Visit to Three Leading Research Institutions in Trieste, Italy
On November 25th,2025, the Chinese delegation comprising representatives from the CAS Bureau of International Cooperation and the members of the six CAS-TWAS Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and CAS-TWAS the Sustainable Development Network, from the six CAS-TWAS Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and CAS-TWAS the Sustainable Development Network,visited three premier research institutions in Trieste,Italy—the University of Trieste, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering andBiotechnology (ICGEB), and the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS)—under the meticulous organization and arrangement of the TWAS Secretariat. Prof. Yanping ZHANG, Director of the CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Biotechnology (CoEBio), and Ms. Liu HE, Programme Manager of the Centre, participated in this visitand provided a brief introduction to the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and CoEBio during their visit to the University of Trieste.
Professor Donata Vianelli, President of the University of Trieste, emphasized in her speech that China is a core partner in the university's global strategy and expressed gratitude to TWAS for providing a high-level dialogue platform. Professor Paolo Fornasiero, Vice President of the university, hosted the reception and introduced the intergovernmental cooperation projects between the university and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the fields of seismic risk and pharmaceutical sciences, while welcoming applications from CoE PhD students to the English-taught joint graduate programme "Sustainable Development of Earth Sciences."
During the visit to ICGEB, Scientific Coordinator Dr. Emanuele Buratti and Chief of External Relations Ms. Marianna Maculan presented a comprehensive overview of the Centre's global network of three laboratories, high-end talent funding schemes, and technology transfer platform for biotherapeutics and diagnostics. The delegation visited the vaccine and diagnostic reagent research and development platform, gaining an in-depth understanding of the pilot-scale production processes of viral vectors, monoclonal antibodies, and recombinant proteins.
At OGS, Valentina Tirelli,Director of the Marine Department, and Manuela Bordiga, a senior researcher, led the delegation on an inspection of the marine chemistry, biology, computational, and polar laboratories.They demonstrated an innovative experimental apparatus utilizing the natural laboratory at Panarea volcanic island in Sicily to study ocean acidification.
