On November 20, the conference room in the 9th floor of our hospital was crowded with professors and students. The Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology and the National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease jointly held academic lectures. Professor Shao Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was invited to make lecture on the theme of "pyroptosis". Academician Hou Fanfan, director of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology and the National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, presided over the meeting, and Gao Tianming, Vice President of Southern Medical University, attended and made a speech. Besides, over 300 teachers and students attended this academic activity.

Guest speaker, Shao Feng, now is a researcher and Deputy Director of National Institute of Biological Science, Beijing. He was selected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015 and thus became the youngest academician in China. After returning to China in 2005, academician Shao led the team to conduct research on the pathogen invasion and human defense mechanism. Part of his articles were published on topnotch international journals, i.e. Nature, Science and Cell almost almost every year since 2007. For all the work he has done, he has exert international influences in this field.

This time, as to the topic Pyroptosis: from Innate Immunity to Cancer, Professor Shao Feng has reviewed systematically the research progress of his team in recent years. Starting with the innate immune response in which pathogens interact with the host, he explained the concept of inflammatory cells pyroptosis and described the differences between pyroptosis and apoptosis. His latest research revealed a new mechanism by which chemotherapeutic drugs cause pyroptosis of normal cells. The results of this study provided a new target for controlling the side effects of chemotherapy, and a new perspective on study on chronic inflammatory diseases, such as, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Academician Shao Feng told science stories with easy-to-understand language and fascinating metaphor, which deeply impressed listeners and greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of students in science research. As lecture went, he got the warm applause of the audience from time to time.

After the meeting, Professor Shao Feng visited the National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease accompanied by the center Director Hou Fanfan, and highly praised the clinical research results obtained under the leadership of Professor Hou. He also said that there were substantial cooperation existing between the disciplines. Both party shard experiences and common interests in the aim of promoting the development of human health undertaking.