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In a conversation with ChatGPT and Tongyi Qianwen, Su Jun asked them the same question. "What is the stereotype of a scientist?" they gave similar answers, "white coats, short-sighted glasses, eccentric personality, somewhat unkempt hair", etc. Of course, the large model also emphasizes that these are only "stereotypes" and do not reflect the real image of scientists in reality.
Su Jun, an independent researcher at the Beijing Institute of Biological Sciences, who appeared at the Damo Academy's Young Scholars Sharing Session on January 8, still has eye-catching blonde hair. Free and casual hair color, relaxed and trendy outfits and passionate and smiling personality are his labels out of the circle. Su Jun's Xiaohongshu account is "Dyeing Blonde Blogger", he also often shares some clips of scientific research and daily life, in addition to scientific research, he also loves anime and idol dramas, reality shows, and many netizens have left messages expressing their hope to "ask the guide to take them in". Su Jun admits that dyeing his hair is "according to his mood", and he also hopes to bring a youthful and energetic atmosphere to the laboratory. He also recently said he plans to change to a pink hair color.
Students say he's a "master of time management"
Su Jun, who has recently come out of the circle, is the first Hong Kong winner of the Young Orange Award. It's curious, how do I do it while having fun with fashion and life, but also doing academically?" Su Jun told reporters, "Most of my schedule at the end of the day is devoted to scientific research. But when doing scientific research, especially when we do biological experiments, there will be a lot of waiting time between experiments, for example, there is a 15-minute incubation time. That's the time I use to reply to emails and scroll through Xiaohongshu. At the end of the day, I use these small gaps. In the evening, I left more time for myself to reflect on the day's work and how the experiments could be improved in the future. So I don't think there's necessarily a conflict between work and life, it's just a matter of how you squeeze out your time. ”
Su Jun joined the Beijing Institute of Biological Sciences at the age of 28 and is currently the youngest researcher at the Beijing Institute of Biological Sciences. While most of the researchers are still in the doctoral stage at the age of 28, Su Jun has completed three years of postdoctoral research at the age of 28, and was successfully selected as one of the "MIT Science and Technology Review China's 35 Under 35 Science and Technology Innovation Talents" last year, becoming the youngest person selected that year. The average age at the Beijing Institute of Biological Sciences is around 38 years old, and Su Jun's scientific independence has been advanced by nearly 10 years, "with more time, I hope to go further than everyone else," Su Jun said.
Su Jun's current research focuses on early embryonic development. In fact, up to half of IVF embryos in fertility centers will have failure to thrive. This part of the embryo has completed the union of sperm and egg cells, but stops developing before dividing into a implantable uterus and can only be discarded clinically. "So we want to find the mechanism of failure to thrive and develop effective prevention and control methods to improve the development efficiency of embryos. The relevant results can be applied to the reproductive center to reduce the number of cycles that women need to go through in the process of assisted reproduction. ”
In contemporary society, celibacy and dink are becoming more and more common. But there are also more and more women who are facing the dilemma of having children, "wanting to give birth but not being able to give birth". The latest data suggest that up to 20% to 40% of human eggs have an abnormal number of chromosomes. At the same time, with the increasing age of marriage and childbearing among young people today, the infertility rate has increased from 3% to about 20% in the past 20 years, which means that 1 in 5 couples has fertility problems.
At the sharing session, Su Jun was also asked, what advice do you have for the reproductive health of older women?Su Jun said, "This may be a problem that many women with good careers are more concerned about, and we currently have no practical solution to the aging and quality of eggs." I started this research with the intention of designing a program that would improve the quality of eggs in both young and advanced women. If you want to give practical advice, it is better to freeze the eggs as soon as possible while you are young. Because there is currently no way to reverse or repair the problems caused by age, it is better to freeze it first and thaw it when the career is mature, which is a more effective means than to go for IVF treatment at an advanced age. ”
Important life choices are inseparable from the guidance of women
"For me, I consider myself very lucky. When asked why he chose the field of female reproductive health, Su Jun repeatedly mentioned his luck.
Su Jun's mother gave birth to him at the age of 40+. Su Jun's "critical moment" is always indispensable to the help of two female mentors, and the brilliance and difficulty of women make Su Jun want to contribute more to the female group. From high school, he was guided into the field of biology, and then he was supported by his mentor all the way during his undergraduate years, and then to the mentor's unstinting advice on the way to study and research in Germany. Su Jun met his undergraduate advisor when he was in high school, and he participated in a summer program at the University of Chinese Hong Kong, where he did a two-month Xi in her lab. When Su Jun saw living stem cells under the microscope for the first time, he "felt that the whole person was infected", and his love for biology seemed to be completely aroused at that moment.
