From January 7 to 8, 2026, the Land Port Division of the First Affiliated Hospital (FAH) of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) hosted its first international exchange academic event of 2026, as part of the “Distinguished Experts on Discipline Development” series. Professor Giampietro Schiavo, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, and Deputy Director of the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London (UCL), was invited to attend the event. During his visit, he was appointed as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Neurology and engaged in multi-dimensional academic exchanges.
On January 7, the appointment ceremony was presided over by Luo Guogang, Director of the Department of Neurology. Han Jianfeng, Vice President of the FAH, representatives from the Office of Discipline Development and the International Exchange and Cooperation Center, Department of Neurology, and core members and head nurses from various subspecialties were in attendance.
Han Jianfeng introduced Academician Schiavo’s academic profile and emphasized that the Department of Neurology at the FAH has consistently upheld the philosophy of “open collaboration and benchmarking against international standards”. He noted that this collaboration represents a key opportunity to enhance the department’s core competitiveness and to advance the diagnosis, treatment and research of neurological diseases toward world-class levels. Han Jianfeng then presented the letter of appointment to Academician Schiavo, Professor Qu Qiumin presented a commemorative gift on behalf of the hospital, and Academician Schiavo reciprocated with books on the city of London and the development history of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, formally establishing a bridge for long-term cooperation between the two sides.
During the academic exchange session, Academician Schiavo delivered a lecture entitled “The Role of Axonal Transport in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease and Tau Pathology”, in which he analyzed regulatory mechanisms of axonal transport impairment based on his years of research. Dr. Sun Kai shared “Regulatory Mechanisms of Extracellular Signal Modulation of Myozyme 1/2 in Axonal Transport”, providing valuable reference for further scientific exploration. In the research development exchanges, Dr. Zhang Meng introduced the department’s history and the current status of subspecialties such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Associate Chief Physicians Wang Jin and Jia Rui reported, respectively, on cohort studies and biomarker findings in the dementia subspecialty, as well as clinical and basic research on neuromuscular diseases, which gained recognition from the international expert and prompted lively on-site interactions.
On the morning of January 8, Academician Schiavo held one-to-one research mentoring sessions with four young physicians, Peng Zhaoyi, Li Mengmeng, Liu Xiao and Wei Meng, in the conference room of Neurology Ward 1, providing detailed guidance on key research challenges.
This series of activities have not only deepened scientific collaboration with internationally leading institutions, but also created a development platform for young physicians in the department, injecting strong momentum into the global-oriented development of neurological disease diagnosis, treatment and research.
