Acute and longterm synaptic regulation by neurotrophins

1
Chinese trainees in US Institutions
Bai Lu, Ph.D. Gene, Cognition and Psychosis
(GCAP) Program National Institute of Mental
Health, NIH

• Historical and cultural background
• General characters and attributes
• What we can do to help

2
My country and my people

• Part I Bases
• Chinese People 800 year cycle theory
• Chinese Characters
• ???? mellowness ?? tolerance
  ????indifference ???? old roguery ?? pacifism
  ???? contentment ???? conservatism
• Chinese Mind
• intelligence intuition imagination
• Ideals of Life
• Chinese humanism religions the doctrine of
  
• golden mean
• Part II Life
• Womans life
• Social and political life
• Literatures
• Arts
• Art of life

Written in English, published in 1935, translated
into Chinese by Pearl Buck (1938 Nobel laureate)
3
Class of 77-78
?? Tan Dun composer
??? Wang Xiaohui photographer
??? Chen Yifei, painter, artist
??? Zhang Yimou movie director

• Ambitious
• Passionate/idealistic
• Well-disciplined
• Unique/individualism
• Strive for legacy

?? Chen Zhu, scientist
4
CUSBEAand others
Yi Rao, NWU
Xiaodong Wang, UT SW
Tian Xu, Yale

• Seminal discoveries
• Leadership in US
• Actively involved in research/education in PRC
• Influence ST in China

Yang Shi, Harvard
5
Some visible schools

• Tsinghua Univ.
• Beijing Univ. and its medical school
• Fudan Univ. and its medical school
• Chinese Univ. of Science Technology
• Nanking Univ.
• Shanghai Jiaotong Univ.
• Wuhan Univ.
• Zhejiang Univ.
• Peking Union Medical School

• Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
• Military (2nd and 4th) Medical Univ.

6
Current students from PRC General impression
or stereotype?
Strengths
Weaknesses

• English
• Relatively isolated
• Cultural difficulties
• Communication skills
• Unsure what to do
• Not conscious about rules and responsibilities

• Motivated
• Diligent
• Smart
• Efficient in getting things done
• Goal-oriented, practical

7
??? Chang-Lin Tien, UC Berkeley Chancellor

• Be an American
• Be a Chinese

8
Chinese neuroscientists social at SfN meeting

• Bai Lu/Li-Huei Tsai
• Job interview tips
• Dick Tsien
• Strategies for developing a career in
  neuroscience
• Morgan Sheng
• Social skills how to get most out of a party
• Moses Chao
• Community services and contributions

9
Hong Kong GRC
Nancy Ip
10
Yigong Shi
www.cbisociety.org/
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Institute of Neuroscience, CAS, a model?

• Accomplishments
• Publications CNS, 2005 alone
• Students the best one can hopeful
• PIs 14, still hiring fields leaders
• Reform
• scientist centered philosophy
• merit based recruitment and promotion
• rigorous reviews
• administrative support, services
• conducive environment for high impact and
  innovative research
• emphasis on education/training
• Impact
• CAS
• Nationwide
• International

Mu-ming Poo
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Trainees from PRC where are they going?

• In US, where they go
• stay in science
• other medical professionals
• bio-pharmaceutical industry
• other careers
• Current students
• 40-50 express interests in going back to China
• Back to China
• Academia
• Business
• Administration

13
US will benefit from nonUS trainees, whether they
stay in this country or go back to their home
countries.
What can we do?

• Culture exposure

• Intellectual engagement

• Integration to mainstream

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Visa Issues

• If they stay in the US
• F-1
• J-1, 3 years, change to something else
• H-1
• National interest waiver
• If they go back to PRC
• J-1, maximal 5 years