Professor Xuetao Cao FMedSci

It is my pleasure to present Professor Xuetao Cao for admission as an Honorary Fellow of the Academy. Today, I ask that he be commended for his seminal work in the field of immunology and his outstanding contribution and dedication to the progress of medical science in China.

Professor Cao is the President of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and one of the most influential biologists in China, making crucial contributions to the understanding of molecular mechanisms for innate immune response and inflammation.

Professor Cao received his PhD from the Second Military Medical University in Shanghai in 1990. After completing his PhD, Prof Cao decided against moving abroad and instead stayed at the Second Military Medical University as a lecturer. His goal was to grow the Department of Immunology into the most productive lab at the SMMU. Professor Cao negotiated for almost a year to set up his own lab at Second Military Medical University and, in 1992, he became Professor in Immunology. This made him, at the age of 28, the youngest medical professor in China. His steep career trajectory continued - becoming director of the department in 1995, and securing venture capital funding to build a new research institute. In 2000, under his direction, the Institute of Immunology was founded. His decision to investigate antigen presenting cells at a time when the field was not popular proved to be an insightful decision. This new direction resulted in the publication of the first Nature Immunology paper from China. The success of the institute led to it being designated in 2006 as China’s Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology with Professor Cao as Director. In the same year Professor Cao was firmly established as China’s leading authority on immunology after being elected President of the Chinese Society for Immunology.

In 2010 the Chinese Minister for Health, Chen Zhu, telephoned Professor Cao and asked if he would help reform biomedical research in China through the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, known as CAMS. The aim was to modernise and reorganise the Academy in order to more effectively fund and promote research. This appealed strongly to Professor Cao’s desire to create world-leading scientific research in China and, in 2011, he relocated to Beijing to take up the position of President of CAMS. Since becoming President, he has helped establish multiple specialised research institutes across the country with the aim to attract internationally-trained Chinese researchers back to China. CAMS is also host to arguably the most prestigious undergraduate medical school in China, the Peking Union Medical College. At this point I can see our own President beginning to pale as he contemplates running an Academy which carries responsibility for 19 Postgraduate Research institutes, 2 National centres and 5 State key labs, and 6 hospitals as well undergraduate training!

Professor Cao is passionate about international collaboration to further scientific knowledge. He is a foreign member of the German Academy of Sciences, The French Academy of Medicine and EMBO as well as immediate past President of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, Secretary General of the Federation of Immunological Societies of Asia-Oceania and was recently elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Medicine. Of particular interest to Professor Cao is the relationship between the Chinese and British medical science communities - a commitment I experienced first-hand at our meetings in Beijing and London. He has been instrumental in promoting communication and collaboration between the two countries and has established a highly productive exchange program of conference talks and lab visits. Since becoming President of CAMS, Professor Cao has acted as co-chair to organise three CAMS-Oxford joint symposia in Beijing, Oxford and Jinan and has set up a CAMS-Oxford Joint Centre for Translational Immunology in China.

In 2015 Professor Cao was awarded a Nature Lifetime Achievement Award for Mentoring in Science. This award highlights his commitment to nurturing scientific progress in China not only from the viewpoint of a National Academy but also from the perspective of the individual young scientists. This is supported by his colleagues and students who know Professor Cao as a mentor and scientist who encourages students to think creatively and challenge established dogma. The creative and supportive work environment at the Institute of Immunology is credited as one of the reasons for the Institute’s many successes. In Professor Cao’s own words, “Being a scientist means having an open mind and respecting the creativity of the individual. Coming from different directions with different views means we can collaborate.”

In summary Professor Xuetao Cao is a celebrated immunologist and scientific leader, committed to scientific excellence in China and through international collaboration. He is also a warm and hospitable colleague of utmost integrity.