Prof. Zhijian James Chen, a distinguished scientist in the field of innate immunity, has been honored with the 2025 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize and the 2024 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for his groundbreaking discovery of the enzyme cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS). His research has transformed the understanding of innate immune responses, particularly the role of cGAS as a cytosolic DNA sensor that triggers an interferon response. In this dialogue, Prof. Chen reflects on his research journey, from his initial exploration of ubiquitin and nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) signaling to his discoveries of mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS) and cGAS, highlighting his lifelong interest in cell signaling and human diseases. The interview underscores the importance of perseverance and the pursuit of impactful research questions in scientific endeavors. This scholarly exchange offers a mentor-like perspective for aspiring scientists, encapsulating the essence of a successful career in biomedical research.

Chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, yet its application to autoimmune diseases remains in its infancy. In 2024, Professor Huji Xu and his colleagues achieved a groundbreaking milestone in allogeneic CD19-targeted CAR-T therapy in patients with severe myositis and systemic sclerosis. In this dialogue, Professor Xu elaborated on the rationale and development of allogeneic CAR-T therapy as a cost-effective, scalable alternative to autologous approaches. By utilizing multiplex genome-edited CD19-targeted CAR-T cells derived from healthy donors, his team aims to address critical challenges in manufacturing, accessibility, and long-term efficacy. Professor Xu also discussed strategies for cost reduction, regulatory hurdles, and the broader implications for immunotherapy. Drawing on his extensive experience, he envisions allogeneic CAR-T therapy emerging as a transformative treatment for autoimmune diseases, with the potential to achieve widespread accessibility and profound clinical impact.

As two of the largest economies and countries in the world, the People’s Republic of China (China) and the United States of America (U.S.) both have enormous resources and innovative talents in a number of sectors. Cooperation between both sides will be hugely beneficial to the world population, and this is especially the case with healthcare. The U.S.-China Track Ⅱ Dialogue on Healthcare was set up as a forum to discuss and engage ideas on this very topic. In this dialogue, Dr. Qun Yan, head of the hLife Editorial Office engages in a dialogue with Professor Mark McClellan, the Director of the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy at Duke University and U.S. Co-Chair of the Track Ⅱ Dialogue on Healthcare, Professor Gordon G Liu, Professor at Peking University and the Dean of the PKU Institute for Global Health and Development and Co-Organizer of the Track Ⅱ Dialogue, Mr. Stephen Orlins, President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a Co-Organizer of the Track Ⅱ Dialogue, and Professor George Fu Gao, Academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They discuss how and why the Track Ⅱ Dialogue was created, the successes and developments of the dialogues, and what the future of American-Chinese health collaboration looks like.

4C principles proposed by Prof. George Fu Gao, viz cooperation/collaboration, competition, communication, and coordination, are a stimulus for scientific progress and social development. The basis of scientific research lies in collaboration, with multiple platforms established to support this, from the small scale within labs and individual institutions to the international level. In this dialogue, the recipient of the 2023 VCANBIO Award for International Cooperation Life Sciences and Medicine, Minister Ibrokhim Yulchievich Abdurakhmonov (Minister of Agriculture for Uzbekistan, former Minister of Innovative Development, 2017–2022, and former Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation in 2022), discusses both the importance of multilateral communication and collaboration, as well as outlines his vision for furthering Uzbek-Chinese cooperation. Having made many outstanding contributions to the field of modern life and bioscience, Minister Abdurakhmonov has also become a prominent example of the success and close collaboration resulting from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). His team helped in line with Chinese scientists pioneering the clinical trails to develop a protein subunit vaccine for COVID-19 that was approved for use in both Uzbekistan and China. Here, he talks with Dr. Qun Yan, head of the hLife Editorial Office, in a joint discussion with Prof. Jinghua Cao, the outgoing Executive Director of the Alliance of National and International Science Organisations (ANSO) for the Belt and Road Regions, who played a crucial role in bridging the vaccine cooperation between China and Uzbekistan.