To broaden the medical horizons of faculty and students and deepen innovative thinking in the integration of medicine and engineering, the Public Health Lecture Series—jointly organized by the Center for Biomedical Translational Engineering Research at Beijing University of Chemical Technology and the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, in collaboration with the Education Department of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital—was successfully held on the morning of May 27, 2026. This event also marked the official launch of this year’s Public Health Lecture Series. The lecture featured a special guest speaker, Director Zuo Xianbo of the Big Data Center at China-Japan Friendship Hospital, who delivered an insightful presentation titled “Exploration and Reflections on the Clinical Applications of Medical Artificial Intelligence” to faculty and students at Beijing University of Chemical Technology.
Medical artificial intelligence is rapidly transitioning from research to clinical practice, demonstrating immense potential in scenarios such as image interpretation, pathological analysis, decision support, and medical record generation. Zuo Xianbo pointed out that through deep learning and large-scale model technologies, AI can assist physicians in improving diagnostic efficiency and consistency while alleviating human resource shortages. Substantial breakthroughs have already been achieved, particularly in specialized disease analysis. However, clinical applications still face challenges such as data silos, insufficient model generalization, interpretability issues stemming from “black-box” decision-making, as well as challenges related to medical safety and ethical regulation. He emphasized that in the future, it is necessary to strengthen the deep integration of evidence-based medicine and AI, establish standardized data governance and evaluation systems, and drive AI from “perceptual assistance” toward “cognitive assistance,” thereby truly realizing a value loop that empowers clinical practice and serves patients.
Zuo Xianbo noted that Beijing University of Chemical Technology possesses unique strengths in biomedical engineering, AI algorithms, and materials science. He expressed hope for future in-depth collaboration in areas such as medical big data modeling, optimization of intelligent diagnostic algorithms, and research on explainable AI, with the aim of jointly advancing interdisciplinary innovation between medicine and engineering and facilitating the translation of scientific achievements into clinical practice.
Zuo Xianbo serves as Director of the Big Data Center at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Clinical Big Data, Executive Dean of the Institute of Digital and Intelligent Medicine Innovation, and Deputy Director of GCP. He concurrently holds several academic positions, including Chair of the Dermatology Genetics Branch of the Chinese Society of Genetics and President of the Digital and Intelligent Medicine Innovation Branch of the China Association of Medical and Health Culture, and possesses profound expertise in the clinical translation of medical big data and artificial intelligence.
As the inaugural event of this year’s lecture series, the initiative will continue to invite renowned experts from clinical and cutting-edge technology fields to help faculty and students at Beijing University of Chemical Technology broaden their medical horizons and stimulate innovative thinking.
This event was organized by the Beijing University of Chemical Technology–China-Japan Friendship Hospital Center for Biomedical Translational Engineering and the Education Department of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, and hosted by the Party Branch of the Education Department of China-Japan Friendship Hospital and the Student Union of the China-Japan Friendship Clinical Medical College.
Photo: Zhao Man
Text: Zhao Man
Reviewed by: Jia Guanglian, Wang Xing, Cao Hui
