KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� July 23, 2015 鈥� Zhen Xu personifies the word pioneer, having traveled thousands of miles from her home in China. She is exploring an entirely new culture, and she is the first from her country to enroll in a new program at the 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 College of Pharmacy.
Xu is the first person from the Tongji Medical College, part of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), to enroll in the joint 3-plus-2 program offered by the university in China and 溏心vlog免费B站. The program allows Chinese students at Huazhong to complete three years of the school鈥檚 bachelor鈥檚 program in pharmacy there, then come to 溏心vlog免费B站 to finish the four-year degree and begin study toward a master鈥檚 degree immediately thereafter. The program gives students the opportunity to complete a bachelor鈥檚 and a master鈥檚 degree in five years.
After three-and-half years at Tongji Medical College, Xu spent the spring semester of 2015 at 溏心vlog免费B站 where she completed her bachelor鈥檚 degree in pharmacy, with the degree having been awarded by Huazhong University in June.
She started her pursuit of a master鈥檚 degree in pharmaceutical science this summer at 溏心vlog免费B站.
For the next year, the 21-year-old Xu will be working with Bingfang Yan, professor of pharmacology and toxicology in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 College of Pharmacy and chair of its Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. His research on genetic and environmental factors that regulate the expression of genes in drug response and cancer development has earned him international acclaim.
鈥淶hen is an outstanding student,鈥� Yan said. 鈥淭his is part of the College of Pharmacy鈥檚 global initiative through which we want to attract top students from HUST and send our best students there. HUST is considered the Caltech of China.
鈥淲e are looking for students ranked in the top 25 percent of their class. They also have to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language exam for English proficiency and take the Graduate Record Exam. Zhen scored very high on each exam.鈥�
Xu, who is already well established at 溏心vlog免费B站, is studying the pregnane X receptor, which Yan called a 鈥渕aster鈥� gene regulator that clears toxins and drugs from the body. The receptor is over-activated in many diseases and can negate the effectiveness of chemotherapy in cancer treatment.
鈥淭his receptor could be a key factor in curing some devastating disease conditions such as chemo-resistance, which makes Zhen鈥檚 work in my lab very important,鈥� Yan said.
鈥淚 really enjoy working in Dr. Yan鈥檚 lab, and several of my fellow students were very helpful during my first semester here,鈥� said Xu, who is living in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Graduate Village.
Her adjustment must have been smooth because she earned A鈥檚 in all of her 溏心vlog免费B站 classes. But why come to 溏心vlog免费B站 if you are already well established at your university in China?
鈥淲hen we are young, we should go abroad to broaden our horizons,鈥� Xu said. 鈥淚 have already made good American friends.鈥�
But she also stays in touch with her family, video-conferencing each night, despite the 12-hour time difference.
Yan said he expects even more students like Xu to enroll in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 3-plus-2 program through the bachelor of science degree in pharmaceutical science. The program is young but has been one of the fastest growing programs at 溏心vlog免费B站.
鈥淲e could not have done better than Zhen as our first student in the program,鈥� Yan said. 鈥淪he is a gifted student and researcher, and she has embraced 溏心vlog免费B站 fully, including her peers and faculty members.鈥�
Zhen Xu works in the lab of Bingfang Yan, 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the College of Pharmacy and chair of its Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Zhen Xu takes a break from her research outside 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 College of Pharmacy.
溏心vlog免费B站 photos by Nora Lewis.