Professor Zhang Yongzhen at the door of the laboratory
Guide
Recently, Professor Zhang Yongzhen, a famous virologist, encountered a waterloo in his life. From being regarded as one of the "Top 10 People of the Year" by the international academic community, to being closed early in the laboratory, unable to enter his own laboratory, and sleeping at the door of the laboratory on rainy days.
On April 30, that is, this morning, Zhang Yongzhen and his team members were still lying at the door. At present, all parties have not responded to Zhang Yongzhen's appeal, "another cold night has passed, lying on the floor at the gate to usher in the dawn."
In January 2020, he released the full genome sequence of the novel coronavirus to the public for the first time in the world, which is regarded as a turning point in the global fight against the new coronavirus epidemic and has earned him international fame, including being selected as one of the top 10 people of the year by Nature in 2020, one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time in the United States, and the "2020 Asian People of the Year" list by Singapore's Straits Times.
However, today in 2024, in the face of the forced closure of the laboratory, he slept at the door of the laboratory to show his dissatisfaction.
Qi Xuan | Writing
01
The laboratory was closed in advance, and the well-known professor slept at the door
Recently, the news that Professor Zhang Yongzhen's laboratory was forced to close has aroused a lot of attention in the academic circle, and many photos and videos of Professor Zhang Yongzhen having to sleep outside the laboratory have been circulated on the Internet. The matter has been fermenting for many days.
Up to now, Zhang Yongzhen and his students are still at the door of the laboratory. One student was locked inside, fed and housed for three days, and was not allowed to enter or leave. "It's been another extraordinary night, but fortunately there is no rain from last night, and I am grateful for the company of my students. Zhang Yongzhen said on social platforms on April 30.
He led one of the most new viruses in the world, and was the first to discover more than 2,000 new viruses, such as Jingmen virus, Chu virus, Qin virus, etc., and the discovery of these new viruses not only enriched the content of virus taxonomy, but also provided an important scientific basis for the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
In this regard, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center responded to the dispute between the center and Zhang Yongzhen's team on the Internet in the early hours of yesterday morning, saying that it was because of the renovation and construction of the laboratory, and a new experimental site had been arranged for Zhang Yongzhen and his team.
From the statement, it is not difficult to see that the center denied the closure of the laboratory, and emphasized that it had been informed of the renovation in advance and that other sites had been relocated.
However, Zhang Yongzhen's team has been in dispute with the public health center for a long time, and the renovation may only be a reason for Zhang Yongzhen and his team to leave, and the new experimental site has not been implemented, and it cannot meet the biosafety requirements of the laboratory, so the time left for Zhang Yongzhen and his team from the announcement of the relocation to the forced departure is very short.
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Zhang Yongzhen's response: The new laboratory cannot meet the biosafety requirements
At 10:10 a.m. on April 29, Zhang Yongzhen himself responded on Weibo, denying the arrangements in the statement issued by the Shanghai Public Health Center.
"The public health center suddenly held an emergency meeting last Thursday, and it took only one minute to announce that the P3 laboratory was going to be upgraded, and ordered us to move out within two days, and none of the team members present heard any specific arrangements for where to move," he said. ”
When asked where they were going to move, after receiving a reply from the Public Health Center, Zhang Yongzhen and his team expressed their dissatisfaction, "They never considered whether this teacher's laboratory could meet the current experimental needs of our research group. Our group has a large number of samples with unknown pathogens, and according to biosafety requirements, at least in the P2 laboratory, as far as we know, this teacher's research group does not have a registered P2 laboratory. ”
In order to show that he had suffered injustice, Zhang Yongzhen and his team members slept in front of the laboratory all night.
According to Red Star News, a young researcher in Zhang Yongzhen's laboratory was "locked up" in the laboratory. Researcher Chen told Red Star News, "She has been in the building since the 26th and has been sleeping in the office for three nights. Since the curfew was closed, the student handed her food through the window. ”
A young researcher in Zhang Yongzhen's laboratory was locked up in the laboratory and lived and ate for three days
03
Zhang Yongzhen was once in a state of "de facto unemployment" and was unable to join the new unit
According to the content provided by Zhang Yongzhen and his team, during the most tense period of the anti-epidemic in 2020, the Shanghai Public Health Center introduced Professor Zhang Yongzhen from the Institute of Infectious Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention through talent introduction to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center by sending a "Business Investigation Letter" and a "Letter of Consent to Acceptance".
Regarding this dispute, Zhang Yongzhen's personal claim is to hope that the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center will fulfill its legal responsibilities and compensate for the losses caused to him.
In terms of the team, "since 2020, the whole team has been working day and night to carry out scientific research, these projects are not only important basic research on public health in the country and Shanghai, but also scientific research projects related to the national interests such as the origin of the new crown. "I hope to focus on the overall interests of the country and the nation, and not to create obstacles, troubles, difficulties, or even sabotage to the team's scientific research work. ”
Zhang Yongzhen was the first Chinese scientist to receive the Mohammed Ben Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award.
It is understood that Zhang Yongzhen is currently employed by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Precision Medicine Research Institute of Fudan University (Guangzhou), according to Red Star News, it is still in a state of pending operation, and the members and equipment of Zhang Yongzhen's laboratory are in the public health center.
In 2023, Zhang Yongzhen won the title of "The Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker" in Guangzhou, and this activity aims to "vigorously promote the spirit of scientists, unite and guide the majority of scientific and technological workers to cultivate the feelings of the family and the country, be brave in innovation and strive to be the vanguard of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement".
The early closure of laboratories and the failure to implement previously promised rewards lack a minimum of respect for scientists.