Subordinate Research Institutes

Institute of Cancer Research

The Institute of Cancer Research aims to create an excellent intellectual basis that enables scientists to work across boundaries for stimulating solutions to questions that challenge the cancer research community. The Institute will sharpen focuses in driving path-breaking discoveries in a way that serves the public good, and will foster collaborations with different international hospitals, pharma enterprises as well as scientific institutes across disciplines to seek achievements in discoveries not only from single-cell level but population-based cohort study. The Institute of Cancer Research aspires to lead global research in primarily 2 to 3 research areas regarding cancer biology and clinical trials. These efforts will join the Chinese strategic guidelines in facilitating cancer-related translational research and therapeutic innovation across and beyond the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and will also ensure proactive alignment with the Healthy China initiative. Research in the Institute of Cancer Research will be “clinical-oriented, translational-prioritized, technological-driven, theoretical-innovative”.

Institute of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

The Institute of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders aims to understand pathogenic mechanisms of brain disorders including Alzheimer's disease, autism, chronic pain, depression, sleep disorder, schizophrenia, and stroke. The Institute encourages collaborations among scientists and clinicians with expertise in neuroscience, chemistry, engineering, computer science and medicine. With a better understanding of disease mechanisms, we hope to develop new ways to diagnose and treat neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Institute of Infectious Diseases

The Institute of Infectious Diseases in Shenzhen Bay Laboratory was established in August 2020. Positioned at the intersection of basic research, public health, and clinical studies, this pioneering institute is devoted to shaping foundational theories and spearheading the development of novel vaccines and therapeutic drugs. The institute strategically focuses on the following areas: Detection and diagnosis of potential epidemic pathogens, Investigation of etiology and genetic evolution of infectious diseases, Delving into the infection dynamics and immune mechanisms of infectious diseases, and Innovations in vaccines and therapies for infectious diseases. Dedicated to addressing the significant theoretical and technological challenges in the field of infectious diseases, the institute adeptly merges research, clinical practices, and translational medicine. This integrated approach aims to provide technological backing and strategic reserves for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and emergency response to major infectious diseases in China.

Institute of Systems and Physical Biology

The Institute of Systems and Physical Biology of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory is dedicated to basic biomedical research, focusing on fundamental systems biology challenges by interdisciplinary collaborations broadly covering genomics and epigenetics, protein drug design, protein engineering and enzyme catalysis, signal transduction, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, metabolic control, and photobiology. Systems biology integrates computational methods, e.g., molecular dynamics simulations and mathematical modeling, with biophysical and biochemical experiments, and different high-throughput omics techniques to investigate structure-function relations of living organisms at systems level, in order to unveil the underlying principles that are difficult to study in the traditional biological research. Some typical research areas are: - Genomics and Epigenetics The development and use of epigenetic sequencing technologies to study common cancers, infectious diseases, neuropsychological and metabolic disorders in Southern China. Network analysis and graph theory in the field of systems biology, analyzing data using mathematical models and artificial intelligence. - Omics of Systems Biology Priorities include proteomics, metabolomics, glycomics, transcriptomics etc. This involves developing advanced high-throughput testing methods and obtaining omics data related to specific diseases. - Mathematical Biology Analysis and use of big data from biological omics and health sciences to understand the fundamental processes of biological systems. This requires the development and building of mathematical and physical models, and the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Dynamical simulation of macromolecular assemblies at atomic resolution is essential for rational experimental design and verification. - Optogenetics Biological photochemistry - development of ultrafast laser technology to study how light-sensitive proteins induce energy and the charge transfer and chemical processes, as well as the resulting cell signaling mechanisms. Biosensing - development of non-invasive and high-sensitivity biosensing technologies. Medical imaging - linking genetic phenotypes with medical imaging. Priority lies in the research of new imaging technologies, and the development of ultrafast, super-resolution 3D and 4D imaging.

Institute of Molecular Physiology

Institute of Molecular Physiology is focused on studying molecular biology and molecular basis of physiological processes. Molecular biology explores the nature of life based on its ever-expanding understanding to the genetic central dogma of biology and promotes technologies that can be widely applied in life sciences. Date back from the 1950s and 1970s respectively, the development of molecular biology and genetic engineering technology have largely propelled biomedical research and applications. Molecular physiology research includes studies on the basic molecular biology events such as gene duplication, repair, expression regulation, its regulation mechanism in important biological processes such as development, aging and disease, as well as research and application of molecular biology technologies in molecular evolution, gene editing, and molecular marker development. Physiology started since Harvey's research in the circulation system in the 16th century, which is the foundation of modern medicine. The Institute of Molecular Physiology uses the concepts and technologies generated from molecular biology to promote physiology research, while the questions raised from physiology research stimulate the advancement and application of molecular biology technologies, including studies on the molecular mechanism and regulation of important physiological processes such as sleep, perception , metabolism, immunity and respiration, as well as the relationship between these processes and diseases.

Institute of Chemical Biology

The Institute of Chemical Biology is a joint research institute established by Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, we are focusing on the interdisciplinary research in chemical biology and translational research in innovative medicine. Institute leads advantageous research fields of both sides, and conducts corresponding research in important fields of chemical biology, such as synthetic chemistry, natural products chemistry, glycobiology, chemical genomics, proteomics, etc. The Institute of Chemical Biology executes translational research in major diseases areas including cancer, metabolism, hepatopathy, inflammation, and degenerative disease. Institute supports the development of innovative medicine in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and plays a driving role in enhancing the function of Shenzhen which serves as the core engine for the development of health industry, supporting and promoting the energy level of development and the comprehensive strength of health industry in GBA.

