Soochow University
苏州大学

China

Soochow University is located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, bordering Shanghai on the east. Emerged in the rich cultural heritage of the region， Soochow University is carrying on its century-long traditions to join the city’s growth, striving to be a multi-disciplinary, research-based university with distinct features.

Leading academically and enhancing talent training

As a comprehensive university, Soochow University consists of 30 schools, covering a wide variety of subjects. Among them, 13 subjects (Chemistry, Physical Sciences, Material Science, Clinical Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biology and Biochemistry, Neuroscience and Behavioura Science, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Immunology, Mathematics, Computing Science and Agricultural Science) are listed among the global top 1% in Essential Science Indicators (ESI) field ranking, with Chemistry and Materials Science among the top 1‰, ranking 19^th in China. In 2019, 19 researchers made the Global Highly Cited Researchers list, ranking the 5th among Chinese universities.

The university is committed to exploring new ways to foster top-notch talents and advancing education reform. It has established a Teachers College, Dongwu College, Jingwen Academy and Ziqing Academy to pilot reform on talent fostering. Together with the Red Cross Society of China and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the university co-established the world’s first International Academy of Red Cross & Red Crescent in 2019, contributing to building a community of a shared future for all mankind.

Driving scientific innovation and cooperation

The university implements a ‘sky and ground’ strategy for science and technology development. It focuses on the frontiers of science and technology to conduct fundamental, cutting-edge research; while is also engaged in applied studies to address national and regional strategic needs. In 2014, it led the establishment of the Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), one of the first 14 approved national collaborative innovation centres. The university boasts 13 flagship innovation platforms, including the State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, China National Clinical Research Centre for Haematological Diseases. It also established 22 international joint laboratories, such as the CAM-SU Genomic Resource Centre, in collaboration with Cambridge University. Through these platforms, Soochow University has gained a foothold in research on biomedicine, intelligent manufacturing and environmental protection, with breakthroughs in key technologies including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, artificial hearts using magnetic levitation, and OLED lighting.

For eight consecutive years, the university was ranked among the top 20 universities domestically in the number of grant projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. According to a Nature Index supplement published in 2016, Soochow University was among the world’s fastest rising universities. It now ranks 39^th worldwide in Nature Index.

Promoting university-industry collaboration to serve local development

Rooted in Suzhou, Soochow University is exploring a model to thrive with the city. The National University Science Park of Soochow University, launched in 2007, serves as a key platform for research transformation and innovation within the region.

Against the backdrop of the national strategies to enhance the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region and promote the Free Trade Zone, the university is seizing these unprecedented opportunities to integrate university and regional resources by establishing an integrated research centre in the Free Trade Zone’. Working with some of the best-known companies, including Huawei, Baidu and Qualcomm, it has co-founded 18 innovation platforms, and established 388 enterprise-based graduate student workstations, driving a total output value of over 30 billion RMB for enterprises. The NANO-CIC has incubated three companies and helped them go public, whose relevant products are widely used by renowned companies like Huawei, Microsoft and Xiaomi, and driving tens of billions RMB’s output value in the nanotechnology industry for the Suzhou Industrial Park.

Soochow University’s Custom Publishing on Nature.

1 August 2019 - 31 July 2020

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for Soochow University published between 1 August 2019 - 31 July 2020 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the FC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

Count	Share
438	214.98

Outputs by subject (Share)

Subject	Count	Share
Physical Sciences	211	86.42
Chemistry	272	152.39
Life Sciences	44	15.85
Earth & Environmental Sciences	3	1.30

Highlight of the month

Liver enzyme implicated in diabetes and obesity

A newly discovered regulator of energy metabolism in the liver offers a promising therapeutic target for obesity, diabetes and related diseases.

A team that included researchers from Soochow University in China showed that mice deficient in a cell-membrane-bound enzyme called hepsin had problems with liver function. Sugars and fats were not being processed properly because, without hepsin, downstream signalling pathways were not getting activated.

Consequently, the mice burned through calories and they developed more of the special kind of brown fat that specializes in heat generation rather than energy storage.

Mice lacking hepsin proved resistant to obesity and related metabolic syndromes when fed a high-fat diet or when genetically engineered for susceptibility to those conditions.

The findings highlight the potential of drugs targeted at hepsin to help the more than two billion people around the world living with obesity or diabetes today.

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