With the help of his mentor, Su Jun completed six "rotations" during his undergraduate years, and used his winter and summer vacations to enter the laboratories of different universities or research institutes. He has been exposed to different fields such as viral biochemistry, liver cancer metastasis, RNA cleavage and regulation, and HIV immunotherapy, which further clarified the future research direction.Chinese By his senior year, he had become the student who had been in the lab for the longest time and had the most extensive skills, and even began to help his supervisor "bring doctoral students".
After graduating with a bachelor's degree, his supervisor also helped Su Jun successfully apply for a Ph.D. in biology (biology and complex systems physics) at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Three years of solid laboratory experience, extensive cross-project rotation and excellent academic paper publication made Su Jun exceptionally admitted. Su Jun successfully completed the project in just over a year, just in time for the graduation node to publish his thesis, and finally successfully obtained the top doctoral degree and completed the scholarship bet. After graduating with a Ph.D., Jun Su was awarded a scholarship from the Croucher Foundation in Hong Kong and continued to work as a postdoctoral fellow in his supervisor's laboratory.
When the pandemic broke out around 2020, the number of human samples provided by cooperative reproductive centers dropped dramatically. In order to let him continue his research, Su Jun's mentor traveled to various European countries to help Su Jun obtain frozen human eggs, and successfully completed the project in 2022. At the moment when Su Jun is facing a major life decision, this female mentor helps him analyze the pros and cons, and finally pushes Su Jun to choose to return to the embrace of his motherland.
admits that he was also a "scumbag"
Jun Su is currently an assistant professor and doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University. The 5 doctoral students currently in the class are basically post-90s, unlike the general laboratory that follows the senior brother and sister system, and does not use the "boss" or "teacher" to call him, but directly uses the English name Nick. Everyone can do experiments together, chase together, dye hair together, and have an enviable scientific research atmosphere;It is worth mentioning that in Su Jun's laboratory, before newcomers join, they will conduct a democratic vote, and Su Jun himself only has one vote, and he hopes that the partners who get along day and night are loved and recognized by everyone.
In the interview, Su Jun admitted that he was a "scumbag" before high school, and because of his poor physics grades in junior high school, his comprehensive score was seriously lowered, resulting in frequent failures in "science". The teacher once bluntly said to Su Jun that "science is too poor" and was admonished to "not recommend studying science". Hong Kong's "science" discipline is similar to the mainland's "science comprehensive", which is also a combination of physics, biology and chemistry, but Su Jun finally chose science because he likes biology and chemistry classes.
Unlike ordinary parents, Su Jun's parents didn't want him to be a "scientist" earlier. It may be that Hong Kong is blessed with a unique commercial atmosphere, and Su Jun's parents want him to go from business to become a doctor. When the college entrance examination results were released, Su Jun secretly changed his volunteer from medicine to "cell and molecular biology" behind his parents' back. At that moment, he also understood that the tuition and living expenses for four years of college had to rely on himself, but fortunately, he had a good enough college entrance examination score so that he could step in first and then think of a way. During his undergraduate years, Su Jun overcame various scholarships and support from various foundations, which gave him the confidence to continue his scientific career.
The million-dollar prize money will be used to purchase a microscope
As for why he applied for the Young Fellow Award, Su Jun said in an interview: "Young scientists really need the support of national talent projects and non-governmental award funds. The special feature of the Young Fellows Award is that in addition to providing regular bonus awards, it also has the resource support of the research team of the Damo Academy. ”
Su Jun's laboratory will produce a large amount of microscopic imaging data in the process of experiments, and each human embryo will produce about 1TB of data after 5 days of shooting, and the information extracted manually is limited and extremely inefficient.
The microscope is the tool that Su Jun has dealt with most often in his research work over the years, but with millions of instruments and equipment, the cost of replacing a component is not low. At present, many microscopes in the laboratory are purchased through Su Jun's personal talent project funds. Su Jun said that he often buys some second-hand lenses and accessories on Xianyu to improve his microscope equipment. The official channel asks for more than 200,000 shots, and you can buy them for 20,000 yuan in Xianyu. His rich experience allows him to judge the integrity of the lens from video photos, even if some of them are not brand new, as long as they do not affect the use. This is a cost-effective way to purchase within the scope of personal affordability.
As for how to spend the million-dollar prize money of the Green Orange Award, Su Junxiao said that he plans to add another microscope to the laboratory to promote the development of long-term live-cell imaging methods with more than seven colors.
Yangtze Evening News/Purple Cow News reporter Zhang Nan reported from Hangzhou
Proofread by Li Haihui