The platform specializes in molecular imaging technologies, conducting innovative research at the intersection of chemistry, physics, biology, and computer science. It focuses on translational research bridging pharmaceutical development, medical-engineering collaboration, fundamental science with clinical application. Serving as a bidirectional interface between basic research and clinical practice, the platform facilitates feasibility assessment, validation, and optimization of novel diagnostic and therapeutic technologies during their clinical translation process, while providing technical consultation and collaborative research services.
Equipped with state-of-the-art clinical facilities including PET/MRI, high-resolution CT, and ultra-high-field MRI systems, the platform also maintains preclinical imaging resources such as SPECT/CT, brain PET, 5T MRI, micro-CT, ultrasound, and photoacoustic systems. Complemented by hybrid operating rooms and comprehensive radiopharmaceutical laboratories, it offers complete clinical and preclinical research infrastructure. These advanced capabilities enable full-spectrum research on radiopharmaceutical diagnostic/therapeutic probes, from fundamental development through clinical translation, supported by robust scientific service competencies.
Stem Cell Facility
The Stem Cell Facility integrates research, innovation, and translational medicine, focusing on complex and rare diseases. Based on molecular biology, cell biology, tissue engineering, and biomedical engineering technologies, the facility conducts translational medical research, technology transformation, and quality control of stem cells, immune cells, and their derivatives. The facility actively integrates the hospital's basic and clinical medical resources, collaborates with experienced clinical medical teams and innovative biopharmaceutical companies, promotes interdisciplinary integration of medicine and engineering, and accelerates the research and translation of cellular medical products. The facility can provide support services for upstream raw materials and preparation products, midstream process technology development and manufacturing, and downstream product quality evaluation and clinical research of cellular medical products. It is committed to rapidly translating groundbreaking basic research results in the field of cell therapy into forward-looking clinical practices.
The platform's organizational structure comprises an expert committee and several research laboratories, including: Engineering Cell Resource Center, Cellular Drug Development Laboratory, Tissue Engineering Research Laboratory, Quality Management and Control Laboratory, Regulatory Affairs and Registration Research Laboratory. The platform boasts a multidisciplinary research team, ensuring comprehensive and multidimensional support for clinical research and translational outcomes. Currently, the core team comprises clinical physicians, molecular and cell biology experts, biomedical engineers, pharmaceutical specialists, and other professional research scientists and technical personnel.
Biobank Facility
The Clinical Biobank of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) was established in 2012, founded under the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan National Science and Technology Major Project” of the Ministry of Science and Technology. It has been accredited in accordance with multiple international and national standards, including ISO 20387:2018 (Biotechnology - Biobanking - General Requirements for Biobanking), ISBER Best Practices, General Requirements for Biobank Quality and Competence (GB/T 37864-2019/ISO 20387:2018), and the CNAS Biobank Quality and Competence Accreditation Guidelines. After years of development, the biobank has evolved into a large-scale, comprehensive clinical biospecimen and data repository, featuring collections across rare diseases, malignant tumors, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, neurological and psychiatric disorders, infectious diseases, and immune diseases. The biobank occupies 2,500 square meters with a total storage capacity of 10 million samples. It comprises five core platforms: sample pretreatment and preparation, information management, quality control, detection analysis and deep processing, and diversified storage. It forms three major species banks (human, animal, and microorganism) and five types of sub-banks (tissues, cells, body fluids, nucleic acids, and pathogenic strains).
Guided by the principles of “patient first, people-centered, precise service, inheritance and development, pioneering innovation”, the biobank employs a pneumatic tube system to rapidly transport specimens collected from outpatient clinics, wards, and operating rooms to the processing area. Automated systems are used throughout the entire workflow, from sample preparation, testing, and analysis to quality control, ensuring efficiency and consistency. By transforming every patient’s specimen into high-quality research material, the biobank provides reliable resources and data for researchers, demonstrating the principle of precision service. Leveraging independently developed Chinese core technologies, we have built automated and intelligent storage platforms for ultra-low and cryogenic temperatures. By integrating information systems with automated equipment and flexible robotics, it achieves high-quality, efficient, and precise sample management, demonstrating a commitment to excellence and refined operations.
The biobank provides personalized, precise, and diversified services to support research and scientific output. To date, it has supported over 400 research projects and contributed to more than 10 national standards, becoming one of the hospital’s key research platforms.
Driven by innovation, the biobank operates under a comprehensive and standardized quality management system, focusing on cutting-edge technologies and customized solutions. It actively promotes discipline development, academic exchange, collaborative partnerships, and professional training. Looking forward, the biobank will further strengthen cooperation with medical institutions, universities, and R&D enterprises, advancing the development of a standardized, informatized, shared, and diversified biobank that serves as a model for the field.
