On May 7, Sir Martin J. Evans, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and former Chancellor of Cardiff University (U.K.), along with his six-member delegation,was invited tovisit Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. They were warmly received by Prof. Chen Xiang, Executive Vice President of Central South University and Dean of Xiangya School of Medicine, and Prof. Zhang Xin, Secretary of the CPC Committee of Xiangya Hospital.

Accompanied by Executive Vice President Chen Xiang and Huang Zhijun, Deputy Dean of Xiangya School of Medicine, Sir Evans and his delegation first visited Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis and Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease. They acquired a detailed understanding of the development history and current research directions of the Dermatology Department of Xiangya Hospital through communicating with Prof. Peng Cong, Prof. Liu Hong, both deputy directors of the laboratory, and other team members. Previously, Sir Evans also attended the Academic Conference for the Centennial Anniversary of the Dermatology Department of Xiangya Hospital and the Launching Ceremony of the Dermatology and Immunology Center (Dermatology Hospital) of Xiangya Hospital as invited.

Accompanied by Party Secretary Zhang Xin and Li Xuejun, Director of the Office for International Cooperation and Exchange(OICE), Sir Evans and his delegation then visited the hospital’s Bronze Statue Square and its Historical and Cultural Gallery in the Red Building. Focusing on "A Group of People, A Book, and A Building", OICE Deputy Director Long Chang told the stories of Xiangya’s international DNA and arduous development process.

At the welcome meeting, Party Secretary Zhang Xin introduced the growth of Xiangya Hospital over its 117-year history, and its current position and strengths in China's medical industry. He hoped that this visit would become a good beginning for future exchanges and collaborations.

Sir Evans delivered sincere admiration for Xiangya's long history and its achievements over the past century. He also conveyed his expectation for conducting substantive exchanges and cooperation with Xiangya School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals in the future, with an aim to train more outstanding young scholars and jointly promote the development of new biomedical technologies.

Several young scholars from CSUattended themeeting,including ResearcherChen Chao, Deputy Dean of the School of Life Sciences, Prof. Li Jinchen from Xiangya Hospital, Prof. Sheng Chao from Second Xiangya Hospital, Prof. Cai Jingjing from Third Xiangya Hospital, etc. They had discussions with Sir Evans on cutting-edge scientific issues such as gene editing and stem cell research.

Other members of the delegation included Simon Evans, Chairman Wu Mingyuan, General Manager Liu Yang, and Deputy General Manager for overseas business Yao Nan from Fleurs Matin Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., as well as Co-facilitator and Secretary-General Han Wenxin, and Bao Lei, Dedicated Deputy Secretary-General, from China Clinical Research Community.

Profile of Sir Martin J. Evans:

Sir Martin J. Evans was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1993 and is a founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was awarded the Albert Lasker Medal for Basic Medical Research in 2001 and was knighted in 2004 for his services to medical science. In 2007, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for a series of groundbreaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells in mammals. In 2009, he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine and the Copley Medal of the Royal College of Physicians, the latter of which is the world's oldest award in science, joining an eminent list of previous recipients including Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin.

He had successively served as President and Chancellor of Cardiff University since 2009 until stepping down in 2017 for reasons of age. He has published more than 120 papers in internationally renowned journals, 20 of which have been published in top journals including Nature, Lancet, and Cell.