Research News----Shanghai Institute of Material Medical Chinese Academy of Sciences

SIMM Held the 2nd URSWAP Seminar in Shanghai, December, 2024

From December 12 to 14, 2024, the 2024 Seminar of UNESCO Regional Network of Natural Products Chemistry for Safety and Well-being in Pan-Asia and the Pacific (URSWAP) was held at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The seminar was organized by SIMM with supports from UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, Bureau of International Cooperation of CAS, Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology, and other organizations. More than 60 experts, scholars and young scientists from 16 countries and regions attended the seminar, including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR, China, Macao SAR, China, and Mainland China.

Prof. YE Yang, deputy director-general of SIMM, chaired the seminar. Prof. ZHAO Qiang, deputy director-general of SIMM, Dr. SUGIURA Ai, head of Natural Sciences Unit of UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, Dr. WANG Dongyao, deputy director, Division of International Organization Programs of Bureau of International Cooperation of CAS, and Mr. ZHAO Quan, director of Department of Science and Technology Cooperation of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, made opening remarks at the seminar.

The seminar contained 29 diverse presentations, covering new progresses in areas such as synthesis, biosynthesis and synthetic biology, isolation and structural elucidation, bioactivity screening and pharmacology, metabolomics of bioactive natural products, and ethnobotanics.

Profs. LIAO Cangsong, WU Wanying, ZHANG Haiyan and CHEN Hao from SIMM, presented on various cutting-edge topics, showcasing SIMM's latest progresses in natural products research. Their topics included “Enzyme Engineering in the Biosynthesis of Natural Products”, “Construction and Application of the Integrated Quality Control System for Traditional Chinese Medicine”, “A Novel Natural Product Derivative PDPOB with Promising Efficacy on Brain Ischemic Injury with Potent Activation on Nrf2 Signaling” and “In Vivo Imaging for Animal Model Phenotype-based Drug Rapid Screening”.

The seminar is an important event in revitalizing and expanding traditional academic exchange network. It also plays a positive role in promoting scientific cooperation in natural products chemistry across Pan-Asia and the Pacific. It can contribute to the sustainable and high-quality economic and social development of countries and promote the implementation of major scientific and technological cooperation programs.