Standing at a new historical starting point, the PUMCH biobank team remains committed to unity, progress, and excellence, contributing wisdom and strength to the next chapter of medical research.
Biomarker Discovery and Validation Facility
The Biomarker Discovery and Validation Facility is a cutting-edge research and service platform committed to tackling critical clinical challenges through advanced scientific inquiry and state-of-the-art biomarker development and validation technologies. Our platform provides a comprehensive suite of services, including but not limited to: quantitative proteomics, post-translational modification proteomics, both untargeted and targeted metabolomics, targeted functional metabolomics with high specificity, spatial visualization analysis of peptides and metabolites, in-depth immune cell and subtype analysis, as well as mechanistic investigations for biomarker validation.
Equipped with a broad range of instrumentation-such as multiple models of high-resolution mass spectrometers, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) systems, mass spectrometry imaging platforms, and mass cytometry technologies-our facility ensures precision, reproducibility, and scalability in biomarker research.
The facility’s laboratories and collaborative office spaces are strategically located on the south wing of the 4th floor and the west wing of the 6th floor within the East Campus Translational Medicine Complex Building, as well as on the second floor of Building B in the Daxing Campus.
Biomedical Engineering Facility
The Biomedical Engineering Facility stands as a pivotal scientific research support platform, jointly serving the National Infrastructures for Translational Medicine and the State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases. Driven by a commitment to scientific advancement, it aligns with clinical research demands by delivering state-of-the-art support and testing services, thereby propelling innovation in clinical medicine and technological breakthroughs. The facility focuses on multi-scale fundamental research, spanning from genes, proteins, and cells to whole organs. Beyond this, it actively explores the integration of interdisciplinary technologies within the medical field.
To support these objectives, the platform regularly conducts a variety of training and educational activities for both internal and external users. These include laboratory access training, theoretical workshops, hands-on equipment operation sessions, as well as specialized seminars and technical lectures. Concurrently, the platform offers robust scientific research services. These services are backed by a team of experienced technicians and a suite of advanced equipment, ensuring high-caliber support for various research initiatives.
Laboratory Animal Research Facility
The Laboratory Animal Platform is dedicated to providing high-level animal experiment research services and serves as a crucial supporting facility for the National Major Science and Technology Infrastructure for Translational Medicine. It supports disciplines such as medicine, life sciences, and pharmaceutical sciences, with the aim of addressing clinical research problems, advancing clinical scientific research, and promoting the translation of basic research. The platform offers the housing of a variety of laboratory animals—including mice, rats, rabbits, Guinea Pigs,and hamsters—as well as advanced experimental equipment and technical support services for cutting-edge applied basic research, key technology development, and talent cultivation. The platform is open to the wider scientific community across China.
Virtual Human Center
The goal of the Virtual Human Center is to address aging-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases as well as complex and intractable conditions by developing digital human models and a virtual surgery center. It aims to build a world-class interdisciplinary center for biomedical engineering research and translational services.
To date, the center has developed and constructed seven medical simulation systems—including a vascular interventional surgery simulator and a virtual laparoscopic surgery training system—as well as one set of software tools for personalized human organ modeling. Validation studies have demonstrated that the overall technical performance of the center’s equipment and systems has reached an internationally advanced level. The center supports applications in clinical diagnosis and treatment, translational medicine, medical education, rehabilitation assistance, and other areas of medical digitalization and industry-academia-research integration.
The online surgical skills center and digital human model library have been widely applied, providing strong support for online education during the pandemic. More than 20,000 simulation training sessions have been completed, along with over 150 surgical rehearsals and planning cases.
During the development of the center, the team overcame a series of key technological challenges in virtual human modeling and virtual surgery. They developed innovative theories for efficient processing of multimodal medical imaging, solving the problem of low efficiency and precision in the complementary use of clinical imaging data. A personalized human organ modeling system was established, reducing modeling time from an average of 300 minutes (in the U.S. and Europe) to just 10 minutes, increasing accuracy by 30%, and improving efficiency by two orders of magnitude. The team also made breakthroughs in real-time interactive simulation of complex surgeries.
Center for Drug Research and Evaluation
The center addresses key bottlenecks in clinical research of innovative drugs for major and rare diseases by conducting comprehensive research on critical technologies for clinical evaluation. To strengthen research capacity in flagship hospitals of both traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, the center has established a TCM Research and Development Center. To enhance the platform’s specialization in drug development, additional centers have been established, including a Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center and a Genomic Diagnosis and Therapy Center.
The center is equipped with state-of-the-art instruments such as the Biacore 8K system, a 300kV cryo-transmission electron microscope, fully automated Western blotting systems, and protein purification systems, providing robust hardware support for drug development and evaluation. To improve resource utilization efficiency, the center offers shared access to its instruments, facilitating scientific collaboration.
