March 11 , Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (SZBL) held the second session of the 1st Governing Board. Attending the session were AI Xuefeng, Vice Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government; ZHAN Qimin, Director of SZBL; LIN Jianhua, Special Advisor of SZBL, and other members from the Governing Board.

ZHAN Qimin and WU Yun-Dong reported to the Board on the development progress, 2020 budget and vice director nomination of SZBL. The Board advised on the laboratory’s developmental issues in terms of various aspects regarding Shenzhen’s local demands for development, expressing a joint commitment from all the Board’s member institutes to provide continuous supports to the capacity-building and development of SZBL under the guidelines of China’s national sci-tech strategies.

The session was held against the backdrop of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Facing this epidemic, the meeting was assigned with a more specific task to define the laboratory’s focuses, missions and management which help to ensure the laboratory’s scientific undertakings will serve public good and power national science.

Shenzhen Mayor pointed out that the laboratory should enhance scientific grip on core technologies in life science and biomedicine, and intensify efforts in delivering innovation with regard to national strategies and demands. He said that SZBL would continue to pursue open and internationalized development, sharpen competitive edge and global profile to attract more talents and collaborative programs that support the construction of the comprehensive national science center. The mayor also spoke about the importance and priority of biosafety in every aspect of research, saying SZBL would facilitate the distribution of scientific tasks in biosafety that safeguard people’s lives and national security.