1. Imoulan Abdessamad, a post-doctoral student from Morocco

Imoulan Abdessamad of Morocco, a post-doctoral student who specializes in fungus research, said he was swayed by China’s progress in DNA sequencing.

"If you want to find new fungi species, you need to sequence DNA. In my country, I can't do it because it's too expensive and takes too long," he said. "Here in Beijing, if I send the sample away today, I can get the result tomorrow, so I can do any experiment I want."

Through his work at Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)’s Institute of Microbiology, Imoulan has identified two new species from samples taken from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and has published his discoveries in scientific journals.

"I owe my professor a big thank you. And thanks to CAS, I have a scholarship as well as such good equipment," he said. "It would have taken much longer to finish my experiments back home."

With the support of the CAS President's International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), the CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Biotechnology provides opportunities for students from developing countries seeking solutions to the problems of resources, energy, population growth, health and environment in their home countries.

CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Green Technology has adopted 45 TWAS overseas students since its founding in 2013, among them 33 are financially supported by the center. (Image by CaS)

"CAS, as one of China's leading research institutions, plays its part in science and technology research in the Belt and Road Initiative," said Wang Ruiyan, program manager at the center.

According to Wang, the center has offered fellowships to over 50 students and visiting scholars from developing countries in the past three years.

"This kind of exchange program strengthens scientific cooperation between China and other countries, improving international cooperation on biotechnology research," said Wang.

Prof. Yao Yijian, researcher at the institute and Imoulan's supervisor said, "We provide students with the latest approaches and the best equipment. In turn, they bring us fresh ideas. This pushes forward research on both sides."

2. Fitsum, a PhD student from Ethiopia

Fitsum, an Ethiopian PhD student, encountered a problem in his work, but with his supervisor's guidance, managed to continue his research and is about to publish his first paper.

"I am very grateful to the professors who have helped me all the way. You know, few people do such research in Ethiopia. If I hadn't come to China, it would have taken me 10 years to finish my first paper," he said.

"When I go back to Ethiopia, I want to teach in universities and take what I have learnt here to students there," he added.

A CAS report on biotechnology published earlier this week said the number of biotechnology patents from Belt and Road countries has been growing steadily.

According to Wang, PIFI scholarships are important to scientific research and cooperation in Belt and Road countries.

"Some of the students have graduated and gone back home, contributing to science and growth in their countries," said Wang.

"We are just doing basic research, and we still have a long way to go," he said. "We hope our center has done something to initiate deeper cooperation and nurture more scientists."

3. Adewole Adetoro Ajala, a PhD student from Nigeria

Adewole Adetoro Ajala, a Nigerian third-year PhD student at the Centre of Excellence for Green Technology, a joint project in Beijing of CAS and The World Academy of Sciences, said that "the Chinese are not only interested in training you, but also care about building collaboration".

China is quickly building links with nations along the proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, a major initiative aimed at boosting connectivity between Asia, Africa and Europe.

In 2014, CAS launched the President's International Fellowship Initiative, a project that offers full scholarships to 200 overseas PhD candidates every year, which has led to students from developing countries gaining urgently needed knowledge and skills.

CAS has established five bases for overseas students from Belt and Road countries at affiliated research institutes, covering a wide range of research - including climate change, clean energy, biotechnology and applications for space technology in disaster relief and water safety.

"Our research fields meet the needs of many developing countries, so our reputation is rapidly growing," said Wei Yuansong, Deputy Director of the CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Water and Environment.

4. Ijeoma Onyinyechi and Oriola Olasunkanmi Bukola, winners of CAS-TWAS Fellowship for Postgraduate Research from Nigeria

Ijeoma and Oriola with their host, Prof. Li Yin, a TWAS Young Affiliate. (Image by SONg J.)

Studying industrial biotechnology at the Laboratory of Molecular Physiology and Systems Biotechnology of CAS Institute of Microbiology (IMCAS) , under Prof. Li Yin, who serves as Director of the CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Biotechnology affiliated to IMCAS, Ijeoma and Oriola are both winners of CAS-TWAS Fellowships for Postgraduate Research.

Learning for future

“I chose this group because I find it provides me with some privileges that I didn’t have back home and will widen my view. Another reason is, I need to learn more about what is still lacking back home,” Ijeoma said, explaining her reasons for studying at IMCAS.

Ijeoma also described potential applications of what she would learn here in her home country: “In my country a lot of industries are springing up and everyone is interested in the fermentation of foods from locally manufactured materials and standardization of such indigenous fermented foods. I think from what I have learnt, my country will gain a lot.”

In Li’s group, Ijeoma is learning a technique to express some proteins through cultivating a kind of microbe. “Presently I’m working on Pichia pastoris, which is a yeast, for expression of proteins,” said Ijeoma.

According to Prof. Li, what Ijeoma is learning is a protein-secretion system, a microorganism that can largely secrete proteins. Theoretically this system can secrete any proteins of interest, including those vital for food industries in many different areas.

“I will be able to produce other proteins needed for our industries when I am back in Nigeria, using this yeast,” Ijeoma smiled with confidence.

Her fellow Oriola, who arrived about two months after Ijeoma, held similar expectations concerning future opportunities back home, and expressed her desire to help boost the growth of her home country. “When we get home, we will be among those who have learnt the advanced techniques. This will give us the opportunity to disseminate to young scientists the knowledge we have gained here. We still have challenges in terms of research in our country, but thanks to TWAS and CAS for this opportunity to come here, I’m sure things will improve.”

