Guo Hanyao, a 2020 student majoring in biological sciences (Zhenzhi Experimental Class) of the School of Life Sciences, is a probationary member of the Communist Party of China. He has won the Professional Scholarship, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Scholarship, the first prize of the 8th National College Student Life Science Competition, and the third prize of the "Challenge Cup" College Student Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition. A total of 5 SCI papers were published during the university (3 of which were one or co-author, and 2 were the second authors), with a cumulative impact factor of 46.75. Now he has been sent to Tsinghua University to directly study for a doctorate.
What comes to mind when you think of life sciences? Is it the grass and trees in nature, the infinite mystery of cell reproduction, the wonderful life in the microcosm, or the precise data in the laboratory?
"Both. Exploring these unknowns is a wonderful pleasure. Since watching the plot of the doctor saving lives in the TV series as a child, Guo Hanyao has become extremely curious about the keywords "human body" and "life". He developed a strong interest in biology as a junior student, and he has been a representative of biology for several years, and until now, he has maintained his love for biology and turned this love into motivation for learning.
Gain experience in the game
In the four years of college, Guo Hanyao scored an average of 90.7 points in all courses, ranking first in his major, and won the professional scholarship and innovation and entrepreneurship scholarship five times. In his spare time, Guo Hanyao actively participated in various discipline competitions, and as the main team member, he won the first prize of the 8th National College Student Life Science Competition (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) and the national third prize of the "Challenge Cup" College Student Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition. He also participated in the Chinese Academy of Sciences College Students' Innovation and Practice Training Program, and published two consecutive research papers in the Journal of Hazardous Materials (CAS Zone 1, Impact Factor 14.22), establishing a high-precision genome-wide selection model for cadmium accumulation traits in maize grains.
▲Paper "GWAS-assisted Genome Prediction of Cadmium Accumulation in Maize Grain Based on Machine Learning and Linear Statistical Methods" (Guo Hanyao is the second author)
Guo Hanyao recalled that among the many competitions, the "Challenge Cup" competition was his first time as a keynote speaker, so he was most impressed. During the preparation for the competition, although the teachers provided help in theory and basic knowledge, in practical application, they also needed to spend a lot of time digesting the knowledge on their own, and finally completed the roadshow and debriefing on the research significance, core results and innovation of the project.
Strong self-learning ability and teamwork are the main reasons why Guo Hanyao and his teammates won the award in this competition. During the preparation for the competition, he often stayed up until the early hours of the morning; When there is a disagreement in the team, everyone will also put forward their own opinions, constantly optimize and strive for excellence; He also conducted repeated mock lectures with his teammates, constantly polishing to grasp more details, and revised more than a dozen drafts of the PPT of the report alone.
▲Guo Hanyao (right) participated in the "Challenge Cup" competition
The original intention is unswerving, and the interest is the voyage
Guo Hanyao's current five SCI papers are broadly divided into two research directions. According to Guo Hanyao, the topics of two of the papers came from the instructors of previous science and technology innovation projects, and they were in the direction of plant genomes. At the end of the project, he chose to study human science-related tumors that he was most interested in. There are a large number of liver cancer patients in mainland China, but there is still a lack of effective classification and personalized treatment strategies for different types of liver cancer, so his topic selection focuses on the diagnostic models and personalized treatment strategies of liver cancer and acute kidney injury. On the road of exploring academic research, he is not only interested in his own field, but also hopes to master the knowledge of emerging life science technologies, and contribute to the progress of the field of life sciences and the national medical cause through scientific research and practice.
When talking about the skills of learning and scientific research, Guo Hanyao said: "The most important thing is to have your own ideas, not always staring at what others are doing, but doing what you should do. University life is a world full of diversity and change, everyone has their own pace and goals, some people focus on academic research, hoping to dig deeper in the professional field; Some people are inclined to practice and exercise their professional ability through various front-line experiences, and in this process, maintaining the original intention and not being moved by the outside world is the only way to success. ”
▲Paper "Immunogenicity Landscape and Risk Score Prediction of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on Unfolded Protein Response (UPR)-related Molecular Subtypes" (Guo Hanyao is the co-first author)
Crossing the thorns and chasing dreams
The road to such a typical "scholar" is not smooth sailing as imagined. When the summer camps of major colleges and universities just opened for registration, he submitted 30+ applications as soon as possible. In order to receive more and higher-quality offers, he often stayed up all night to revise his resume according to the requirements of different institutions, and was rejected by several favorite universities. After going through the process of being full of enthusiasm to falling into a trough, he finally received a notice from Tsinghua University for the pre-promotion and exemption of admission to the biology major.
After the successful escort, Guo Hanyao did not stop learning. At present, he has been in contact with his mentor at Tsinghua University and started his work a year early. Guo Hanyao also enthusiastically introduced some of the recent work of his research group, "The research group has discovered some genes that affect cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy drugs through high-throughput screening in the early stage, and we are currently exploring some gene functions, discovering the key proteins or factors in the production of drug resistance in tumor cells, and trying to target these proteins or other small molecules to achieve the reversal of drug resistance, block the last way for cancer cells to escape, and improve the survival rate of cancer patients." When talking about professional things, he became eloquent, and his eyes were full of interest and love for his profession.
▲Guo Hanyao accepted the notice of pending admission from Tsinghua University
During the interview, Guo Hanyao also showed us the "other side" of scientific research work, he said that the life of the scientific research room is not as boring as everyone imagined, and the warmth of the team members makes the scientific research room full of relaxed and happy atmosphere. In their free time, they often get together to drink milk tea, watch movies, play games, and communicate with students from different projects and research rooms. Sometimes, the collision of ideas is better than a person's hard thinking, and the company of like-minded people is better than a person's solitary struggle.
Talking about his personal life, Guo Hanyao said that he is not only busy with schoolwork, he has insisted on studying ballroom dance for eight years, and has won the bronze medal in the amateur group of the National Youth International Standard Dance Championships.
▲The scene of the national ballroom dance competition (the second from the left is Guo Hanyao)
When talking about how to spend university life, Guo Hanyao still said: "You must maintain your own independent ideas and opinions, don't follow the crowd, if you have your own passion direction, please take the first step decisively and go on bravely." ”
With the blessing of love, Guo Hanyao's scientific research path will definitely go further and further to help him start the next wonderful life.
The role models around you can learn and do, and the spiritual strength can be traced. The Rong Media Center has set up a special column "Sparkling TA", which selects more typical characters and their deeds in the "One Day One Star" column, tells the stories of role models around them, and welcomes teachers, students, alumni, parents and friends from all walks of life to pay attention. I hope that while sending applause, students can also keep up with excellent role models and find a suitable path for their own growth.
Source: Hebei Normal University Planning/Convergence Media Center
Interview by Guo Huiru and Pan Baoming
Photo/Courtesy of the interviewee
Typesetting/Guo Huiru
Editor-in-Chief/Ma Qianru
Review/Wang Ping, Ma Qianru