The “National Model Animal Science Center”, a major national science and technology infrastructure project, was unveiled

On October 16, the National Center for Model Animal Science was officially inaugurated at the National Agricultural Science Park in Zhuozhou, Hebei, marking a significant milestone in China’s “12th Five-Year Plan” for major scientific and technological infrastructure projects. The event coincided with the opening of the Third International Conference on Pig Models and the Modern Biotech Industry Technology Achievement Transformation Conference.

Leading the establishment of this center is China Agricultural University, which has invested approximately 759 million yuan into the project since its groundbreaking in 2019. The facility will focus on developing four main experimental systems: model animal production and breeding, phenotypic analysis, genetic analysis, and information processing with smart automation control. The innovations stemming from this center are expected to have a transformative impact across various fields, including agriculture, biotechnology, and health, thereby propelling the upgrade of multiple related industries in Hebei Province.

According to Zhang Shuchuan, the director of the Model Animal Major Facility Construction Office at China Agricultural University, the foundational work on the center’s pig model phenotyping and genetic research facilities has been completed. Progress continues with the development of key systems including the experimental pig breeding system, individual imaging subsystem, physiological and biochemical subsystem, surgical center, multi-omics sequencing platform, and a supercomputing platform.

Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Mario R. Capecchi, a molecular geneticist from the United States, shared his insights via a video address, stating that the National Center for Model Animal Science will be at the forefront of global research utilizing pigs as model organisms.