COVID-19 pandemic did not suspend the biomedicine communication between Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, instead, series seminars focusing on stem cells and immunology were undergoing. From June to July, 2020, we invited several famous professors from University of Toronto to deliver online lectures, sparking ideas were given to ZUSM students and faculties.

Professor Janet Rossant, Senior Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Toronto (U of T), was invited to inaugurate the series seminar, on 19^th June, topic on Lineage specification in the mouse blastocyst and its stem cells. In the following week, Professor Sergio Grinstein, professor from Department of Biochemistry. University of Toronto, gave a lecture on Molecular mechanisms of phagocytosis and micropinocytosis.

University of Toronto, Canada is the world famous and top public research university, also is the birth place of stem cell and insulin research. Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto have been collaborating closely in the multidisciplinary field with multidimensional trenches. During the past year, several contributions were brought out by joint effort, for example, not only joint research centers and ZJU-U of T Joint PhD Program was established, ZJU-U of U professors hiring system was come into force, but also, international conferences and frequent communications between faculties and students are undergoing. Considering all of above, ZUSM is going to invite U of T research figures to give series academic lectures during the difficult period of COVID-19 outbreak regarding stem cells and immunology.

Lecture  given by Professor Janet Rossant

Lecture given by Professor Sergio Grinstein

Professor Janet Rossant has been recognized for her significant contributions to stem cell research. Her research interests centre on understanding the genetic control of normal and abnormal development in the early mouse embryo using both cellular and genetic manipulation techniques, especially, in the early embryo have led to the discovery of a novel placental stem cell type, the trophoblast stem cell. Also, Professor Janet Rossant is a Fellow of both the Royal Societies of London and Canada, and is a foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Science. Most recently, it was announced that Rossant will receive the 2015 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, the first female to do so.

Professor SergioGrinstein, fellow, Royal Society of Canada completed his Ph.D. in 1976 at the Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Avanzados, in Mexico City.  He then spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto, followed by a year in the Department of Biochemistry at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.  He is currently working at the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto and has been Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto since 1988. Dr. Grinstein is interested in two areas: the cell physiology and biophysics of innate immunity –particularly phagocytosis and host-pathogen interactions– and the regulation of the intracellular pH.

Incoming lectures are as followed: