On the morning of July 17, 2020, the award ceremony of 2019 Science and Technology Awards of Shaanxi Province was grandly held in Shaanxi Provincial Committee. The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) received a total of 7 Science and Technology Awards of Shaanxi Province in 2019, including 2 first prizes, 2 second prizes and 3 third prizes.

The project entitled "Study of molecular and electrophysiological mechanism of cardiovascular ion channel disease" by the team led by Professor Ma Aiqun from Department of Cardiology of our hospital grabbed the first prize of Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province. This project unravels the molecular mechanism of partial hereditary and acquired cardiovascular ion channel diseases from multiple perspectives of ion channel expression/function combined with molecular biology, bioinformatics, patch clamp electrophysiology and other tools, and obtains a series of original achievements. It is proposed and confirmed, for the first time, that the abnormal expression profile of ion channel is the main molecular basis of sudden cardiac death, explaining the reasons for the failure of CAST and SWORD tests, and providing a novel theory for the mechanism and prevention of arrhythmia and sudden death. It is the first study to clarify that ubiquitination degradation is the regulatory mechanism of sodium channel function decline in heart failure, and β-receptor blockers can reverse the abnormal expression profile of ion channels, which provides a direction for exploring drug treatment targets for arrhythmia and sudden death. Besides, it also discovers, for the first time, that the ion channel spectrum of sinus node can change over age, which provides a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of arrhythmia and sudden death in elderly patients.

The project themed "Innovation and application of core technologies for precise treatment of pancreatic cancer" by the team pioneered by Professor Ma Qingyong from Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery received the first prize of Science and Technology Progress Award of Shaanxi Province, which concentrates on the characteristics of pancreatic cancer with high-risk metastasis rate and nerve infiltration. Through 20-year arduous efforts, the team firstly elucidates the critical role and mechanism of neurotransmitters in nerve infiltration of pancreatic cancer and unravels the molecular mechanism underlying chemokines in the theory of metastatic tendency of pancreatic cancer worldwide. In addition, the team utilizes transgenic animal models to simulate the incidence and development of pancreatic cancer from all angles, revealing the related mechanism of smoking, stress and diabetes mellitus in promoting the occurrence and development of pancreatic cancer.

The project entitled "Basic and clinical research on pathogenesis, cognitive characteristics and optimized treatment of depression" by the team led by Professor Gao Chengge and the project themed "Innovation and application of core technologies for improving clinical efficacy of islet transplantation" by Professor Ding Xiaoming's team received second prizes. The project themed "Mechanism, early diagnosis and minimally invasive technology for intervertebral disc degeneration" of Professor Zhang Yingang's team, the project entitled "Clinical application and promotion of high-frequency microwave ablation for lower extremity varices" by the team led by Professor Yang Lin and the project themed "Self-made negative pressure suction technology for chronic refractory wounds" by the team led by Chief Nurse Xin Xia received third prizes.