Joint Institute Collaboration Scholars

The Joint Institute (JI) Collaboration Scholars Program aims to prepare exceptional early-career scholars to help lead and transform collaborative medical education, research, and/or patient care between the two institutions.

To begin, Scholars will be selected from Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) to be based in at U-M. Future plans include opportunities for Michigan Medicine Scholars to be based in at PKUHSC.

The JI Collaboration Scholars will be appointed for one year – with an option to renew for a second year. The Scholars will work with JI faculty mentors to advance projects that involve collaboration between the two universities. In addition, scholars will receive formal instruction on promoting collaboration as well as on meeting criteria for advancement within their home institution (e.g., administrative, management, communication, grantsmanship skills, etc.).  The scholars will be provided with a stipend and benefits, in accordance with the U-M International Center, along with allocation of some funding for travel and research expenses. A certificate of completion will be awarded upon successful participation in the program.

Full-time faculty from Michigan Medicine or Peking University Health Science Center may propose individuals for the Collaboration Scholars Program. Prospective candidates must have a terminal degree (MD, PhD, etc.) and must have a secured appointment at their home institution following the completion of the program.

Applications will be accepted beginning September 18, 2023 through December 15, 2023. The applicants will be notified by January 2024 whether their applications have been approved. Please submit all documents as a single PDF file (including a request for notice of receipt) to Amy Huang (yanhuang@umich.edu) and Qiudan Sun (sunqd@bjmu.edu.cn). Include the following elements in the application:

    • Applicant CV (Download a CV Template)
    • Statement of career goals and plan (300 words or less)
    • Proposed project title, 5 key words, and an abstract (600 words or less)
    • Anticipated project timeline
    • Identified mentors at both Michigan Medicine and PKUHSC
    • Letters of support: Three letters of recommendation are required, one should come from mentor from Michigan Medicine; one from mentor from PKUHSC; and a third letter from applicant’s institution leader (e.g., President of the Affiliate Hospital, Department Chair, Director of Institute/Center, etc.)

Application will be reviewed by the JI leadership on the following criteria in making the selection:

    • Applicant qualifications
    • Synergy between Michigan Medicine and PKUHSC mentorship teams
    • Scholar's commitment to continue and advance their career at their home institution (PKUHSC or Michigan Medicine, respectively)
    • Demonstrated potential for meaningful collaboration

Meet the Scholars

Yuqing WANG, MD, PhD
Assistant professor, Center of Basic Medical Research
Peking University Third Hospital

UMMS mentor: Celina Kleer

Dr. Wang was enrolled in an 8-year MD-PhD program at School of Basic Medicine of Peking University Health Science Center and graduated from the immunology department. Her doctoral training research, which has been published on Nature Communications, focused the mechanism of PRAK on tumor metastasis. After graduation, she began research about EZH2 protein stability regulation in tumor cells which was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China. In this study, she deeply explored the molecular mechanism of PPARα agonists exerting anti-tumor effects by interfering with the stability of EZH2.

Yuzhou Gan, MD, PhD
Attending Physician, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology
Peking University People’s Hospital

UMMS mentor: Jason Knight

Dr. Gan graduated from Peking University and obtained his PhD degree in 2017. Following his doctoral program, he joined Peking University People’s Hospital (PKUPH) as attending physician in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, specializing in primary Sjögren syndrome and antiphospholipid syndrome. Dr. Gan’s research primarily focuses on the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. He has obtained four national and institutional research grants as the principal investigator and has published six first-authored articles in scientific journals. In addition, he is a member of the Reproductive Medicine Professional Committee of the Beijing Association for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Education.

Xu-Jie Zhou, MD, PhD
Associate chief physician, Renal Division, Department of Medicine
Peking University First Hospital

UMMS mentors: Matthias Kretzler and Wenjun Ju

Xu-jie Zhou attended medical school at Wuhan University of Science and Technology in 2001 and received his PhD degree from Peking University in 2011 before completing his residency at the Peking University First Hospital. His interests are genetic and therapeutic studies in hereditary kidney disease, lupus nephritis, and IgA nephropathy. As the principal physician of a cohort of genetic kidney diseases in Peking University First Hospital, he is committed to accurate diagnosis and treatment of hereditary kidney diseases by improving molecular genetic method. His work has appeared in numerous high-impact journals and has garnered six grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China. He has been recognized with a National Science Fund award for Excellent Young Scholars as well as a Newton Advanced Fellowship through the Academy of Medical Sciences.