According to Oriola, what IMCAS is working on is quite new to researchers in her home country. “One step at a time we will make some difference, though we ask ourselves questions like ‘are you sure this kind of biotechnology is worthwhile?’ But with what we will learn here we will be able to clarify this to other researchers, even though it may be tough. I am optimistic that with time, things will be better,” she said.

Bridging academia and industry

When asked about whether they would prefer to have future jobs in academia or industry after graduation, Ijeoma said that after finishing her PhD and postdoc, she would prefer to work where she could still have the opportunity to practice the experiments and come up with more innovative ideas. “So... I will weigh the options, to see which one offers me a better chance of achieving my dreams. Basically it would be research, to produce something innovative.”

Oriola seemed to be well driven to pursue an academic career. “I would like to become a lecturer,” she said. “You know we’ve got an opportunity here to learn, though we need to know more research techniques. So what I have learnt here will have impacts on the upcoming ones in my school which I know they will benefit from it. This is the advantage of our being here,” she asserted.

Self-driven learners

Dr. Wang Ruiyan and Ms. Zhao Qiuwei, both staff at the lab led by Prof. Li Yin, are well impressed by Ijeoma and Oriola’s hard work: “They spend long hours on their experiments, with the awareness that they have got precious opportunities to learn here.”

 “I still remember Oriola’s proposal was really well written,” remarks Li Yin recalling why he chose to enroll Oriola. “It was not just that she spent due energy addressing the proposal. It was that all too often applicants do not know what they are to do during their stay here, but obviously she was very clear about her objectives.”

The protein secretion system Pichia pastoris was chosen by Ijeoma herself as her target technique to learn at Li’s lab. Li gave Ijeoma and Oriola opportunities to talk to everybody in the lab about their respective projects, and also discuss with their supervisors in Nigeria to decide which ones could be of interest. After a series of discussions, Ijeoma decided to work with Pichia.

“Because once you learn this technique, you can take such a system back to Nigeria, and adapt it to express any other protein; theoretically you won’t have difficulty in producing different proteins. That’s something we’d like her to learn specially and get information that will be useful when she’s back home,” Li explained: “She had the freedom to talk to everybody before choosing her project.  It is her choice, because we believe that interest is the motivation for doing research, if you are not interested, you are not properly motivated.”

Oriola's PhD topic is on the ecology of organisms from some fermented beverages, which will meet the needs of industrialization in Nigeria. “My objectives are to identify the organisms, then develop some bacteria strains that can be manipulated to produce a high quality beverage… But certainly I still like what is going on at this laboratory, and would like to join them,” remarked Oriola.

Life in CAS

People might be curious whether international students at CAS have difficulties communicating with their Chinese fellows. Ijeoma and Oriola, however, said that they had no difficulty at all.

“No. I don’t have any problem,” responded Ijeoma: “The staff and students vary in terms of English level; but they are really lovely people to work with. There is fun too, and I really like to work with them.” According to Prof. Li Yin, generally PhD students speak good English, and some technicians with Master’s degrees are fairly good. “As Ijeoma said, some people can communicate with and understand them very easily, and some will understand if you slow down and speak word by word. Actually having international students here has made it more natural for the team members to speak English at seminars and group meetings, which is what I would like to see." Li said with satisfaction.

On the other hand, both Ijeoma and Oriola are happy with their living in Beijing, with their fellowship well covering their living expenses and no tuition fee to pay.

“Roughly, after deduction of fees for accommodation, their monthly allowance is good enough to support a living as comfortable as local students,” explained Li, “and they do not need to pay any tuition fee.”

“I love everything here, and I am already feeling that I would like to come back,” Oriola said with a bright smile.

Unfolding story

Looking back, Ijeoma and Oriola told their stories regarding how they got linked to the CAS-TWAS Fellowship Program and Li’s laboratory.

“It’s a bit strange,” recalled Oriola: “At my previous school, there was a lecturer who came to CAS for this same program who presented a seminar and was commended by everyone. I thought to myself ‘this is wonderful’, so I went to meet him and he told me about CAS-TWAS. Then I went in search of a host supervisor on the website; fortunately for me I saw Prof. Li’s profile. I was happy because all I wanted to work on was embedded in his previous research and I thought oh, this is wonderful,” she laughed. She went for her dream -- she logged onto the website of TWAS’ Regional Office for East and Southeast Asia and applied for the opportunity.

Ijeoma got to know the fellowship from her neighbor, a TWAS Young Affiliate who visited CAS in 2006 and 2007. “I visited him one Sunday evening and in the course of our conversation he mentioned and explained the CAS-TWAS fellowship program to me. Later he forwarded my curriculum vitae and hoped it could help. After some time, I had an email from Prof. Li.”

All this seems to be a beautiful story that is still gradually unfolding; and Prof. Li has a plan to make it easier for potential applicants to reach their potential hosts.

A plan of the CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence, which is led by Li, is to collect information of professors from different CAS institutes who are working in the area of biotechnology, and post it on the website of the center. “We will put on our website information about the professors who would like to recruit and supervise students from developing countries other than China,” introduced Li.

“Probably we can collect the information of over one hundred supervisors who are majoring in medical biotechnology, food biotechnology, industrial biotechnology and other branches of biotechnology. People from developing countries who are interested in applying CAS-TWAS Fellowships to perform research in the field of biotechnology, might all benefit from this one-stop portal, or directory of supervisors,” he said.

Source: english.cas.cn