If you could do it all over again, would you still choose me as your mentor? — The growth of a "Shamatte" boy

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Author: Zhang Songping (Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Producer: China Science Expo

Since I started working at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences on January 1, 2005, I have supervised and co-supervised 49 graduate students to graduation in the blink of an eye (this number has just been confirmed by carefully counting the number of sub-directories under the "graduate" folder on the computer), and I am currently supervising 10 students.

Figure 1 Graduated students' folder directory

(Image source: provided by the author)

Some people say that recruiting students is like opening a blind box. You never know whether you will recruit a "genius" who can complement the mentor or a "nemesis" who will make the mentor sleepless...

Looking back on my nearly 20 years of career as a mentor, perhaps it is the inherent law of "birds of a feather flock together", or perhaps it is the subtle influence of "birds of a feather flock together", even though some of my students have challenged me by saying "Teacher Zhang, I don't think what you said makes sense", I always feel "hateful" and can't help but "nagging like an old mother", but fortunately, these students all have simple character and serious attitude.

I often think that a naive young boy, with the initial dream of scientific research, spends his best youth in a research group for at least 3 years and at most 5 to 7 years. For a tutor, this is not only a heavy responsibility, but also a most predestined encounter.

The protagonist of this article is Ji Xiaoyuan , a student I supervised. I would like to use this article to quickly record his seven-year laboratory journey from a "Shamatte" boy to a young scholar.

A "Shamatte" boy wearing a ring on his hand and a gold chain around his neck

Xiaoyuan wrote on WeChat: "You have been my mentor since the first day I started my scientific research. All the so-called achievements I have made today are attributed to your cultivation back then. I often use you as an example to the students in our current group, asking them to be like me back then, and I will be like you back then..."

Figure 2 Screenshot of WeChat chat with Xiaoyuan

(Image source: provided by the author)

Even though 13 years have passed, I still clearly remember the first time I met Xiaoyuan.

It was a rainy day in September 2010. The 2010 fall enrolled master's students of the State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering came to the institute for a two-way mentor selection meeting. During the mentor selection stage, this teenager came up to me and asked if he could join our research group. I looked at this teenager with a ring on his hand, a gold chain on his neck, and a fashionable "Shamatte" hairstyle, and I gladly agreed to his application, but I couldn't help but murmur in my heart: Can I hold on to such a student who seems to have a lot of personality?

Figure 3 "Shamatte" Xiaoyuan

(Image source: provided by the author)

Master's Departure

During his first year of master's degree, Xiaoyuan studied intensively at Yuquan Road. There was no WeChat at that time, so we only contacted each other occasionally by email. Xiaoyuan would actively ask me to give him some directions for literature research. I still have several literature summary reports he submitted in the first semester on my computer.

Figure 4 Part of the literature report submitted by Xiaoyuan in the first semester of her master's degree

(Image source: provided by the author)

Before the Spring Festival holiday, I received an email from Xiaoyuan. He told me that because a classmate in the class was seriously ill, he organized all the classmates to donate money to this classmate, so he went home later than other students. I immediately transferred 600 yuan to him as a token of my gratitude to the sick classmate and my support for his donation activities. At the same time, I also got to know this responsible and warm-hearted young man better.

The intensive study in the first year of the master's program ended quickly, and Xiaoyuan officially entered the laboratory and began to spend every day with me as a teacher and student.

His master's thesis is a natural science foundation project I presided over, "Study on the application of a novel multi-enzyme catalytic system supported by nanofibers in biological preparation processes". In order to complete the thesis, we "privately built" an electrospinning experimental device together; in order to obtain the "chip" for preparing hollow nanofibers, Xiaoyuan turned into a "welder" and designed and processed a new coaxial spinneret by himself; electrospinning is particularly affected by humidity in summer, so we renovated the office, installed a small sun and a dehumidifier, and opened up a small world with constant temperature and humidity...

After numerous experiments, we finally invented a coaxial electrospinning technology, successfully prepared hollow nanofibers , and realized the in-situ efficient loading of **multi-enzyme systems. **This technology has been granted an invention patent (ZL 201210217561.8), and has constructed multiple multi-enzyme systems for biological detection, oil-water interface catalysis and other fields. The relevant results have been published in "J Material Chem B" and "Analyst".

