Scientific research brings more vitality to YNU

Yunnan University (YNU) is active in scientific research and platform construction and has reportedly achieved great results in these activities.

Research bases and platforms

Currently, YNU has one key laboratory for natural resources medicinal chemistry approved by the Ministry of Education. It also has four provincial key laboratories related to paleontological research, plateaus and mountain ecology and restoration of the degraded environment, natural product transformations and applications, as well as quantum information.

It also possesses one national-level key laboratory for the provincial and ministerial joint construction of the Protection and Utilization of Biological Resources in Yunnan.

In recent years, the university has independently presided over projects for the 973 Plan, the 863 Plan, and 21 major bidding projects for the National Social Science Fund of China, as well as four humanities and social science milestone projects for the Ministry of Education.

Zheng Hongbo, a professor at Yunnan University, makes contribution to the research on the evolution history of the Yangtze River together with his team. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

Scientific payoffs

In 2020, Xiao Weilie, a researcher at YNU's laboratory of natural resources medicinal chemistry, led his team to publish research progress on natural product activity based on machine learning in Natural Product Reports, a critical review journal that aims to stimulate progress in all areas of natural products research.

Also in the same year, the team of the School of Life Sciences at YNU published new progress in the study of diterpenoid alkaloids diversity and biosynthesis mechanism in Natural Product Reports.

The teams led by of Lin Jun, Jin Yi and Shao Zhihui from YNU published research results on the efficient, highly regioselective and highly chemoselective synthesis of pyrrole compounds with potential drug activity in ACS Catalysis, a monthly online peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Academic trends

YNU has actively built academic exchange platforms and organizes various forms of academic exchange activities such as the series Donglu High-end Academic Forum, as well as special academic lectures from various schools.

A student concentrates on a research at Yunnan University's laboratory. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]