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Dannie Peng

Leading Chinese scientist Sun Fanglin, whose work on how cells age and form tumours helped pave the way for the development of new cancer treatments, has died aged 58.
Sun was director of the Advanced Institute of Translational Medicine at Tongji University in Shanghai and former dean of its School of Life Sciences and Technology.
He had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness and died on July 10, the institute said in an obituary posted on its website.
The noted biologist specialised in studying how the ageing process is affected by gene regulation and epigenetics – the way behaviour and the environment can alter the way genes work.
He served as chief scientist for several national research programmes, including the National Programme on Key Basic Research, according to Tongji University.
His research team was the first in the world to crack the challenge of tumours becoming resistant to targeted drugs by discovering biological pathways to reverse the process, the obituary noted.
This breakthrough “provided a core theoretical framework for cell therapies and the development of new anti-tumour drugs”, it said.
Before joining Tongji, Sun played a leading role in establishing Tsinghua University’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences.
Zhang Linqi, a professor at Tsinghua and former colleague of Sun’s, described him as the “founding architect” of the department.
“Professor Sun was down to earth, open to ideas, warm, and highly cohesive. He made a huge contribution to our infectious disease and immunology programmes,” Zhang said.
Sun earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1997. He then moved to the United States to continue his research as a postdoctoral fellow in the biology department at Washington University in St Louis.
In 2001, he was appointed group leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland.

In 2006, he returned to China, joining Tsinghua University as a professor and doctoral supervisor, and moved to Tongji University four years later.
In 2007, the Ministry of Education named Sun as a Changjiang Distinguished Professor, one of the most prestigious academic titles in the country. He also received a special government allowance – a financial award granted to those who have made outstanding contributions to society.
Sun is also remembered for his dedication to nurturing talent.
The Tongji University obituary noted that over his decades-long career, Sun had supervised and mentored a large number of outstanding students, many of whom had gone on to become key academic figures both in China and internationally.


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Sun Fanglin, Chinese scientist who paved the way for new cancer drugs, dies aged 58

Sun Fanglin joined Tongji University in 2010. Photo: Handout

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China

The Tongji University professor, who specialised in the study of how cells age and form tumours, led several national research programmes


The Tongji University professor, who specialised in the study of how cells age and form tumours, led several national research programmes.


Tongji University

Tsinghua University

Sun Fanglin, Chinese scientist who paved the way for new cancer drugs, dies aged 58

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Tongji University professor, who specialised in the study of how cells age and form tumours, led several national research programmes

The Tongji University professor, who specialised in the study of how cells age and form tumours, led several national research programmes