On February 9th, the second-phase working meeting of the "Nanhua Class" of the Innovation Research Institute of Pathogen Structure and Clinical Application jointly established by the University of South China and the Guangzhou Laboratory was held in Guangzhou. Rao Zihe, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a professor at Tsinghua University, the former president of Nankai University and the honorary head teacher of the "Nanhua Class", Xu Tao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the executive deputy director of the Guangzhou Laboratory, as well as experts and scholars from the Guangzhou Laboratory, Central South University, Shanghai University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Lepu Medical and the Lion Lake Microbiota Research Institute gathered together with all the postgraduate students of the "Nanhua Class" to exchange learning, research and innovation achievements and jointly explore a new cooperation paradigm for the "Nanhua Class". Academician Rao Zihe presided over the meeting. Chen Xinwen, the deputy director of the Guangzhou Laboratory, Zhang Zhuohua, the president of the University of South China, and Xia Kun, the vice president of the university, were present.

Academician Rao Zihe spoke highly of the innovative model of integrating science and education in the "Nanhua Class" jointly established by the University of South China and the Guangzhou Laboratory, which empowers the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents. He suggested that it should be actively promoted and the scale of cultivation should be appropriately expanded. Academician Rao especially emphasized the need to pay attention to the frontier trends in the field of artificial intelligence, adhere to the regular and systematic learning of artificial intelligence knowledge, and innovatively run the "Intelligent Medicine Class". He said that the postgraduate students in the "Nanhua Class" are full of vitality. The class has a strong sense of cohesion and centripetal force, and the growth and progress of each student are quite obvious. He hoped that the students would cherish their time, the platform and the opportunities, further strengthen academic exchanges, earnestly enhance their sense of ownership of the laboratory, create a vibrant scientific research and innovation atmosphere, form a good mechanism for unity, cooperation and competition, and achieve greater accomplishments in the new era.

Academician Xu Tao stated that the "Nanhua Class" model is an important measure to implement the integrated reform of the systems and mechanisms for education, science and technology, and talents promoted by the Party and the country. It has innovated the postgraduate talent cultivation paradigm, achieved organized scientific research and clinical application research, and formed a talent team with interdisciplinary integration. He suggested further deepening the cooperation between the University of South China and the Guangzhou Laboratory and strengthening the application of artificial intelligence in the fields of scientific research and talent cultivation. Centering on postgraduate cultivation, a more vivid practice of strengthening the national strategic scientific and technological strength through the synergy of "talents - platforms - mechanisms" should be formed to promote the Innovation Research Institute of Pathogen Structure and Clinical Application to achieve more results.

Chen Xinwen fully affirmed the cooperation model and achievements of the "Nanhua Class". He hoped that the "Nanhua Class" would appropriately expand its scale, further integrate organized scientific research and talent cultivation in the national laboratory, be oriented towards serving the needs of the country, promote scientific research exploration and tackling of key problems, and produce more and better innovative products.

Zhang Zhuohua fully affirmed the remarkable achievements made in the construction of the "Nanhua Class" and the academic training of the students. He extended sincere gratitude to Academician Rao Zihe, Academician Xu Tao and all the teachers in the Guangzhou Laboratory who supported the construction of the "Nanhua Class". He said that the cooperation between the University of South China and the Guangzhou Laboratory, a national strategic scientific and technological force, to establish the "Nanhua Class" is an innovative path for the University of South China to build postgraduate education at the national first-class level. The students in the "Nanhua Class" are learning and researching on the shoulders of giants, standing at the forefront of scientific research and innovation development, and having more information and opportunities. They should earnestly learn the spirit of scientists, cherish the platform and opportunities, and while striving to grow and become talents, bring back the experiences of cultivating innovative talents and producing high-level achievements to the University of South China for sharing and exchange, helping the university's postgraduate education to comprehensively reform and improve from concepts to measures. The university will further deepen its cooperation with the Guangzhou Laboratory, enhance its ability to serve the major strategic needs of the country, and make greater contributions to cultivating and reserving more top-notch innovative talents for the country.

Professor Peng Wei, the dean of the Innovation Research Institute of Pathogen Structure and Clinical Application of the Guangzhou Laboratory and the head teacher of the "Nanhua Class", led the tutor team and the postgraduate students of the 2023 "Nanhua Class" to report on the learning and research progress and the main innovative achievements in the past year. The participating experts and scholars commented on the postgraduate students' learning, research and innovative achievements and conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges around the school-running model of the "Nanhua Class". The students of the "Nanhua Class" all said that in their future learning and scientific research, they will always keep in mind the spirit of the University of South China and the values of the Innovation Research Institute, actively engage in the forefront of scientific research, explore unknown fields, and strive to grow into innovative talents that meet the needs of the new era.

The "Nanhua Class" is a brand-new exploration of the University of South China in cooperation with the Guangzhou Laboratory on the mode and path of cultivating top-notch innovative talents. It is also a vivid practice for the University of South China to implement the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talents. There are already 30 postgraduate students of the 2023 and 2024 cohorts enrolled in the "Nanhua Class" jointly established by the Innovation Research Institute of Pathogen Structure and Clinical Application of the Guangzhou Laboratory and the University of South China. As a practice of jointly cultivating top-notch innovative talents by a national laboratory and a local university, the "Nanhua Class" has become a typical case.

The persons in charge of units such as the Scientific Research Department, the Graduate School and the Hengyang Medical School of the university attended the meeting.

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