Suzhou City University launches Life Sciences Research Institute

Nobel laureate Michael Levitt and Canadian academician Mohamad Sawan have joined Suzhou City University in launching a life sciences research institute.

The SCU Life Sciences Research Institute, in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, is expected to become a leading institution in carrying out international cooperation in scientific research and serving the local economy and society, said Zhao Zhihong, president of the university, at the launching ceremony of the institute on Thursday.

Both Levitt and Sawan will work with the institute in biomedical science researches.

Levitt, professor of structural biology at Stanford University, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013. He is one of the first computational biologists to conduct molecular simulations of DNA and proteins.

Sawan, professor of Electrical Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal in Canada, is fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is the world's pioneer in the application of microelectronics in biomedical science. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and is an owner of more than 10 patents.

Suzhou government plans to build the biopharmaceutical industry into its leading industry. It wants to build the city into a "Chinese medicine valley".