Institute for Cell Analysis

The Institute for Cell Analysis (ICA) aims to establish a world-leading research institute for research on cell analysis. ICA will focus on developing the cutting-edge technologies for cell analysis, and is oriented by interests in fields ranging from fundamental biology to public health. ICA will foster technological innovations that lead to breakthrough in related fields, highlighting the following objectives:

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

The Biomedical Engineering Research Institute will focus on building a healthy China and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, promoting Shenzhen's national strategy of building a world-class life information and biomedical innovation city, and will gather a group of elites with international vision and innovative capabilities Scientists and engineers and technicians have built world-class research platforms and innovation systems. Through carrying out multidisciplinary research, several world-class major original results have been obtained. Carry out research on the transformation of industry-university-research medical innovation to realize the transition of scientific and technological achievements into real productivity. Go all out to build a large-scale precision medical imaging facility, focus on breaking through a group of leading-edge cutting-edge technologies and core components, and form an international first-class precision medical imaging research platform and medical engineering technology innovation system.

Institute of Biomedical Health Technology and Engineering

The Institute of Biomedical Health Technology and Engineering is established to push forward global biomedical research and drive breakthroughs in original discovery of innovative drugs, new vaccines, health engineering and so forth with our distinctive intellectual strengths. Research in our Institute will be transdisciplinary, with top-notch scientists involved, we carry out our mission in terms of national strategic demands and strive to unblock bottlenecks in the development of health sciences. We aim to deliver research excellence by bringing together diverse translational resources from the domains of industry, academia, research and medical health, to foster highly competitive innovation capability that serves the greater good of the public, entrepreneurial prosperity and the global competitiveness of Shenzhen in the sector of medical health.

Greater Bay Biomedical InnoCenter

The Greater Bay Biomedical InnoCenter located in the Greater Bay Area is a cross-cooperative scientific research base in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao region. We are recruiting outstanding scientists worldwide and sincerely inviting senior scholars in the life science field in the Greater Bay Area to conduct joint scientific research activities and academic exchanges. Our advantage is that full-time research scientists can engage part-time in scientific research and teach in universities in Hong Kong and Macau according to their different research fields. We aim to carry out major joint projects in multiple areas to solve scientific research problems that would otherwise be impossible to carry out by single research groups. Our approach is to adopt a variety of research methods such as [in the fields of] biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, biophysics, genetics, bioinformatics and imaging technology, etc., and carrying out basic research in the field of life science to obtain high-level original scientific research results. Our mission is to promote originality, breakthroughs, commitment to significant scientific discoveries, and world-leading technological innovations. We are dedicated to embracing the challenge to lead the scientific development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to a whole new level.

BayRay Innovation Center

BayRay started operations in May 2019 as a drug discovery technology and product-focused innovation center. BayRay aims to bridge the innovation gap between academia and industry in the Chinese biomedical industry by partnering with world class academic centers and companies to develop cutting edge drug discovery technologies around early stage drug development projects. We focus on novelty and originality of early stage discovery science out of academia with the goal to create valuable intellectual property and core technologies that will become game changers in their respective fields. At present, all our projects involve small molecule drug discovery, one of our core strengths. In a second stage we will also add projects and technology platforms involving biologic drugs. BayRay has defined the following criteria for selection of novel projects: (1) Unmet medical (or technological) need, (2) early stage project with high innovation potential, (3) qualified project team and feasibility of proof of concept studies at BayRay, and (4) intellectual property creation and market potential.

Princeton Research Center for Drug Development

Princeton Research Center for Drug Development aims at creating a high-end R&D platform for biomedical research. The Center will focus on the research of innovative drugs, promoting academia-industry collaboration while accelerating the translation of new core technology. It will serve as an important role for industrial contribution and the nurturing of spin-off biotech pharmas, in pursuit of creating an robust and innovative ecosystem specially in the bio-pharmaceutical sector. The Center carries out the mission of adapting new models for global collaboration to incrementally strengthen its capacity in delivering sci-tech innovation and translation, and to realize the potential of becoming an sci-tech innovation hub that committed to biomedical discovery in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Pingshan Translational Medicine Center

Pingshan Translational Medicine Center（PTMC）aims to take best practices at integrating the biomedical resources from Shenzhen, the Greater Bay Area and the rest of the world, to deliver ongoing inputs and create top-notch research platform for the biomedical research community. The Center will facilitate a broad range of large-scale research initiatives which cannot be single-handedly carried out by universities or enterprises, and will provide support to build a complete ecosystem for thriving biotechs and to drive the sizable development of bio high-tech industry. The PTMC will work to launch core R&D platforms for new drug discovery, including: - Chemical biology module, small molecular medicinal&chemical module, and polypeptide protein medicinal chemistry module; - New mechanism of drug, new target validation and drug discovery; - Disease highly-relevant intracellular polypetide stablized regulator; - Drug molecule-target interaction based on chemical biology, computing chemistry and AI. Also, we will absorb four initial-stage projects for the planned technology transfer platform: - Cycling dependent kinase 9 inhibitor; - New-generation inhibitor targeting anti-drug resistant anaplastic lymphoma kinase Type-I 1/2; - Targeted drugs for drug-resistance relapse estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer; - Specific target drugs for Class I histone deacetylase.

Center for Translational Research

The Centre of Translational Research is focusing on the translational research in innovative medicine. Institute leads advantageous research fields of both sides, and conducts corresponding research in important fields of chemical biology, such as synthetic chemistry, natural products chemistry, glycobiology, chemical genomics, proteomics, etc. The Centre of Translational Research executes translational research in major diseases areas including cancer, metabolism, hepatopathy, inflammation, and degenerative disease. Institute supports the development of innovative medicine in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and plays a driving role in enhancing the function of Shenzhen which serves as the core engine for the development of health industry, supporting and promoting the energy level of development and the comprehensive strength of health industry in GBA.