How to improve human health: chemistry solutions addressed at FRSC Forum in China

Chinese academics and industry experts came together for a prominent Royal Society of Chemistry event to discuss and showcase how the chemical sciences can help improve public health.

The sixth Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) Forum on Global Challenges and Chemistry Solutions attracted more than 30,000 viewers in person at the Institute of Chemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and online.

Scientific researchers and students from top universities, research institutes and enterprises at home and abroad were all keen to learn about the latest developments and insights from organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology that can tackle global health issues.

Huili Chen, the RSC's Managing Director for China and East Asia, kicked off proceedings at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS) with a welcome speech. Professor Shu Wang, Director of ICCAS and Chair of this FRSC Forum and Dr Emma Wilson, the RSC’s Director of Publishing also shared warm words with the audience at the start of a busy day.

The first of the day's presentations focused on a high-level overview of nucleic acid drugs, following several other exciting speeches placed technology's involvement in tackling health issues such as novel methods to treat cancer, innovative strategies to accelerate drug discovery, and AI integration to drive clinical applications.

Before the invited scientific talks, awards were presented to researchers who contributed significantly to chemistry. New RSC Fellows were presented with certificates to mark their admission as the RSC is committed to developing, recognising and celebrating professional capabilities, while top students received honours as the RSC continues to support and empower the next generation of chemical scientists all around the world.

Meanwhile, three winning teams of the prestigious RSC Horizon Prizes were also given their trophies by Dr Wilson and Elizabeth Woods, the RSC’s Director of Marketing and Customer Experience before the team leaders presented how their award-winning achievements can be applied to improve human health.

The winners are:

• The Inorganic Amorphous Nanomaterials team, led by Professor Guo Lin from Beihang University, received the 2024 Dalton Division Horizon Prize.
• The Lighting Up RNA team, led by Dr Aiming Ren from Zhejiang University, claimed the 2024 Faraday Horizon Prize.
• The Chiral Vicinal Diamines team, led by Professor Wenjun Tang from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, won the 2024 Organic Chemistry Horizon Prize: Robert Robinson Prize in Synthetic Organic Chemistry.

A fruitful and productive day was brought to a close with a panel discussion chaired by Prof Shu Wang.

The Fellow Forum is a major annual date on the RSC calendar in China and focuses on a different big-picture topic each year. Previous editions of the forum have focused on materials, health, energy, water security and industry-academia integration.

In addition to bringing together members to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges, it is an important occasion for RSC staff and members from one of our most significant markets to meet to network and exchange ideas.

• More events in China are planned before the end of the year - check the RSC events page for more details.