In late November last year, the results of the biennial election of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of engineering were announced. Chen Wei, vice president and professor of Jiangnan University, was elected as academician of the Chinese Academy of engineering, and became the third academician of Jiangnan University after Lun Shiyi (elected in 1995) and Chen Jian (elected in 2017).
Professor Chen Wei has completed his undergraduate, master's and doctoral studies in Wuxi Institute of light industry, now Jiangnan University. Now, he is the vice president of the school, the director of the National Functional Food Engineering Technology Research Center, the director of the innovation team of the Ministry of education and the Ministry of science and technology, and also the director of the probiotic branch of the Chinese society of food science and technology. For more than 20 years, Chen Wei has been engaged in the research and development of functional food microorganisms, especially in the construction of independent property probiotic strain database and information database, the cultivation, preparation, research and development of high-quality new strains and the promotion of industrialization. He is a prominent academic leader in the field of probiotics in China. Recently, the reporter talked with the scientist who was full of brilliance, humility and simplicity, and only wanted to do a good job in learning and scientific research, so as to understand his dream seeking process of more than 20 years.
Q: Why did you choose to go to university at "the gate of your home"? Why go back to school for further study after work? What did you do after staying in 1995?
A: my family is in the countryside of Jiangdu, Yangzhou. After the college entrance examination, I finally chose Wuxi Institute of light industry. After graduation, I went to a secondary school in Huai'an to be a teacher. After four years of teaching in the school, I still can't forget the campus in Jiangnan. I always wanted to go back to the school and do what I wanted to do, so I decided to go back to my alma mater for postgraduate study. After graduation, I stayed in school and worked as a doctor in 1998.
Since 1995, I have been working with several colleagues on probiotic research. At the beginning, our main energy is to excavate probiotic resources, and we need to go to all parts of the country to sample and then come back to screen bacteria. This is a basic work and the basis for the team to carry out laboratory research. Appropriate strains are just as important as raw materials on the production line. Without sufficient strain bank, our follow-up research work will be difficult to carry out. However, the excavation of probiotic resources needs a long time to accumulate. In a long period of time, we have invested a lot, but few papers, achievements and other outputs. After 10 years of accumulation, our team's research results have been gradually applied to the market. The team's first important award also came into being: "efficient screening of functional probiotic Lactobacillus and its application in fermented dairy products". It won the first prize of the Ministry of education for scientific and technological progress in 2007, and the second prize of national scientific and technological progress in 2009.
Q: there are three academicians in Jiangnan University, and the starting point of talent construction has reached a higher level. What is the school's new plan in the construction of talent team, especially in the cultivation of high-end talents?
A: universities play an important role in helping the world and promoting the progress of social science and technology. Therefore, we should not only make clear the significance of scientific research, but also pay attention to the needs of industries and enterprises. We should not only face the sky but also stand on the ground, start from the actual problems, and continue to accumulate, so as to achieve a targeted goal. The young people who devote themselves to scientific research should have both ability and morality. First of all, the strong internal driving force of self-development is essential. They also need excellent teachers' guidance to continuously improve their professional and academic abilities.
There are nearly 20 young teachers in our team. According to their characteristics, we have tailored their development direction and plan to help them grow faster. I've been doing research for nearly 30 years, and I think I'm not stupid and hardworking. A person's talent is important, but diligence is more important. For some students who plan to further their studies, I don't think it's easy to get a doctor's degree.
Q: the value of scientific research results lies in boosting production, improving life and changing the world. What achievements have your team achieved in helping enterprises and local economic development? What representative projects have been developed?
A: we have cooperated with Guangming dairy and other units to produce many products. For example, the plant lactobacillus st-iii contained in Guangming Changyou yoghurt sold in the supermarket. There is also Guangming Jianneng "gold digger" yoghurt, which also added our national invention patent gold award strain "Lactobacillus plantarum ccfm8610". We also have cooperation with dozens of enterprises in the fields of bacterial biotechnology, functional food, medicine, etc. For example, in the collaborative innovation center, one of the three laboratories we cooperated with the enterprise, Suzhou Biotechnology Co., Ltd., used to produce selenium rich crops. After working with our team, we tried to combine microorganisms with trace elements. We found that the selenium enriched probiotics had better intestinal regulation than the selenium free ones, and transformed our team's strains to develop selenium enriched probiotics Products.
Around probiotics can be a big article. In recent years, we have developed many new projects, such as the study of probiotics in the treatment of colitis, tumor and other intestinal diseases, as well as the auxiliary effect of constipation, diarrhea and other symptoms; the auxiliary effect of hypoglycemia, cardiovascular disease; the auxiliary effect of immune balance such as allergy, eczema, dermatitis treatment, and probiotics on mental regulation.
Q: what is your vision for future cooperation with enterprises, local governments and future research directions?
A: the purpose of our scientific research is to benefit mankind. If we want to industrialize our good strains, we must realize it in the long-term cooperation with enterprises. In China, the development and research of probiotics is not long. In recent years, with the development of society and the concept of healthy China, people pay more attention to health and quality of life. The public's recognition and recognition of probiotics are rapidly increasing, and probiotics has become a hot research project.
Our team has been focusing on probiotics for human use so far, and we will pay more attention to the role of intestinal flora in the future. In addition, the combination of food and probiotics is expanding from human use to animal use. For example, the breeding density of livestock and poultry is high, and animals are easy to get sick, which will lead to the abuse of antibiotics. With the gradual standardization of antibiotic use, probiotics have attracted more and more attention because they can antagonize pathogens and are expected to reduce diseases in livestock and poultry aquaculture. Probiotics can also ferment crops, so that corn and wheat straw in the field can be effectively used to protect the environment. In the future, our research may be extended to the development of probiotics for animal use. Because animal breeding involves raw materials for food processing, food safety not only focuses on processing, but also focuses on the safety of raw material production.
In the new era, the state has formulated the outline of "healthy China 2030" plan to promote the construction of a healthy China and improve people's health. Our team is also working hard for "healthy China", constantly changing views, improving the ability of independent innovation, and making unremitting efforts to develop Chinese own probiotics.
(source: Wuxi daily)