In the morning of July 30, 2022, finals of the “2022 National College Students Life Science Contest” was conducted online. In the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” race of the Contest, total 5053 competition works were received, in which, total 4401 works were pre-qualified for the Contest, and total 555 works entered the finals. After intense and strict selection procedures, the undergraduate scientific-innovative team from the medical laboratory technology discipline of the SJTU College of Health Science and Technology nabbed the special prize of the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” race.

It is reported that, the Contest is sponsored jointly by the National Contest for College Students Life Science Contest, the Association of State-level Higher-learning Institution Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centers and the “Study on Biology Teaching of Higher-learning Institutions” periodicals, and covers all fields of life science of higher-learning institutions including biology, foodstuff, medicine, etc. Since its launch in 2020, the event has attracted over 20000 contestants from more than 400 colleges and universities in all the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, Hong Kong, Macao, etc., of China.  

The members of the winning team consist of Guan Yiming and Cui Qi of Grade 2019 and Ma Junrui and Luo Jiajun of Grade 2020 of the Medical Laboratory Technology discipline. The “Research on Gastric Cancer’s Substrate-Specific Gene PLXDC2 Promoting via Macrophages the Epithelium-Mesenchymal Transition” nabbed the Special Prize, and the team’s instructor is Professor Xu Dakang with the College of Health Science and Technology, SJTU School of Medicine.

Drawing on new technologies including single-cell sequencing characteristics analysis, multi-label immunofluorescence staining, tumor immune microenvironment spatial analysis, AI analysis, etc., the team carries out an expanded study, centering on macrophages’ action mechanism on tumor cells, and finds for the first time that, the action axis of PLXDC2/EMT/M2 macrophages may bear on the prognostic and immunotherapy reactivity of gastric cancer patient. This lays a good foundation for new drone development for future diagnostics of gastric cancer.

After winning the prize, the team members unanimously agree that they have benefited a lot from the experience of the subject research, and it dawns on them that, never will scientific research be accomplished in one stroke, but be full of uncertainties and unknown areas in the course of finding and solving a problem, which wants an incessant exploration and bold actions, as well as curiosity and reverence towards science to be harbored, before there could be a possibility for one to lead afar. Being just the pilot for this scientific Odyssey, Professor Xu has been steering the subject research in a correct direction, preventing it from being led astray; moreover, with the research hitting a plateau, Professor Xu spares no time to have penetrating discussions with the team members, delving into the viability of diverse thinking, to advance unremittingly the research efforts. As Guan Yiming, the team captain puts it, for them, the contest looks more like a periodical sorting and summation. Having experienced a bunch of school and national rounds, they are optimizing the subject framework, and further refreshing their thinking; and moreover, the frequency of contest also helps to deepen his comprehension over the subject. In the course of the subject research, he has cultivated himself an exact and scientific way of thinking, and broaden his ken over science. Writing articles on scientific research helps him develop his writing skills, which lays a good foundation for his scientific research efforts in the future.