Chongqing - On March 4, the Chongqing delegation submitted a group suggestion to the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), urging central authorities and relevant state ministries to support pilot policies in the Chengdu-Chongqing Region in the high-tech industry, calling for the acceleration of the region’s development into a nationally influential sci-tech innovation hub.
The suggestion focuses on optimizing the innovation environment, improving living security, attracting and retaining high-tech talent, integrating new platforms for concept validation and pilot R&D into research land management, accelerating technology transfer, and driving high-quality economic growth between Sichuan and Chongqing.
"This suggestion elevates Sichuan-Chongqing collaboration to a national policy level, signaling increased investment from enterprises, talent, and capital," said Dr. Jiang Zongzhe, Deputy Director of the Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Key Laboratory of Metabolic Vascular Disease, in an exclusive interview with Bridging News on March 3.
Dr. Jiang Zongzhe, Deputy Director of the Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Key Laboratory of Metabolic Vascular Disease. (Graphics/Li Jiao)
The Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Key Laboratory focuses on cutting-edge fields like precision medicine, AI, electronic information, advanced manufacturing, and intelligent new energy vehicles. It unites top scientific minds, elite research teams, universities, and institutions from both regions. With a strong industry-driven approach, the lab conducts applied research and explores frontier technologies, pushing the boundaries of innovation.
"Our joint laboratory must seize this opportunity and leverage the policy dividends," said Dr. Jiang. The two regions can tackle metabolic disorders caused by Sichuan and Chongqing's high-salt, high-oil diets by working together. This collaboration also ensures that research breakthroughs lead to localized treatments.
Dr. Jiang said the lab will prioritize clinical research, talent development, fundamental studies, and applied innovations to advance metabolic disease research, benefit more people, and support the Healthy China initiative.
The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University has already built western China’s largest and most advanced research cohort for diabetes-related vascular diseases, encompassing approximately 30,000 participants. Meanwhile, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University has established the region’s largest and globally leading cohort for endocrine hypertension research, covering about 20,000 participants.
Dr. Jiang explained that in clinical research, the laboratory aims to set up a joint research-focused ward. Researchers can identify critical clinical challenges by conducting large-scale cohort analyses, paving the way for more precise treatments.
Talent is the core driver of scientific innovation, said Dr. Jiang. His lab will enhance talent exchange and mobility between Sichuan and Chongqing, jointly cultivate graduate students, and establish a postdoctoral research station to inject fresh momentum into metabolic disease studies.
Medical researchers are conducting experiments in the Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Key Laboratory of Metabolic Vascular Disease. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)
Additionally, the lab will integrate large-scale instrument and equipment platforms, creating a shared reservation system to optimize resource sharing and improve research efficiency.
On the application front, the lab aims to attract more enterprises from Sichuan and Chongqing to participate in collaborative R&D, accelerating the clinical adoption of fundamental research findings.
Dr. Jiang highlighted the lab's breakthrough in creating an integrated radiopharmaceutical system for diagnosing and treating primary aldosteronism. Primary aldosteronism is a condition where the adrenal glands make too much of a hormone called aldosterone, which can cause high blood pressure and low potassium levels.
The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University leads the way in nuclear medicine development in China, while the Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University excels in treating primary aldosteronism. Together, they have merged their expertise to create the world’s first radionuclide-based diagnostic and therapeutic system for this condition.
This breakthrough has already been incorporated into international guidelines and is expected to benefit patients in Sichuan, Chongqing, and across China.
Dr. Jiang emphasized the lab’s ambition to establish Sichuan and Chongqing as national leaders in metabolic vascular disease treatment. "Through this joint laboratory, patients in Sichuan and Chongqing will soon enjoy equal access to advanced medical technologies and new treatments," he said.
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