On April 8, the International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) meeting of the FAFU-UCR Joint Center for Horticultural Biology and Metabolomics (HBMC) under Haixia Institute of Science and Technology (HIST) was convened at the Li Changsheng Conference Center.
In attendance were:
· Lai Hairong, Chair of the University Council;
· Chen Shikui, Vice Chair of the University Council;
· Natasha Raikhel, Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences and Professor at University of California, Riverside (UCR);
· Chen Xuemei, Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences and Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Peking University;
· Sean Cutler, Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences and Professor at UCR;
· Asaph Aharoni, Associate Member of EMBO and Head of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel;
· Dolf Weijers, Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Associate Member of EMBO, and Chair of the Biochemistry Laboratory at Wageningen University;
· Tian Zhixi, National Distinguished Expert and Chief Scientist of the Soybean Seed Innovation Team at Yazhouwan National Laboratory.
The meeting was chaired by Professor Yang Zhenbiao, Director of HBMC ISAC.
Scene of 2025 HBMC ISAC Meeting
Lai Hairong’s Address
On behalf of FAFU, Lai Hairong extended a warm welcome and heartfelt gratitude to the experts. He briefed the meeting on the university’s recent achievements, noting two disciplines ranked in the global top 0.1% of ESI and ten in the top 1%. The university researchers published 18 papers in top-tier international journals (Cell, Nature, Science – CNS), each as both first author and corresponding author. Recognizing the experts’ pivotal role in these achievements, he called for deeper ties to empower young scientists in tackling grand global scientific challenges. He further called upon the Committee to leverage their global academic networks as vital links to facilitate the recruitment of internationally distinguished scholars, foster institutional partnerships with leading universities worldwide, and advance collaborative research addressing critical global challenges, particularly in food security, ecological sustainability, and human well-being, thereby contributing to the university’s development while serving broader societal needs.
During the meeting, nine Principal Investigators (PIs) from the center presented cutting-edge research spanning multiple frontiers: plant trichome development and stress resistance mechanisms, regulatory networks of soybean nodulation, mechano-biochemical signaling in plant development, cis-regulatory specificity of gene expression, mechano-sensing in pollen tubes, enzymatic regulation of triterpenoid saponin diversity in Camellia sinensis, spatial metabolomics technologies, structure-function relationships of key metabolic enzymes, and metabolomics-driven fruit quality improvement. All of them demonstrate the center’s interdisciplinary strengths in fundamental and applied plant sciences.
The experts participated actively throughout the meeting, posing insightful questions and engaging in substantive discussions. They offered strategic recommendations on the center’s future development, infrastructure needs, and global partnerships, providing important guidance for its continued progress.
Discussion and Exchanges
Campus View from Mingde Building
Lai Hairong discussed overseas talent recruitment and academic collaboration with the center’s members in Mingde Building’s reception room.
Attendees included the center’s PIs, faculty, students, and relevant university office representatives.
Correspondant: Lin Juan, FAFU-UCR Joint Center for HBMC
Photogragher: You Da, General Administration Office
Translators: Lu Hanyang, International College
Huang Peifang, International College