As I often tell my students, a person who can cook is usually not bad at doing experiments, and vice versa. In addition to scientific research, Xiaoyuan has become a versatile person in the research group - he can not only cut hair for male students in the laboratory (it is said that he made a net profit of 50 yuan with this skill in one month), but also do makeup for students who go on stage at the evening parties in the institute (unfortunately, there are no pictures left).

Doctoral stage: Growth

As his research progressed, Xiaoyuan became more and more interested in scientific research. After graduating with a master's degree, he passed the doctoral examination and continued to work in the group, setting himself a goal of completing an article every six months.

With our joint efforts, hollow nanofibers have developed into a platform technology for the positioning and assembly of multi-enzyme systems, solving the problem of synergistic reactions of coenzymes/multi-enzymes at the material interface in synthetic biocatalysis. We have further constructed a light-enzyme coupled artificial photosynthesis system, explored the laws of electron transfer at the photocatalytic-enzyme catalytic interface, and realized the integrated coupling of solar-driven coenzyme regeneration and multi-enzyme catalytic processes.

Peers have highly praised these innovative works, calling them "opening up new avenues" in the field of light-enzyme coupled artificial photosynthesis research and a "benchmark contribution."

Xiaoyuan also achieved his goal. During the short two years of his doctoral studies, he published many papers in journals such as "ACS Nano", "ACS Catalysis", "Small", and "ACS Sus Chem Eng". Fortunately, this research direction also received two consecutive grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Harvard Scholarship: Transformation

At the beginning of his doctoral studies, Xiaoyuan talked to me about his hope to have the opportunity to study abroad, and I strongly supported his ideal.

Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. In the fourth semester of his doctoral studies, Xiaoyuan successfully applied for funding from the China Scholarship Council and got the opportunity to visit the top laboratory in the field of nano-oncology drug research at Harvard Medical School .

A brand new environment, a brand new research direction, everything is a new beginning.

Xiaoyuan is far away in a foreign country, but I rarely hear him complain. He talks to me more about the progress he has made and the challenges he has encountered in his research projects at Harvard Medical School.

It is gratifying that Xiaoyuan quickly became familiar with the research direction of the Harvard Medical School research team. What is even more valuable is that he has well combined the theoretical basis of the previous light-enzyme coupled artificial photosynthesis project with the Harvard team's research in the field of tumor photothermal/photodynamic therapy, and developed a number of new nanomaterials that can be used to construct light-enzyme coupled artificial photosynthesis systems and have photothermal/photodynamic therapy properties.

Xiaoyuan actively cooperated with his classmates in the research group and made progress in two directions at the same time. They have made good progress and published papers in journals such as "ACS Cat", "Adv Fun Material" and "JMCA".

I know that during his two years of visiting Harvard, this young man has been transforming, becoming more and more confident, and more and more passionate about scientific research. If the first five years were mainly about me guiding him to do experiments, now he has gradually developed independent academic ideas.

Graduation: Blessings

After returning from Harvard, Xiaoyuan has reached the end of his doctoral career. Although I particularly hope that this "good seedling" of scientific research can stay in the group and continue to work, I also fully support his determination to fight for a career independently.

Figure 5 Xiaoyuan on the day of his doctoral thesis defense

(Image source: provided by the author)

After graduation, I kept receiving good news about Xiaoyuan publishing articles and applying for projects. In 2021, he also received funding from the National Excellent Young Scholars Program, and at this time he had only graduated with a doctorate for four years.

Here, I would like to wish the "Shamatte" boy of that year, hoping that he can go further and further and more steadily on the road of scientific research.

Figure 6 Young scholar Xiao Yuan

(Image source: provided by the author)

Conclusion

Finally, I want to say that Xiaoyuan is just one of my students. When I was his master's supervisor, I was just an associate researcher. However, after seven years of master's and doctoral studies, Xiaoyuan has grown into an outstanding young scholar and is contributing to the innovative development of my country's nanobiomedicine field.

If you also have a dream of doing scientific research and happen to be interested in the advanced manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals (proteins, mRNA, etc.), please come to my research group without hesitation . I believe this will be the place where your dreams will come true.

Figure 7 Please remember my name: Researcher Zhang Songping

(Image source: provided by the author)

Figure 8 The content of this article has been reviewed by the protagonist of this article

(Image source: provided by the author)