What level of scientific research can medical students achieve in 7 years? The answer for Li Zhongbo is 12 SCI papers, among which Li acts as the first author/corresponding author in 4 papers and has 4 papers published with total IF of 39.658. This is an achievement that many PhDs and even senior doctors cannot achieve.

Despite the relatively low starting point, Li Zhongbo makes much more efforts than others to acquire such achievements.

Persistence brings hope

When Li Zhongbo first joined the laboratory, he only played an assistant role. Later, his tutor Professor Zhuang Ting gave him a research project to study the new treatment target of triple negative breast cancer, and asked him to design his own scheme.

Li Zhongbo said, “That project was a huge challenge. That was my first time to exercise overall leadership and I had no idea how to start. Fortunately, my tutor provided answers against our questions and guided us on how to move forward step by step.” 

Triple negative breast cancer is one of the most lethal subtypes of breast cancers, with a lack of effective treatment targets. He conducted this project for 4 years and ultimately published a paper with IF of 7.525 on Oct. 2022. In this project, he found a protein called RBCK1, and revealed that RBCK1 overexpression can inhibit the progress of triple negative breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro, providing a new feasible direction for the targeted treatment of triple negative breast cancer cells.

Certainly, during his four years of undergraduate studies, he also considered transitioning to clinical practice, but there is involution in the employment of medical graduates. Therefore, he thought that he may make some achievements with his effects in scientific research.

Efforts reap rewards

At the end of his senior year of college, Li Zhongbo suspended his experiments for half a year and devoted himself to preparing for the exam. Eventually, he successfully passed post-graduate entrance examination with excellent grades and applied for Professor Zhuang Ting’s post-graduate program, continuing his tumor related experiments at the School of Medical Technology.

If a post-graduate wants to make achievements, he must have a dominant thought and take overall responsibility for scientific project. His teachers have discovered the over-activation of YAP can suppress clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Hence, under the encouragement of his teacher, Li Zhongbo mainly studied the growth mechanism and treatment targets of renal cancer during his graduate studies.

This year, the research results were reported on the cover of the Science subsidiary journal, which included a large amount of new experimental data and mechanisms. Professor Leslie Ferrarelli, postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health and senior editor of Science Signals said, “Conventionally, YAP protein was considered to be related to tumor progress, but this research proved that activating YAP can repress clear cell renal cell carcinoma of mice, which is a “counterintuitive” innovative finding.”

The future is promising

Li Zhongbo thought that medical research is an energy-consuming works that force you to give up many hobbies, but ultimately, time will come with answers!

Not long ago, he passed the selection and examination of China Medical University and was admitted as a doctoral candidate in the oncology specialty of surgery.

He wishes to further research practically and clinically available treatment targets for tumors, but not only stop at the experimental level. After all, the greatest “achievement” and “contribution” of scientific researchers is to ultimately apply scientific research to clinical practice, treat diseases and save lives.