【Words from a Distinguished Teacher】
- Teach skills, grow together through teaching and learning, and lead by example.
- The sea of knowledge is boundless; talent flourishes, and truth is endlessly pursued.
- Life is short—seize every moment and savor the wonders of existence.
Returning Home to Advance SJTU School of Medicine’s Disciplinary Development
In 2012, Su Bing, a recipient of China’s National High-Level Overseas Talent Program, returned from Yale University to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, where he assumed full-time positions as Director of the Shanghai Institute of Immunology and Chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, making significant contributions to the Institute’s and Department’s leapfrog development.
As a disciplinary leader, Su Bing proactively recruited more than 30 outstanding young scientists from top laboratories worldwide, building a high-caliber, internationally oriented young research team. The Institute and Department now host 24 principal investigators. Since 2012, they have secured 119 appointments under national and local talent programs, including 30 national-level and 76 local-level recognitions.
To further strengthen talent cultivation, Su Bing launched a series of innovative initiatives, including the Yu Wei Series—comprising the Yu Wei Forum, Yu Wei Scholars, Young Scholars, Postdoctoral Fellows, and Yu Wei Doctoral Scholarships—aimed at carrying forward the scientific spirit of senior generations. He also pioneered postdoctoral incentive programs at the School of Medicine, fostering innovation vitality and nurturing a cohort of outstanding young researchers now active in leading domestic and international research institutions, biopharmaceutical companies, and clinical hospitals.
Guided by a development strategy centered on “innovative breakthroughs” and “enhanced translational research,” Su Bing has led his teams to align clinical scientific questions with national strategic needs. Since 2012, they have undertaken 424 research projects, with total funding reaching RMB 489.12 million. Under his leadership, the School of Medicine and the Institute achieved multiple first-time breakthroughs in publications in top-tier journals and landmark research outputs. Su Bing and the recruited PIs, as corresponding authors, have published a series of original studies in leading journals such as Cell, Nature, Science, Immunity, and Nature Immunology, establishing internationally influential research milestones.
After decades of sustained development, the Institute of Immunology and the Department of Immunology and Microbiology have emerged as top-tier research and teaching institutions in China and internationally renowned centers of immunological research, excelling in talent training, education, research, and international collaboration.
To advance internationalization, Su Bing has actively promoted exchanges with world-leading immunologists, flexibly recruited over a dozen top international scholars, and established overseas expert advisory systems and international joint laboratories, including one with the renowned European immunology institute CIML. He spearheaded the establishment of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University–Hebrew University Dual PhD Program and founded the SJTU School of Medicine–Yale University Institute of Immune Metabolism. The Institute has built sustained academic partnerships with over 100 universities and research institutions across 13 countries, hosted nearly 400 visiting scholars, and organized more than 30 international academic conferences, significantly enhancing its global academic standing and reputation.
A Decade of Perseverance: Breakthroughs in Scientific Research
As a leading expert in immunology, Su Bing has long been devoted to fundamental scientific inquiry. His research focuses on the regulatory mechanisms of MAPK and mTOR signaling pathways in intestinal stromal cells, macrophages, T cells, and innate lymphoid cells. These efforts have yielded a series of original discoveries published in journals including Nature, Cell, Nature Genetics, Nature Immunology, Immunity, Molecular Cell, and EMBO Journal. To date, he has authored over 160 papers with more than 20,000 citations.
In the past five years, his representative publications as corresponding author include Nature Communications (2022), Nature (2021), Cell (2021), EMBO Journal (2020), Cell (2019), and Cell Metabolism (2019). As principal investigator, he has led 14 major national and local projects, including key programs of the Ministry of Science and Technology and major research plans of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, with total funding of RMB 48.92 million.
Equally committed to talent cultivation, Su Bing has supervised 14 doctoral graduates, three of whom were named Outstanding Graduates of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and three who pursued postdoctoral training at Harvard, Yale, and Duke University. He has also mentored a group leader (Ningbo Wu), now a professor at Hunan University, thereby injecting fresh vitality into the immunology field and making significant contributions to national scientific innovation and talent development.
Deep Roots in Medical Education: New Heights in Teaching Excellence
Alongside his research achievements, Su Bing has made exceptional contributions to immunology education at the School of Medicine. He practices the philosophy of integrating science and education through collaborative cultivation, innovatively transforming research momentum into teaching vitality. His course Fundamentals and Advances in Immunology was recognized as one of the first National First-Class Undergraduate Courses, while courses he co-developed, including Host Defense and Immunity, received Second Prize at the Third National Teaching Innovation Contest for College Teachers and Grand Prize at the Third Shanghai Teaching Innovation Contest for College Teachers
He also developed Principles of Immunology, an honors course at Zhiyuan College, SJTU, drawing on Yale’s seminar-based pedagogy and Stanford’s interdisciplinary training models. The course integrates core immunology concepts with critical reading of classical literature and cutting-edge advances in tumor immunology, mucosal immunology, and single-cell technologies, fostering students’ research thinking. It features co-teaching by leading international scholars such as Yinon Ben-Neriah, Toby Lawrence, Florent Ginhoux, Chen Dong, and Zeming Zhang, creating an immersive, globally oriented learning environment.
Additionally, Su Bing founded the course Introduction to Research (a signature course of the Institute and Department), taught by principal investigators to lay a solid foundation for graduate research. He also established the “Research in Progress” forum, where graduate students and postdoctoral fellows present research updates in English, followed by faculty discussion, enhancing academic engagement, international outlook, critical thinking, and communication skills.
Beyond teaching, Su Bing actively participates in curriculum reform and textbook development, and serves on multiple academic and promotion committees at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, contributing strategic insights to faculty development and talent selection.
【Profile of a Distinguished Educator】
Su Bing, Professor and PhD Supervisor, is a recipient of the First Prize of the 2025 “Teaching and Mentorship Award” of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He serves as Director of the Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Director and Chief Scientist of the Immunology-Related Diseases Research Center at Ruijin Hospital, Director of the SJTU–Yale Institute of Immune Metabolism, and Wang Kuancheng Chair Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He is also a Visiting Professor at Yale University School of Medicine, a Guest Professor and PhD Supervisor at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Director of an International S&T Cooperation Base of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and an expert under national and Shanghai high-level talent programs.
Contributing Units: Office of Faculty Affairs; School of Medicine
Translated by: Denise
Proofread by: Rebecca
