Prof. Patrick Hussey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Durham University (DU) led a delegation to visit Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS) on March 1, 2019.

XIANG Hua, Deputy Director-General of IMCAS, welcomed the delegates and briefed the institute especially the cooperation with UK institutes and universities. Prof. Hussey expressed his thanks and he introduced Durham University and UK priorities in research on sustainable energy, global food security, living with the environmental changes and human health, He hoped to discuss the cooperation with IMCAS in natural environment, including agriculture, water reuse; health and well-being.

LIU Shuangjiang, Director-General of IMCAS, elaborated on his team’s research progress in environmental microbiology composed of microbial diversities at various environments, physiology and genetics and its application. MA Juncai, Director of Center for Microbial Resource and Big Data introduced the center and World Data Center for Microorganisms undertook by the institute and GCM-10K type strain genome sequencing project.

KONG Zhaosheng at State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics shared his work in the Cytoskeleton and Organelles Interaction in Root Nodule Symbiosis. SHI Yi, Deputy Director of CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, highlighted their research achievements in interspecies transmission of virus, hepatitis, liver cancer, cirrhosis and CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Emerging Infectious Disease (CEEID).

Prof. Hussey showed his interest in the reports and he thought both parties could make it as the startup for the future cooperation. They also discussed sewage treatment, interaction of the cytoskeleton and the organelle, the data and the liver cancer, etc.

Founded in 1832, Durham University is an ancient place of leading 3^rd oldest University in England alongside Oxford and Cambridge. There are 45 academic staff 8 independent research fellows, 33 post-docs and 102 postgraduates in Department of Bioscience at DU and the department ranked the 5^th Biology Department in the UK.