Theranostics and Translational Research Facility
Contents: The platform specializes in molecular imaging technologies, conducting innovative research at the intersection of chemistry, physics, biology, and computer science. It focuses on translational research bridging pharmaceutical development, medical-engineering collaboration, fundamental science with clinical application. Serving as a bidirectional interface between basic research and clinical practice, the platform facilitates feasibility assessment, validation, and optimization of novel diagnostic and therapeutic technologies during their clinical translation process, while providing technical consultation and collaborative research services.
Equipped with state-of-the-art clinical facilities including PET/MRI, high-resolution CT, and ultra-high-field MRI systems, the platform also maintains preclinical imaging resources such as SPECT/CT, brain PET, 7T MRI, micro-CT, ultrasound, and photoacoustic systems. Complemented by hybrid operating rooms and comprehensive radiopharmaceutical laboratories, it offers complete clinical and preclinical research infrastructure. These advanced capabilities enable full-spectrum research on radiopharmaceutical diagnostic/therapeutic probes, from fundamental development through clinical translation, supported by robust scientific service competencies.
Center for Precision Medicine
The precision medicine technology platform constitutes a pivotal element within the "transformational medical research infrastructure" of the "clinical transformation system". By integrating clinical and basic research, enabling seamless linkage, and leveraging advanced technologies efficiently, it caters to the personalized and precise clinical diagnosis and treatment requirements of patients. On this platform, personalized and precise diagnostic and therapeutic technologies can be developed for diverse diseases and populations, notably including the elderly and children, who are often underrepresented in conventional evidence-based medical research. Additionally, molecular classification criteria for critical diseases can be established, allowing for the objective formulation of personalized and precise diagnosis and treatment regimens based on individual variations.
This platform encompasses advanced in vitro diagnostic technology modules (such as in vitro testing, analysis, and comprehensive technology modules, along with high-throughput gene mutation detection technology modules) and advanced in vivo diagnostic technology modules (including in vivo imaging diagnostic technology modules, as well as diagnostic technology modules for aging-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and challenging disorders). These modules facilitate the clinical translation of relatively mature personalized and precise diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, drive the exploration and establishment of novel personalized and precise diagnostic and treatment modalities, and support their clinical evaluation and validation.
From 2021 to 2024, the precision medicine technology platform has provided support for 21 clinical trial projects both internally and externally. It has also achieved significant academic outputs, publishing 177 scientific research papers, of which 64 are core Chinese-language articles. Furthermore, the platform has initiated 89 new projects, secured 23 authorized patents, accomplished 3 technology transformations, finalized 18 standards and guidelines, and received notable accolades, including 1 provincial and ministerial-level achievement award, 7 society awards, and 4 university achievement awards. Additionally, it has been involved in organizing 16 training courses and participated in over 50 academic conference exchanges, actively promoting academic communication and professional development in the field.
Center for Prevention and Early Intervention
The Center for Prevention and Early Intervention systematically integrates the principles and methodologies of epidemiology, biostatistics, evidence-based medicine, and related disciplines to advance clinical research in disease prevention and early intervention. Its core functions include the design of clinical research frameworks, the establishment and application of disease-specific and community-based cohorts, the mining and analysis of healthcare big data, and the conduct of evidence-based research and guideline development. Through sustained dedication and innovation, the Center has become a cornerstone for promoting translational research that bridges clinical practice and population health.
Center for Health Policy and Economics
Center for Health Policy and Economics operates through interdisciplinary integration, synthesizing theories and methodologies from medicine, management, economics, sociology, and statistics. Aligned with the strategic imperatives of the Healthy China Initiative, we provide core functions including: conducting health technology assessments (HTA) and health economic evaluations to inform National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) access decisions and payment policy design; advancing implementation science research to support the implementation of clinical guidelines at the policy level and facilitate effective health technology transfer; developing evidence-based health policy research to support healthcare system reform and the high-quality development of public hospitals etc..
Bioinformatics Facility
This platform provides high-performance computing, software, and data analysis services for translational medical research. Powered by a high-performance computing cluster, it meets the demanding computational and storage needs of large-scale biomedical datasets, and is accessible across all parts of the institute.
Key services include:
Visualized Omics Data Analysis Platform
A user-friendly, automated system for visualized multi-omics data analyses, supporting:
● Genomics
● Transcriptomics
● Proteomics
● Metabolomics
● Microbiome
● Single-cell sequencing data
The platform’s researchers bring extensive bioinformatics expertise and maintain close collaborations with 49 clinical departments, supporting a wide range of omics-based basic research and clinical translation studies.