Yinglai Wang: an admirable biochemist for his foresightedness and selflessness

Abstract

On July 5, 2001, Nature published an article: “Wang Ying-lai (1907–2001)” in honor of Dr. Yinglai Wang and his contributions to the advancement of total chemical synthesis of biological molecules. It is rather rare for Nature to describe a biochemist in this manner. However, Yinglai Wang is an admired and revered scientist, and as such, deserves such an honor! His scientific achievements and exemplary morality should be acknowledged by the scientific community and must be emulated by people from all walks of life. Yinglai Wang, Ph.D. of Cambridge University, UK, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was one of the founders of biochemical research in China. His most significant scientific contribution was the relevant leadership he provided in the first total chemical synthesis of crystalline bovine insulin and yeast alanine tRNA. His academic achievements were inseparable from his unique organizing ability and self-giving dedication. In the early days of the People’s Republic of China (1949–1957), biochemical research was unorganized. The country lacked qualified scientists and technicians. Realizing the need to change this situation, Yinglai Wang sent letters to some well-known Chinese scientists working overseas in a systematic way, and summoned them to return to China. His reasons were based on the disciplinary developmental trend of biochemistry. Consequently, from 1951 to 1957, he succeeded in recruiting prominent scientists from abroad including Chenglu Zou, Tianqin Cao, Yourui Zhang, Debao Wang, Jingyi Niu, and Guangyu Zhou, among others, and established the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry at CAS. In order to support and highlight the scientific research careers of his best research assistants, namely, Qinrong Wu and Jiamu Peng, he introduced them to Chenglu Zou and Tianqin Cao, respectively. The esteemed biochemist’s selfless spirit and untiring encouragement transformed the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry into a strong and qualified institution capable of completing national key scientific research projects. Under his guidance, the institute enjoyed a democratic and harmonious academic environment. To solve the problem of amino acid scarcity for insulin synthesis, Yinglai Wang founded the Dongfeng Biochemical Reagent Factory in 1958. Under his leadership, the factory produced amino acids and various biochemical reagents to meet the whole country’s need. Forty years before the advocacy for knowledge innovation and the acceleration of industrialization of scientific findings was initiated, he had already championed the model of and worked toward the integration of enterprises, universities, and institutes. Truly, Yinglai Wang was a visionary! The Great Leap Forward Movement (1958–1960) started in Dr. Yinglai Wang (1907–2001)