From March 27 to 30, 2025, the Guangdong Medical Science Week and Biomedical Forum of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area were grandly held in Guangzhou. The forum was organized by the Guangdong Medical Association, co-organized by the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, the Guangdong Integrated Diagnosis and Treatment Collaboration Group, and the journal Medicine Advances. It brought together renowned experts in the medical field from China and abroad to focus on national strategies and cutting-edge medical developments, engaging in in-depth discussions on core topics such as medical science and technology innovation, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of major diseases, biomedical research, clinical translational research, and disciplinary development. The forum aimed to build an innovative ecosystem deeply integrating industry, academia, research, and application, leveraging high-level intellectual clusters to drive the high-quality development of the biomedical and health industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and injecting strong momentum into building a world-class biomedical industry hub.

During the event, attendees included academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering such as Tian Zhigang, Gao Tianming, Jia Weiping, Wu Yuzhang, and Cheng Jing, as well as Huang Fei, President of the Guangdong Medical Association, and Prof. Yu Xueqing, President of the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences (Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital) and Chair of the conference. Also present were leaders from numerous domestic hospitals, discipline heads, and healthcare experts and scholars. The opening ceremony was presided over by Li Xin, Vice President of the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences (Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital).

Deep Integration Drives Technological Innovation

In his opening address, Prof. Yu Xueqing, Chair of the conference and President of the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences (Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital), highlighted that the Guangdong Medical Science Week, now in its fifth year, has received significant attention and support from the provincial party committee and government. Moving forward, it will further leverage the advantages of the Greater Bay Area to deepen collaborative innovation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. He revealed that the next Medical Science Week will introduce an international forum focusing on basic research, clinical medicine, life sciences, and intelligent technology to promote interdisciplinary integration. Additionally, it will strengthen collaboration among hospitals, enterprises, research institutions, and regulatory bodies within the Greater Bay Area to build an integrated “industry-academia-research-application” ecosystem, positioning the Guangdong Medical Science Week as a high-level international medical technology event.

Huang Fei, President of the Guangdong Medical Association, stated in his opening speech that in recent years, Guangdong has made great achievements in the biomedical field, aligned with its goal of building an international science and technology innovation center, many of which were showcased during this event. Facing profound global transformations in biomedical technology, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have made breakthroughs in institutional, procedural, and collaborative mechanisms, fostering innovation to establish a world-class biomedical industry hub. Huang called for the following actions: firstly, we should lead with self-reliance in science and technology, focus on key areas such as synthetic medicine and digital healthcare, and build interdisciplinary and cross-regional collaborative systems; secondly, we should leverage the integration of the Greater Bay Area to promote mutual recognition of research standards and resource sharing among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, jointly establishing an international innovation hub for medicine; thirdly, we should center on people’s health, accelerating the widespread translation of scientific and technological achievements to ensure that precision medicine and smart healthcare truly benefit more people.

Academicians Lecture to Promote Interdisciplinary Exchange

Following the opening ceremony, during the keynote academic report session of the main forum, President Yu Xueqing highlighted that Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital has, in recent years, strengthened its three strategic pillars—“disciplines, platforms, and talents”—while reinforcing the dual drivers of clinical practice and scientific research. This has enabled the hospital to achieve rapid and sustained high-quality development. Notably, it once again received an “A++” rating in the latest National Performance Evaluation of Tertiary Public Hospitals, placing it among the top 1% of hospitals nationwide. In 2023, the hospital won six Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Awards, setting a new record. In 2024, it secured 106 National Natural Science Foundation projects, marking the third consecutive year with over 100 approved projects. President Yu also reviewed and outlined the hospital’s journey toward becoming a high-level medical institution, emphasizing key areas such as discipline development, talent recruitment, education and training, institutional management, technological innovation, and academic research.

Numerous experts and scholars also shared insights and engaged in discussions centered on the conference theme. Several academicians and experts delivered keynote speeches on topics including Digital Healthcare and Chronic Disease Management, Intelligent Drugs and Frontiers in Immunotherapy, Decoding, Assessing, Intervening, and Rebuilding Human Immunity, Universal CAR-T Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases, Translational Medicine: Integrating Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, and Opportunities and Challenges in Anti-Tumor Drug Development.

The conference also featured 17 sub-forums covering areas such as frontiers in brain science and precision treatment of depressive disorders, advancements in reproductive technology, clonal evolution of lung cancer, cutting-edge research in IgA nephropathy, autoimmune diseases, pediatric development and growth, clinical and basic progress in brain science, and intelligent imaging. These sub-forums addressed multiple dimensions including disciplinary construction, talent cultivation, innovative technologies, and hospital management, presenting a high-standard, high-quality, and high-level academic feast in a comprehensive and multifaceted format.

Updated: March 30, 2025