Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Name	Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Native name	上海生物化学与细胞生物学研究所
Established	1958
Type	Research Institute
Parent	Chinese Academy of Sciences
Location	Shanghai, China

Contents

Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology is a major biomedical research institute in Shanghai affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and located in the Xujiahui area near Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The institute focuses on molecular biology, structural biology, cell signaling, and systems biology, interacting with institutions such as the University of Cambridge, Max Planck Society, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Researchers at the institute have contributed to projects linked with the Human Genome Project, the Protein Data Bank, and international consortia including the International HapMap Project.

History

The institute was founded in 1958 during a period of institutional development alongside organizations like the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, with early exchanges involving scholars from the Soviet Union, the Max Planck Society, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and the Pasteur Institute. In the 1980s and 1990s the institute expanded research programs in coordination with initiatives such as the Human Genome Project and collaborations with universities including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley. During the 2000s it established partnerships with the National Institutes of Health, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and the Wellcome Trust, while participating in national projects like the National Key R&D Program and programs supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China.

Research spans structural biology, molecular mechanisms of signal transduction, and cellular systems, linking work on protein folding with groups at the Protein Data Bank, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, and the Diamond Light Source. Teams investigate membrane transporters in coordination with the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, chromatin regulation with labs at the Broad Institute and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and developmental signaling pathways studied alongside the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Johns Hopkins University. Translational research integrates efforts on cancer biology in consort with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, stem cell biology with Stanford University, immunology linked to the Pasteur Institute, and neurobiology connected to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

The institute operates under the administrative umbrella of the Shanghai Municipal Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with governance structures that include research divisions comparable to those at the Max Planck Society and the National Institutes of Health. Leadership has included directors who liaised with figures and institutions such as Deng Xiaoping-era science planners, the Ministry of Education (People's Republic of China), and international advisors from Harvard Medical School, University of Oxford, and the University of Tokyo. Scientific advisory boards have featured members associated with the Royal Society, the Academia Sinica, and the US National Academy of Sciences.

Facilities include cryo-electron microscopy suites comparable to those at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and X-ray crystallography beamlines used by researchers from the Protein Data Bank and the Diamond Light Source, as well as high-throughput sequencing cores linked to the Human Genome Project infrastructure. The campus hosts specialized centers for proteomics collaborating with the Broad Institute and metabolomics platforms modeled on the Weizmann Institute of Science, plus cell culture and imaging resources similar to installations at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

The institute maintains bilateral programs with the Max Planck Society, joint laboratories with Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and exchange agreements with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and the National Institutes of Health. It participates in multinational consortia such as projects tied to the Human Genome Project, the International HapMap Project, and collaborations with biotechnology firms headquartered near Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park and partners from Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, and Bayer for translational pipelines.

The institute trains graduate students and postdoctoral researchers through doctoral programs affiliated with University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, joint training with Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and postdoctoral fellowships often co-supervised by investigators from Harvard Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine, and University of California, San Francisco. It hosts workshops and courses drawing visiting faculty from the Wellcome Trust, the European Molecular Biology Organization, and the National Institutes of Health training initiatives.

Alumni and faculty have connections with many prominent figures and institutions, including researchers who later joined faculties at Peking University, Tsinghua University, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Oxford, Max Planck Institute, Weizmann Institute of Science, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the Broad Institute. Notable award affiliations include links to recipients of the Lasker Award, the Wolf Prize in Medicine, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Shaw Prize, and memberships in the US National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society.

Category:Research institutes in Shanghai Category:Institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences