The 2026 International Young Scholars Network Hosted by CAMS PUMC Concludes Successfully

YIZHUANG AND DONGDAN, Beijing, Aug. 21, 2026 — The 2026 International Young Scholars Network, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Medical SciencesPeking Union Medical College (CAMS PUMC) and co-organized by the Administrative Committee of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, was held in Beijing from Aug. 20 to 21, 2026.

Academician Ji Xunming, President of CAMS PUMC; Wang Lei, Deputy Secretary of the Working Committee and Director of the Administrative Committee of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area;An Xuejun, Deputy Secretary of the Working Committee; Zhang Zhenhua, Senior Counsel of the Beijing Municipal Science andTechnology Commission, Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park;and Si Pengbo, Deputy Director of the Beijing Overseas Talents Center, attended the opening ceremony.Also present were Academician Zhao Yupei (CAS Member, Honorary President of Peking Union Medical College Hospital), Academician Lin Dongxin (CAE Member) and Academician Zhu Lan (CAS Member). VicePresident Wu Chen presided over the opening session.

Opening Remarks

At the opening ceremony, senior representatives from CAMS PUMC, Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, the Beijing Municipal Science andTechnology Commission and the Beijing Overseas Talents Center delivered opening remarks in turn. They exchanged perspectives and outlined arrangements on priority themes including young medical talent development, medical innovation, and deeper industry-academia-research collaboration, with a view to enabling career growth for young investigators and advancing the health‑industry innovation ecosystem.

President Ji Xunming Introduces CAMS PUMC and Talent Policies

Academician Ji Xunming delivered a special presentation on talent policies entitled “Upholding PUMC’s Century-long Mission, Galvanizing Global Innovative Talents.” He provided a comprehensive overview of CAMS PUMC and its talent support policies, systematically presenting the institution’s achievements and development across multiple areas, including its historical evolution, scientific and technological innovation and translational development, medical education and talent cultivation, international cooperation and resource development, as well as talent policies and talent development.

Keynote Speeches

Academician Lin Dongxin, Chief Scientist at the Institute for Future Science and Technology (CAMS PUMC), delivered a keynote speech entitled “Esophageal Cancer Research.” Academician Zhu Lan, Chief Scientist at the Clinical Research Institute (CAMS PUMC), shared practical experience on “How Clinicians Can Conduct High-Quality Clinical Research.” Alejandro F. Frangi, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Chair Professor at the University of Manchester, delivered a lecture entitled “Digital twins and AI in medical device innovation-enabling equitable healthcare access.”

Five parallel thematic seminars were arranged: Healthy Aging, Frontiers in Clinical Research, Intelligent Medicine, Future Science and Technology, and the Peking Union‑Oxford Young Scholars Symposium.

The Healthy Aging Seminar featured the latest research findings on screening and intervention for populations at high risk of cancer, the analysis of the mechanisms of aging through epigenetic remodeling, and applications of exosomes in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Frontiers in Clinical Research Seminar covered precision gene editing, cardiac organoids, transplant immunology, novel cancer immunotherapies, neurostimulation-assisted rehabilitation and biomaterial optimization. Participants also held in-depth discussions on practical issues such as model reproducibility, personalized treatment and translational pathways.

The Intelligent Medicine Seminar focused on the deep integration of artificial intelligence and medicine. Discussions addressed AI-enabled disease diagnosis and treatment, intelligent drug delivery, medical image analysis, multi-omics data interpretation and precision medicine.

The Future Science and Technology Seminar explored the convergence of life sciences and frontier technologies, with sessions covering neurodevelopment and brain–behavior relationships, intelligent gene editing and biomedical big data.

The Peking Union–Oxford Young Scholars Symposium featured academic presentations on immunotherapy, infectious diseases and clinical multi-omics, followed by in-depth interaction and discussion with CAMS PUMC students.

On August 21, institutional talent briefings, youth roundtable discussions and on‑site tours of affiliated institutes and hospitals took place at the Dongdan campus.

Group photo of conference participants

As CAMS PUMC’s inaugural international platform dedicated to young talent exchange, the Forum is designed to attract global innovators, strengthen cross‑border research collaboration, and facilitate academic dialogue, idea exchange and talent matching. It brought together nearly 70 early‑career scholars from 45 leading research and educational institutions across 12 countries and regions, spanning basic medicine, clinical sciences, pharmacy, intelligent medicine, public health and related disciplines.