Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive, fatal pulmonary fibroproliferative disease that is difficult to cure, with high mortality and poor prognosis. It is called "a cancer that is not cancer." Therefore, it has become a very urgent practical need to strengthen the research on its pathogenesis and develop new and effective treatment strategies on this basis.
As a national overseas high-level imported talent, he is the person in charge of the interstitial lung disease/pulmonary fibrosis research direction of the National Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases at Guangzhou Medical University and the Guangdong Model Worker and Craftsman Talent Innovation Studio (Pulmonary Fibrosis Innovation Research Studio) Tang Xiaoxiao has devoted himself to studying the pathogenesis and prevention and treatment strategies of respiratory diseases such as lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis for many years. She has presided over many projects such as the National Overseas High-Level Talent Introduction Project and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. She has given many invited lectures at international academic conferences and won the International Conference Outstanding Paper Award, the Best Basic Science Paper Award, the Best Poster Award and the Youth Awards such as the Scientist Award and the Top Ten Innovation Achievements of the Innovation Studio from 2020 to 2022 have received widespread attention and recognition from international peers.
Deeply engaged in the field of respiratory disease research
Tang Xiaoxiao has been engaged in respiratory disease research since she was a graduate student. During her PhD studies, she received an Outstanding Research Scholarship to conduct research at Yale University School of Medicine. After receiving his doctorate, Tang Xiaoxiao, who wanted to gain a broader perspective in the scientific field, chose to pursue postdoctoral studies at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the United States, where he continued to conduct research on respiratory diseases and epithelial cell function.
In 2016, Tang Xiaoxiao returned from school and joined Guangzhou Medical University, which has China's top respiratory disease research platform, and formed a research team on pulmonary fibrosis. The team's main research direction is the pathogenesis and prevention strategies of respiratory diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis. . As the academic leader of the team, he has achieved a series of original scientific research results with international influence so far, and representative papers have been published in top international academic journals. "Listen to your inner intuition and voice, and do what you like and choose, so that you can stay true to your original aspirations and stick to your dreams on the long road to scientific research in the future." This is what Tang Xiaoxiao said and did.
Fighting on the "battlefield where gunpowder can't be seen"
Compared with medical staff fighting on the front line to save lives, scientists are struggling on the "battlefield where gunpowder can't be seen" behind the scenes, racing against time to find out the characteristics, infection patterns and causes of the virus. The disease mechanism, etc. are provided to clinical front-line personnel, providing important theoretical basis and support for front-line treatment.
When the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in 2020, Tang Xiaoxiao and his team took over the task at the critical moment. As the head of the research working group on the pathogenesis of COVID-19 at the Guangzhou Respiratory Health Research Institute, she actively organizes forces and leads the team to carry out scientific research. As an expert on Academician Zhong Nanshan's team, she communicates with some institutions at home and abroad that come to recommend drugs and treatment plans, and makes preliminary judgments on whether the drugs are safe and have the potential to be used in the treatment of the new coronavirus epidemic. In addition, Tang Xiaoxiao also serves as co-chairman of the Expert Steering Committee and deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Harvard Research Institute's COVID-19 Cooperation Project, assisting in establishing a cooperative working mechanism and conducting joint research with Harvard Medical School; and as leader of the project management working group, Promote the orderly progress of funded projects through management and coordination. The situation is severe and time is tight. Sometimes samples of COVID-19 patients are obtained at two or three in the morning, and scientific researchers need to act immediately to deal with them in a timely manner. Tang Xiaoxiao was awarded the honorary title of "Guangzhou Model Anti-epidemic Worker" based on her work and contribution during the epidemic.
Showing the power of women in medical research
As a female researcher, Tang Xiaoxiao admitted that she originally chose the scientific research field because it was "interesting and meaningful." She said that on the road to pursuing your ideals, you must listen to your inner intuition and voice. If you have determined your goal, just keep moving forward. Tang Xiaoxiao believes that Guangzhou provides a better working atmosphere for female scientific and technological personnel. She hopes that in the future there will be more policies to help female scientific and technological talents play a better role in scientific research and innovation, so that more women can participate in various scientific research management and review committees. In the work, it is conducive to female scientific researchers to build a scientific research system and social network suitable for their own career development, and to exert more "her" power.
Human life lies in breathing. Tang Xiaoxiao said that during his years of research on respiratory diseases, he has deeply felt the importance and urgency of scientific research. In addition to emergency scientific research on the COVID-19 epidemic, she has long been focused on research on the pathogenesis and prevention and treatment methods of pulmonary fibrosis, focusing on clinical problem-oriented basic research. Many diseases lack effective treatments and drugs, and basic theoretical research cannot keep up, such as the pathogenesis of the disease. She said that in future work, she will continue to delve into the pathogenesis and prevention strategies of respiratory diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, actively explore the pathogenesis and prevention methods of respiratory diseases, contribute to people's respiratory health, and be a people's respiratory disease Guardian of health.
text/Guo Wenyu
picture/interviewee provided
