Chinese medical school launches recruitment programme

Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing says it is looking for 100 postdoctoral researchers and professors
Search for new talent comes at the end of Donald Trump’s US presidency, a period marked by strained relations between scientific communities in China and America

Science

Holly Chik

Published: 6:00am, 24 Dec 2020

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One of China’s top medical schools has launched a recruitment campaign seeking postdoctoral researchers, and assistant, associate and tenured professors.

The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing said at a promotional event on Tuesday that it was looking to fill 100 positions in the first stage of a rolling campaign.

People from around the world were welcome to apply subject to them having the “academic qualifications and work experience on a par with international standards”, it said, adding that there was an upper age limit of 35 for the postdoctoral research positions.

The successful candidates would receive research start-up funds for five years and the opportunity to become research supervisors, it said.

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Wang Chen, the school’s president, said at the online event that candidates were sought both in the fields in which it was already experienced and also new areas, for which “we will provide the platform and essentials to open [it] up”.

Wang Chen is president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. Photo: Handout

The recruitment programme comes at the end of Donald Trump’s four years as American president, a period that saw a sharp increase in the rivalry between the United States and China in the technological field. His tenure was also marked by a clampdown on Chinese researchers working in the US and widespread allegations of spying, and a breakdown in scientific exchanges between the two countries.

President-elect Joe Biden will take over at the White House next month but time will tell if he adopts a more cooperative stance with China.

Founded in 1917, Peking Union Medical College was the first in China to offer an eight-year curriculum for would-be doctors of medicine, and degrees in nursing.

Researchers from its sister institution, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, were the first to identify the novel coronavirus and report on the clinical features of Covid-19. It has also developed a vaccine candidate that is undergoing phase 3 clinical trials.

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Cheng Tao, a professor of medicine at the institute, said he returned to China after conducting his postgraduate research training in the United States and working at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

“I don’t think the conditions in China are better than in Europe and America … but it is undeniable that the atmosphere in China makes everyone feel that tomorrow will be better,” he said.

“I hope [more Chinese] talents overseas … return to China. The earlier they return, the earlier they will reap the fruits [of their work] and have a greater impact.”