale-China Association was established in 1901. The two Chinese characters in its Chinese name “Ya” and “Li” comes from The Analects of Confucius. Since 1901, the Yale-China community has been devoted to bridging the two countries through respectful service on education, medical service and cultural exchanges. In 1906, Yale-China Association built Yali Clinic (the Xiangya Hospital at present) in Changsha. In 1914, entrusted by the Government of Hunan Province, Yale-China Association and Hunan Yuqun Academy jointly set up the first medical institution of higher education, Xiangya Medical College (now the Xiangya School of Medicine). “Xiang” is the abbreviation of Hunan province and “Ya” refers to Yale-China Association. The Chia Family Foundation Health Fellowship Program (Chia Fellowship in short) of the Yale-China Association is a health program funded by the Chia Family Foundation and established by the Yale-China Association at Central South University. It seeks to improve the health outcomes of local people in Hunan Province through supporting research and interventions by promoting the role of early- to mid-career Chinese women in nursing and other health professions. Every year, two fellows will be selected to improve their studies at Yale University for six months and then to conduct their field research upon returning to China. Since 1999, there are seven female health professionals obtained the Chia Fellowship in the Third Xiangya Hospital.

Vice President Zhu shared his own experience as a visiting scholar at Yale to motivate female health professionals working in the hospital. He pointed out that Yale University is a top research university in the world, he said “It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. The Chia Fellowship provides opportunities for female professionals to further their studies at Yale, and the seven previous Chia Fellows have now grown into backbone talents of the hospital not only in clinical care, but also in hospital management and scientific research. I hope that our new applicants can learn the precious experience from them and fully understand the evaluation criteria of Chia Fellowship through this meeting, so as to obtain a good application results based on earnest proposal preparation and outstanding performance during the interviewing.”

Chia Fellows Liu Jia, Xie Jianfei, Yan Chunli and Zheng Feng made their reports from three aspects: project application, learning experience at Yale and achievements after returning to the hospital. The four unanimously affirmed the advanced idea and top-notch teaching resource of Yale, and suggested that applicants should read the requirements of the Chia Announcement of 2023 meticulously, stick to the theme and combine with their own advantages and expertise practically. They emphasized that we should all have the courage to face challenges and the tenacity to persevere when doing scientific research. Looking back on their own growing, the fellows said affectionately that the invaluable learning opportunity given by the Chia Fellowship Program not only allowed them to receive cutting-edge rigorous scientific training, but more importantly, it has opened them up to international perspectives, upgraded their understanding of the world and culture, and cultivated their wisdom and vision. They all expressed the gratitude to the Yale-China Association, the Chia Family Foundation, Yale University, and the Third Xiangya Hospital as well. Chia Fellow Liu Jia said emotionally that people who have studied abroad will better understand the importance of a strong homeland and will have deeper love for their country. Chia Fellow Xie Jianfei, who is currently fighting the pandemic in Xinjiang Province, attended the meeting online. During the interaction session, Chia Fellows answered the questions from the participants kindly and patiently. The atmosphere was very warm. Attendees all said that this meeting has pointed out the direction for the application of the program and strengthened their confidence to apply.