Still struggling with how to collaborate across disciplines? Lets take a look at what the young scholars are talking about

On May 25, 2024, Xiaobian participated in the "Medical and Industrial Cross Salon" held at Shanghai University. The salon was organized by EFL and co-organized by the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanghai University. The salon attracted hundreds of researchers from clinical medicine, life sciences, biomaterials, biofabrication and other disciplines to attend the conference.

Before the meeting, Xiaobian also did enough homework, through the survey found that everyone's research direction spans a wide range, involving biomedical hydrogels, biological 3D printing, cell 3D culture and organoids and other research fields, and more than 70% of researchers believe that "interdisciplinary topic selection and entry" is a big challenge. After listening to the theme reports and interactive discussions from experts and scholars in various fields, the biggest feeling is: Great minds think alike! There are many practical problems in medicine that are very complex, and good solutions can not be found only from the medical perspective, so it is necessary to carry out interdisciplinary research.

Why -- Why collaborate across disciplines?

The founder of the EFL team, Professor He Yong from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Zhejiang University, first gave a presentation, in which He used the barrel theory to visually explain why interdisciplinary cooperation is necessary: There are both long boards and short boards in a single scientific research team. To do research, we should not care about our short boards, but how long our long boards are, and give full play to our advantages by combining different scientific research teams with their own long boards to form a wooden barrel that is not limited by short boards.

In addition, Professor He pointed out that each scholar has a disciplinary background, but the grand goal of tissue/organ reconstruction does not have a disciplinary background. Therefore, in order to promote the cross-research of medical industry and the development of industry more efficiently, researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds need to break through the boundaries of disciplines, complement each other's advantages, and cooperate to create.

What -- What does interdisciplinary collaboration do?

Professor He Yong's team has actively promoted the combination of bio-manufacturing technology and regenerative applications in recent years. For example, Professor He cooperated with the cardiology department of Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University to create a three-layer bionic blood vessel with near-field direct writing technology, whose structure and mechanical properties are close to that of natural arteries.

Zhang Wenjie, a researcher from the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, mainly studies the application of hydrogels in osteochondral repair and regeneration, wound repair and other medical fields. In this report, he mainly tells the experience of cooperating with materials science experts to develop hydrogels for oral tissue repair research. After the speech, Mr. Zhang also communicated with the students who studied medicine on site about the application of hydrogel materials in the treatment of oral cancer, as well as the subsequent safety and effectiveness research demonstration.

Through Director Li Wenyan of the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Xiaobian learned the cooperation story between Director Li Wenyan and Professor He Yong, Director Li Wenyan was troubled by not knowing how to make the inner ear cochlear model structure, saw a spiral microsphere printing work published by Professor He in Small, quickly contacted Professor He and established cooperation, scientific research progress is also very rapid, The work is in Science Advances.

How - How to carry out interdisciplinary topics?

After the speech, Dr. Gao Qing, the co-founder of EFL, replaced the young scholars who had just engaged in the intersection of medicine and industry, and asked the speakers for advice on the challenge of "how to break through the disciplinary barriers to carry out interdisciplinary topics", thus opening the core link of "free exchange and collision of ideas".

First of all, Zheng Yongjun, director of Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Naval Medical University, shared from the perspective of clinicians how to design scientific research projects in combination with materials, and how to solve clinical problems with materials and engineering means. Dr. Xiao Dongdong from the Urology Department of Renji Hospital and Professor Zhang Kunxi from the School of Materials Science of Shanghai University and Professor Wang Mian from the School of Life Science and Technology of Tongji University discussed bladder repair and bladder reconstruction. The cross-disciplinary communication was carried out from the incision problems of bladder surgery, the development of underwater high adhesion hydrogel, the material performance requirements of artificial bladder, and the research progress of artificial bladder abroad.

Xiaobian is not enough to hear, combined with the speakers to share and answer, Xiaobian also has some experiences on how to carry out interdisciplinary topics, summarized as follows:

1. Both parties have reached consensus

Interdisciplinary research involves researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds, each of which may have different research objectives and methods, and these differences may lead to understanding deviations or communication barriers in the initial stage of cooperation. However, running-in communication helps both parties to better understand each other's research fields, methods and ideas, so as to establish a common language and way of thinking. Ensure that all participants have a common understanding of the research objectives, thus ensuring that the direction and focus of the research is consistent.

2. Clarify the cooperation mechanism between the two sides

Interdisciplinary collaboration requires the integration of knowledge and resources from different disciplines to achieve common research goals. A clear cooperation mechanism will help rationally allocate resources, such as funds, equipment, data and results, and ensure that cooperation at every stage can receive the necessary support. Clear assignment and coordination mechanisms ensure that researchers on all sides can work according to plan, reducing conflicts and delays.

This medical salon has benefited Xiaobian a lot and gained a lot. We look forward to communicating with more experts and scholars in the future, and jointly promoting the development of the cross-field of medical industry!