In 1955, when the Department of Basic Medical Sciences (the predecessor of the School of Basic Medical Sciences) was established, more than 20 well-known professors, including Yu He, Pan Rusun, Tong Zhileng, Zhang Hongde, Fan Chengjie, Feng Gu, Deng Yulan, Xie Daren, Ge Huaicheng, Shen Dinghong, Chen Bangxian, Ding Ting, Zhang Huizhu, Zhang Dexin, Yu Xin’en, Wu Yunrui, and a galaxy of teachers and technicians who loved teaching worked hard together to establish many teaching and research offices of Basic Medical Sciences, prepare various practical teaching materials, and open several teaching laboratories in a very short period of time, to get basic medicine teaching soon on track.

In the early 1960s, in addition to teaching, the Department of Basic Medical Sciences also vigorously carried out scientific research, mobilized young teachers to apply for graduate schools, and organized research work for faculty members on campus. The new building on the West Campus was then named the Research Building (the current Building No. 3). Young and middle-aged teachers were trained in practice and developed in accomplishing tasks. However, the turbulence of the Cultural Revolution led to the suspension of classes, the disruption of scientific research, and the campus becoming a battlefield of class struggle. The teaching, scientific research and discipline construction of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences were seriously affected, and the development of Basic Medical Sciences was badly damaged. However, even under such difficult circumstances, the faculty and staff of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences still overcame all difficulties and completed the teaching tasks of six classes of workers and peasants since 1970.

After the Cultural Revolution concluded, under the leadership of senior professors such as Wang Zhenyi, Lu Deyuan, Jin Zhengjun, Shi Kuixiong, Shi Bingzhang, Guo Shuyan, Chen Zenai, Chen Renbiao, Xie Wenying, Wu Jinbao, Xia Zongqin, etc., the teaching and research offices of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences soon regained its vitality. Wang Yifei, Tang Xueming, Chen Shishu, Xu Youqiu, Ma Baoli, Zhou Guangyan, Xu Yailu, Qian Zongli and other young and middle-aged teachers were sent abroad to study and work, and they brought new impetus to the development of Basic Medical Sciences after returning home. With their help and the concerted efforts of all the faculty members, the teaching, research and discipline construction of the School of Basic Medical Sciences developed smoothly. In the mid-1980s, the first group of young and middle-aged teachers who went abroad returned to China one after another and became the leaders or backbone of each teaching and research office, and all of them were planning and carrying out scientific research, which led to an unprecedented sound situation in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. The Department of Basic Medical Sciences attached great importance to the construction of frontier disciplines, formulated the development strategy of giving priority to the development of frontier disciplines such as cell biology, molecular biology and immunology, built key disciplines, and developed Basic Medical Sciences through the construction of discipline clusters, so that each discipline of Basic Medical Sciences could explore the cell and molecular biology, the frontier disciplines and clinical disciplines could be combined, and the unique disciplinary advantages of Shanghai Second Medical University could be formed. The Department of Basic Medical Sciences has since then embarked on a path of rapid development.

In May 1989, the School of Basic Medical Sciences was established on the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. In the decade since then, with the development of the economy and the rapid growth in national and Shanghai investments, the School of Basic Medical Sciences had entered a period of development in which teaching and scientific research were given equal importance. In terms of teaching, a set of stable teaching systems were established for multiple academic systems and disciplines, and the teaching reform to reduce the pressure on medical students' curriculum and improve the quality of teaching was also explored. In terms of scientific research, it showed that all disciplines had attached great importance to research, and research projects and research achievements were rapidly increasing. The construction of key disciplines, key laboratories, and the 211 projects greatly improved the teaching and research conditions of the School of Basic Medical Sciences. In terms of the improvement of talents, in line with the needs of discipline construction, the faculty team was optimized to adapt to the development of Basic Medical Sciences, thereby improving work efficiency. In addition, the introduction and training of outstanding talents have made the faculty of the School of Basic Medical Sciences more competitive and laid the foundation for the School of Basic Medical Sciences to take off in the 21st century

In 2005, the strong merger of Shanghai Second Medical University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University brought new opportunities and greater development potential to the School of Basic Medical Sciences. Under the leadership of professors Chen Guoqiang, Lu Yang, Chen Hongzhuan, Xu Tianle and a new generation of discipline leaders, the School of Basic Medical Sciences was keeping moving forward to achieve higher goals with a new outlook. With the support of the 985 projects of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the School Of Medical Sciences And Research was established to coordinate the research work of all institutes and key laboratories of the School of Basic Medical Sciences. Various supporting technical platforms were established, outstanding talents were introduced and trained, and multi-level academic activities were planned to encourage a positive academic atmosphere, so that the scientific research of the School of Basic Medical Sciences could be further improved, reach a higher level, and make a new leap.

Looking back on the development of more than half a century, the School of Basic Medical Sciences has gone through all the vicissitudes and made numerous remarkable achievements, and the development of the School of Basic Medical Sciences to this day is the result of the unremitting efforts of several generations of people. The School of Basic Medical Sciences is sure to embrace a brighter future.