In his speech marking the 1000 day countdown to the hospital’s founding centenary, President Zhao Yupei said: “PUMCH shall establish a science-technology innovation system and, facing world frontiers and national needs, be an originating place of new technologies, new concepts and new ideas.” With hospital-wide efforts last year saw many achievements in this regard.

1 more national clinical research center, 2 more CAMS key labs

Our Immune Diseases National Clinical Medicine Research Center, upon joint application by our Department of Immunology and Rheumatology and Department of Allergic Reaction, was approved to be one of the state’s fourth batch of clinical medicine research centers. “CAMS Intestinal Microflora Clinical & Translational Research Key Lab” and “CAMS Fundus Diseases Key Lab” were elected into the list of 2018 CAMS key labs.

That left PUMCH with 3 national research platforms, 10 provincial key labs, 1 Beijing clinical research quality promotion center, 9 college-level research centers and key labs, which work together to construct an innovation network.

A record in successful bidding in research projects

In 2018, Bao Xinjie from Neurosurgery won the bid of stem cell program in the 13th Five-year Plan key research projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology. A China-US sci-tech cooperation project, whose application was led by Professor Wang Renzhi from Neurosurgery and Professor Liang Zhiyong from Pathology, was approved, which was part of the inter-government cooperation program of key research projects by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

In 2018 our hospital won bids of 58 projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, including a key project led by Professor Zhu Lan from Gynecology and Obstetrics. Wu Nanzhong from Orthopedics won the bid of an Outstanding Youth Science Foundation project, the first one ever achieved from this foundation.

Another field of success was the Beijing Natural Science Foundation. Yang Meng from Ultrasonic Medicine won its Outstanding Youth project, being one of the two doctors among the 38 winners. Besides, we successfully bid for 38 Foundation projects, including 4 by the hospital's research platform, 3 by Ultrasonic Medicine and Hematology respectively. By the joint efforts of doctors and researchers, we saw a new record in the successful bids of the Foundation projects.

Excellent results in sci-tech achievement awards

In 2018, our hospital won 1 first prize and 3 third prizes of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award, 1 second prize and 1 science prize of the College Scientific Research Achievement (Progress) Award, 1 second prize and 4 third prizes of Huaxia Medical Sci-tech Award, and 1 second prize of Sci-tech Award by the China Birth Defects Intervention Assistance Foundation (the Beijing Sci-tech Award has not yet unveiled).

Of them, the first prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award won by the team led by Professor Zhang Xuan from Immunology and Rheumatology was a prize won again by PUMCH after 11 years. According to the Notice of the National Sci-Tech Award Office on 2019 Award Recommendations and application requirements of Beijing Sci-Tech Award Office, the project has been recommended for 2019 National Sci-tech Progress Award.

In the assessment of the fourth sci-tech awards among medical schools, Professor Gao Zhiqiang from Otolaryngology won the Distinguished Contribution Award, Professor Li Jian from Hematology won the Youth Innovation Award.

Fig. 1 Provincial and ministerial sci-tech awards won by PUMCH in 2018

6 doctors won 1st CAMS Young Specialist Award

Six doctors, Long Xiao from Plastic Surgery, Xu Lai from General Surgery, Bao Xinjie from Neurosurgery, Wang Yining from Radiology, Yang Huaxia from Rheumatology and Immunology and Wang Shu from Obstetrics and Gynecology won the 1st CAMS Young Specialist Award.

In 2018, CAMS for the first time set up its Young Specialist Award to support innovative and promising researchers under 40. After preliminary material examination by experts from inside and outside the hospital, review defense, president’s office approval and announcement, finally 49 projects were approved and six doctors from PUMCH won the award.

Academic achievements reached new high

Upon press time, in 2018 we published altogether 740 SCI essays, including 18 with an IF above 10 and also 8 articles. Two case reports were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and three case reports were published in the Lancet; the article with the highest IF (15.008) was a cooperation between the Du Bin, Weng Li team from ICU and an outside team, which was published in Intensive Care Medicine.

Fig. 2 PUMCH-published articles with an IF above 10 in 2018

Fig. 3 PUMCH-published other essays with an IF above 10 in 2018

Nursing team achieves 1st sci-tech patent transformation

A utility model patent, “an arm holder for two-side radial artery puncture”, developed by Zhu Xueqing’s team from Cardiac Catheterization, PUMCH, was successfully transferred in 2018, being the first sci-tech transformation by our nursing team. The tool, developed according to human anatomy, adapts to the stretching forward, turning outward, inward and arching of a patient’s upper limbs. The idea is: fully expose the puncture point of radial artery to raise the success rate of first-time puncture and reduce spasm.

Since 2014, our nursing team has obtained 84 licensed patents, or 47% of the hospital’s total.