The Institute for Precision Medicine, Tsinghua University (清华大学精准医学研究院), established in January 2016, is a specialized research institution founded by Tsinghua University to promote interdisciplinary integration of medicine and multiple disciplines, advance high-quality development in clinical medicine, and integrate the advantageous resources of clinical medicine and engineering disciplines within the university. Since its establishment, under the strong leadership of the University's Party Committee and with the support of administrative offices and various departments, the institute has taken "precision guided, medically driven and empowered by science and engineering and industry alliance” as its development philosophy and made significant progress in its all-round construction.
The institute is actively exploring and laying a solid foundation to respond to the needs of people's health and well-being. With a mission of "resolving major disease prevention and control issues in China and globally and focusing on innovative research and development of cutting-edge health technologies,” it is constructing a medical technology innovation system driven by clinical issues, interdisciplinary integration, and sustainable development. Since its founding, the institute has established six major medical-engineering research centers and collaborated with seventeen interdisciplinary medical laboratories of the School of Clinical Medicine, creating a platform for clinical, applied basic, and translational research. By establishing a comprehensive project database, application information database, and strategic expert database, it has built a cross-disciplinary research project management system integrating "strategic projects, cultivation projects, and exploration projects." Taking measures such as combining medicine and engineering, industry-academia collaboration, integrating digital intelligence, and focusing on key platforms, disciplines, talents, and projects, the institute has built a “rainbow bridge” spanning the gap between medical scientific research and healthcare practice.
The institute strives for progress and promotes collaborative innovation, adopting the Clinic-Driven Research (CDR) and Bedside-To-Bench-To-Clients (BBC) methods. It has established the Tsinghua University Precision Medicine Research Program, funding over a hundred research projects and obtaining approval to implement more than fifty national and provincial-level projects. The Institute has also successfully developed an original self-collimating SPECT technology and obtained three types of medical device licenses. Additionally, it was awarded twelve Class II medical device licenses for a AI surgical decision support system. The multidisciplinary team has jointly developed a series of technologies and products with significant practical value, including the Tsinghua Healthcare Intelligence System (THIS), medical artificial lung membranes, electromagnetic metamaterial surface MRI coils, photoacoustic biomedical imaging systems, national standard database for liver and gallbladder disease, intelligent general practitioner assistant, intelligent portable hospital, intelligent precision surgical robot, orthopedic robot, vascular intervention robot, digital pathology whole-slide scanner and analyzer, smart data-driven CRO system, smart data-driven commercial insurance system, cardiovascular digital therapy, and organ cryopreservation technology. These achievements have had significant impacts in the fields of medicine and health care, as well as engineering and technology.
As a first-class research institution, the Institute for Precision Medicine pursues excellence. Under the guidance of over 30 medical and engineering academicians and with the full support of various departments and scholars of the university, the institute has explored new models, established new systems, tested new mechanisms, and promoted interdisciplinary cooperation, resulting in over 50 landmark academic achievements, over 500 SCI papers published, and over 200 patent applications. The institute led the establishment of high-level international academic journals iLiver and Intelligent Medicine, which were recognized by the “China Science and Technology Journal Excellence Action Plan.” It also led the development of China's first liver and gallbladder disease standard database and international standards for liver and gallbladder disease data, leading the industry's development. Academic achievements have been published in leading international journals such as JAMA, Science, Nature, Advanced Materials, and IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, receiving high praise from international peers.
The research institute is promoting its mission and shouldering responsibilities, always adhering to the scientific research principle of "putting the nation and the people first.” It organized superior forces to jointly undertake major consulting projects with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, such as the Healthy China Intelligent Healthcare Ecosystem Development Strategy Study and the major interdisciplinary project, China's 20-Year Engineering and Technological Development Strategy Study for a Health China. The institute undertook the Chinese Academy of Engineering's first branded consulting project, “Research on China's Digital Health Innovation and Development Strategy." It launched a echinococcosis disease elimination plan and collaborated with the Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Memorial Hospital to establish the "No Serious Illness Leaves the County" National Medical Center Specialized Assistance Project. It also established the National Hepatobiliary Tumor Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment Center, National Cardiovascular Disease Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment Center, National Obstetrics and Gynecology Disease Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment Center, and the National Urology Disease Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment Center. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly launched and completed projects such as the Tsinghua COVID-19 Intelligent Prevention and Control System, playing an important role in establishment of national think tanks, precision medical poverty alleviation efforts, and COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control measures.
In the future, the institute will become more focused while continuing to forge ahead. In accordance with the overall requirements of Tsinghua University's Double First-Class construction and medical development planning, it will comprehensively promote the implementation of the School of Clinical Medicine’s initiative, the Tsinghua Innovation Medicine and Education (known as the TIME Program). It will seize the opportunities and challenges brought by digital transformation, further expand the breadth and depth of medical-engineering integration, and create a new research system seamlessly integrating medical research and industry. By striving to establish a new academic paradigm of interdisciplinary integration and mutual understanding, the institute will help usher in a new era for Tsinghua Medicine that reaches for new heights, serves the people, and benefits the nation.
