On September 24, the “2025 Teaching and Nurturing & Research Innovation Commendation Conference and Autumn Semester Meeting” was held at the Chen Ruiqiu Building Lecture Hall on the Minhang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). The “Teaching and Nurturing Award” and the “Research Achievement Award”, the university’s highest honors, recognize outstanding faculty and medical staff who have made significant contributions to education and research and serve as exemplary role models. Professor Bing Suwith the School of Medicine received the First Prize of the “Teaching and Nurturing Award” and delivered a speech on behalf of the award-winning teachers.
Professor Su, a distinguished scholar, PhD supervisor, and tier-two professor, currently serves asthe academic leader and director of the Shanghai Institute of Immunology; head of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the College of Basic Medical Sciences, SJTUSM; director and chiefscientist of theCenter for Immune-Related Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Ruijin Hospital;and director of the SJTUSM-Yale Institute for Immune Metabolism. He also holds the Wang Kuancheng Endowed Professorship at SJTU, serves as a visiting professor at the Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine,and as a visiting professor and doctoral supervisor at Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, as well as Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In addition, he is the director of the International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and an expertin both the National and Shanghai High-Level Talent Programs.
Academic Leadership: Advancing Immunology in China
After earning international recognition at Yale, Professor Su returned to China in 2012 as a national high-level talent recruit to lead the Shanghai Institute of Immunology and the Department of Immunology and Microbiology. Over the past decade, he has played a pivotal role in building a world-class immunology discipline. He recruited more than 30 outstanding young scientists from leading global laboratories, fostering a vibrant international research team. To honor the legacy of earlier generations of Chinese immunologists, he launched the Yu He program series—including forums, fellowships, and scholarships—that has nurtured a new generation of research leaders now active across academic institutions, biomedical enterprises, and clinical hospitals worldwide. Under his leadership, the institute has emerged as both a premier national teaching and research hub and an internationally renowned center for immunology.
Breakthrough Research: Original Contributions in Immunology
As a leading national expert in immunology, Professor Su has pursued deep scientific inquiry into the regulatory mechanisms of MAPK and mTOR signaling pathways in stromal cells, macrophages, T cells, and innate lymphoid cells in the gut. His team has produced numerous groundbreaking findings, publishing over 160 papers in top journals such as Nature,Cell,Nature Genetics,Nature Immunology,Immunity,Molecular Cell, andEMBO Journal, with more than 20,000 citations. Notable recent publications as corresponding author include Nature Communications (2022), Nature (2021), Cell (2021), EMBO Journal (2020), Immunity (2024), and Cell Discovery (2024).
As a project leader, he has received multiple national and local research grants, including the Ministry of Science and Technology Key R&D Program (as chief scientist and principal investigator), the National Natural Science Foundation’s Innovative Research Group (Category A, core member), and the Basic and Clinical Research Program (co–principal investigator), while also securing international collaborative research grants.
Excellence in Teaching: Fostering Future Leaders in Medicine
In addition to his numerous scientific achievements, Professor Su has placed great emphasis on cultivating international perspectives in talent development, making outstanding contributions to education in fundamental immunology at the School of Medicine. Embracing the philosophy of “integrating research with teaching and nurturing through collaboration”, he pioneered an educational model that transforms research momentum into teaching innovation. His course Fundamentals and Advances in Immunology was recognized as one of the first national first-class undergraduate courses. As a core member, he also contributed to the development of Body Defense and Immunity, which won second prize in the“Third National Teaching Innovation Competition for University Faculty” and the grand prize in the“Third Shanghai Teaching Innovation Competition”.
He also created the Principle of Immunology (Zhiyuan College Honors Course), drawing inspiration from Yale’s seminar-style teaching and Stanford’s interdisciplinary approach. The course blends lectures on immunology fundamentals with critical reading of classic literature and discussions of cutting-edge fields such as tumor and mucosal immunity and single-cell technologies. Co-taught by leading international experts, including Yinon Ben-Neriah, Tobby Lawrence, Florent Ginhoux, Chen Dong, and Zeming Zhang, the course offers an immersive, globally oriented teaching experience. In addition, Professor Su introduced Introduction to Research (a featured course of the Institute of Immunology) and founded the Research in Progress forum series to foster an academic atmosphere and broaden students’ global perspectives, laying a solid foundation for developing high-caliber medical talent with international competitiveness.
Words to Inspire
“Teaching is about guiding and growing together with students through example.”
“The sea of knowledge has no end; nurturing talent leads to endless discovery.”
“Life is short; seize every moment to embrace the wonders of science.”
