Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University signed an agreement with the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation this month to establish the China Pangolin Research Centre.

Based at the University, the Centre will endeavor to protect the pangolin, one of the most endangered animals on the planet, through research.

Researcher Dr Siew Woh Choo from XJTLU’s Department of Biological Sciences will serve as the director of the China Pangolin Research Centre, while Secretary-General of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, Jinfeng Zhou has been appointed chairman of the council, and Head of the Department of Biological Sciences, Professor Mu Wang as vice-chairman.

(From left to right: Professor Mu Wang, Professor Youmin Xi, Jinfeng Zhou, and Dr Siew Woh Choo.)

During his visit to XJTLU, Secretary-General Zhou provided a brief overview of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, emphasizing that many wild animals, including pangolins, are facing enormous challenges to survive due to global industrialization.

“Pangolins have become the most illicitly traded mammal in the world, superseding elephants as the wild animal of greatest global concern,” he said.

“Establishing the China Pangolin Research Centre to investigate the genome of the pangolin will not only help protect pangolins but also boost China’s scientific research in this field.”

President Xi said XJTLU is looking forward protecting pangolins through the establishment of the new Centre.

An international research team led by Dr Choo has already sequenced and studied the genome of the pangolin based on DNA samples from two critically endangered species of pangolin.

The new findings from the genome study could improve understanding of immunity in other mammals, including human beings.

Original Article From: https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/news/latest

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