2024-07-18College of Life Sciences has a rich history, originating from the Department of Science at Zhongzhou University in 1924 and the Department of Biology at Pingyuan Teachers College in 1952. It is one of the oldest biology departments in Chinese higher education.
The college offers a diverse range of programs, including undergraduate majors in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Ecology, Bioengineering, and Food Quality and Safety. Master’s degree programs are available in Biology and Ecology, as well as professional programs in Biological and Medical Sciences, Agronomy and Seed Industry, and Food Processing and Safety. The school also offers a doctoral program in Biology and hosts a post-doctoral research station. The Biological Science major is nationally recognized as a top-tier program, while the Biotechnology major is striving to meet international standards and holds a national and provincial high-quality ranking, which is one of the B+ majors at Henan province in 2023. The Ecology major is considered a top-tier one within Henan Province.
The college’s research focuses on various areas such as animal resources, plant diversity, microorganisms, cell regulation, modern agriculture, environmental biology, and biomedical sciences. In the last five years, the school has been successful in securing over 300 national and provincial projects, publishing over 1000 papers (with nearly 600 in SCI journals), and receiving numerous awards and patents.
The college possesses a strong faculty with over 180 staff members, including more than 40 professors and 50 associate professors. Its high-level talent team is well-structured with 1 dual-appointed academician, 2 distinguished professors for exceptional talents, 3 recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and 5 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’Hundred Talents Program. Additionally, it has one National Huang Danian style teacher team in universities, two model national teachers, two master teachers of Henan Province, six outstanding teachers from Henan, three recipients of the Cen Zhanxi Fund, and four distinguished experts from Henan Province.
Cooperation demands of the College of Life Sciences
Team Name：Innovation Team for Cultivation and Comprehensive Development and Utilization of New Varieties of Daodi Medicinal Materials
Introduction of the TeamThe team focuses on the evaluation and innovation of germplasm of Daodi medicinal material resources, the cultivation of new varieties, efficient ecological planting technology, the study of disease resistance molecular mechanisms, the regulation of biosynthesis of functional substances, and the development of functional products. The team has achieved significant progress in the research of Daodi medicinal materials such as chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, yam, prepared rehmannia, and gleditsia sinensis. Over the past five years, team members have led 25 projects at all levels and received 7.33 million yuan in funding from organizations like National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Science and Technology, etc. We have established 10 Daodi medicinal material research bases, published 25 papers in famous journals such as Horticulture Research and BMC Genomics, and won many awards for their technological progress and research contributions. Additionally, the team has successfully developed 16 provincial new varieties, with 6 obtaining national new variety rights and obtained innovative patents. The promotion and sales of new varieties of Daodi medicinal materials, along with key technologies of the entire industrial chain, and cooperation with enterprises to develop functional products, have generated substantial economic, social and environmental benefits. These efforts are of great importance in increasing farmers’ income, promoting rural development, and contributing to rural revitalization.
Research Focus
Evaluation and Germplasm Innovation of Daodi Medicinal Material Resources
Disease Resistance Molecular Mechanisms of Daodi Medicinal Materials
Biosynthetic Regulation Mechanisms of Functional Compounds in Daodi Medicinal Materials
Breeding and Propagation Technologies for New Varieties of Daodi Medicinal Materials
High-Efficiency Ecological and Intelligent Cultivation Techniques of Daodi Medicinal Materials
Research and Development of Functional Products from Daodi Medicinal Materials
Needs for International Cooperation
Innovative breeding techniques for new varieties of Daodi Medicinal Materials
Mining technology for key and specific functional components in Daodi Medicinal Materials
The establishment of extraction process for key and specific functional components in Daodi Medicinal Materials
Regulation of the biosynthesis of key and specific functional components in Daodi Medicinal Materials
Key technologies for the integrated development and utilization of Daodi Medicinal Materials
Team Name：Chinese Freshwater Planarian Research Team
Introduction of the Team
Established in 1999 under the leadership of Professor Chen Guangwen, the team is comprised of more than 40 members, including professors, doctoral supervisors, post-doctors, doctoral candidates, and postgraduates. Freshwater planarians, which belong to the phylum Platyhelminthes and class Turbellaria, are considered the earliest bilaterally symmetric animals with a mesoderm in the history of animal evolution, making them invaluable for studying animal origins and evolution. Due to their impressive ability to regenerate, planarians have been a major focus in regenerative and developmental biology research. The team has engaged in comprehensive research on freshwater planarians in China, covering areas such as “taxonomy and biogeography”, “ecology and evolution”, “development and regeneration”, as well as “biochemistry and toxicology”. Until now, the team has successfully led and completed 12 projects funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, including 9 major projects, and has published over 100 SCI papers. By identifying and naming new species of freshwater planarians, the team has significantly enriched China’s freshwater planarian resource database, establishing themselves as the foremost research and specimen collection center for triclad planarians in China. Their contributions are acknowledged in China’s Discipline Development Strategy: Regenerative Medicine, written by Academician Wu Zuze and others. Team members have been invited to participate in important initiatives such as the Chinese Committee for Zoological Nomenclature and have contributed to the compilation of significant works including Zoological Nomenclature, China Species Red List - Volumes 1 and 3, and Encyclopedia of China.
Research Focus
1. Taxonomy, phylogenetic evolution, and biogeography of Chinese freshwater planarians.
2. Regulation of stem cells and tissue regeneration mechanisms in freshwater planarians.
3. Ecotoxicology of freshwater planarians.
Needs for International Cooperation
1. Taxonomy sample and data sharing of Freshwater planarian
2. Mitochondrial genome and simplified genome data analysis
3. High-throughput sequencing and data mining, bioinformatics analysis platform construction
4. Development and application of planarian-specific antibodies
5. Isolation and in vitro cultivation of planarian stem cells
6. Key regulatory pathways in stem cells
