Chapter 332 - 226: Yangtze River Scholar

Chapter 332: Chapter 226: Yangtze River Scholar

The abdomen was closed, and they stepped away from the operating table.

Huang Chengjun and Wang Ke came looking for Jiang He.

The prodigy from the prestigious sect, ever the gentleman, spoke with utmost respect:

"Jiang He, can I get your contact information? There are some details about the posterior approach I’d like to discuss with you privately."

"You’re too kind, Dr. Huang. We can just discuss it together."

Jiang He gave him his cell phone number and QQ number.

Huang Chengjun immediately took out his phone and saved the contact.

He was a respectable man by nature, and after witnessing Jiang He’s terrifying skill on the operating table, he naturally wanted to build a connection.

The professional world isn’t about constant fighting; it’s about navigating human relationships...

Once Huang Chengjun had saved the number and stepped back, Wang Ke, who had been waiting to the side, came forward, looking a little awkward.

Wang Ke looked rather embarrassed.

"Dr. Jiang, back in the demonstration room... My attitude was poor. I spoke too rashly and was out of line. I need to apologize."

Jiang He replied, "It’s fine. Disagreements are normal in academic discussions."

"I was the one being arrogant. I thought the risks of the posterior approach were uncontrollable, but in reality, my own skills just weren’t up to par. Dr. Jiang, if it’s convenient, I’d like to add you as a contact, too. I hope I can consult you in the future when I run into clinical problems I can’t figure out."

"Of course."

Wang Ke was a smart man.

An adult knows when to press forward and when to yield.

And just like that, his path forward broadened.

The three of them left the surgical wing together, heading down the corridor toward the demonstration room.

Lively discussion could be heard from inside.

Or to be more precise,

one person was holding forth with great confidence.

Surrounded by occasional gasps of admiration.

The person speaking...

was none other than Chen Hao!

While the group of senior doctors had gone to the operating room,

Chen Hao had remained in the demonstration room with the few Peking Union Medical College Hospital students who stayed behind.

Which meant it was his time to shine!

As Chen Hao’s explanation progressed from the simple to the complex,

the young doctors in the audience nodded repeatedly. Some even jotted down notes.

There’s a saying that you shouldn’t have a genius teach ordinary people.

When Jiang He taught, he tended to take certain things for granted.

And what an expert takes for granted can often leave you completely baffled.

It’s like when Qian Xuesen once said, "How could anyone, no matter how stupid, fail to learn calculus?"

So, what Chen Hao was explaining actually came from his own perspective—the problems and points of confusion he himself was likely to encounter.

He quickly struck a chord with the audience.

"That was very enlightening."

A doctor in the front row said with a face full of admiration, "Dr. Chen, your breakdown of the mechanical principles for releasing vascular tension was a real eye-opener."

Another master’s student from Peking Union Medical College Hospital asked curiously, "Dr. Chen, with a theoretical foundation like yours, which major professor are you studying under? You look so young. What’s your position at Affiliated Hospital No. 1? Are you leading your own team already?"

Faced with this sudden wave of praise, Chen Hao was a little embarrassed.

"Er... well, actually, I haven’t joined a team yet."

"Oh, then you must be an attending physician they’re grooming for a senior role," the master’s student said with a knowing look.

"Not exactly... Er, actually, I’m still a junior in college. I’m just at the hospital learning from my buddy and helping out where I can."

Everyone: "???"

What was that?

A junior? As in, a junior in college?

So, it turned out they had been sitting here, taking notes, while being lectured for hours by a third-year undergrad from Southern China?

The expressions on their faces were a sight to behold.

They looked like they had just been run over by reality.

Thankfully, Jiang He’s timely return broke the awkward silence.

When the crowd saw Jiang He, they all rushed forward to ask about the surgery.

Jiang He answered all their questions.

The crowd praised him effusively.

Chen Hao scratched his head from the back of the group, thinking,

’What would all of you think if you knew that just one month ago, Jiang He was my classmate, a fellow college junior?’

’Nah, better not bring that up. It would be too demoralizing...’

After a few moments of conversation, Jiang He went to find Xu Wenpei.

Inside his office, Director Xu wore a complicated expression.

He had been keeping a close eye on Jiang He’s progress.

’So, what I was thinking before actually came true.’

’Jiang He really did make a huge splash in front of Professor Zhong!’

’They even performed surgery together...’

’This is just too outrageous!’

Xu Wenpei took a moment to compose himself before asking, "Jiang He, how on earth did you get so skilled?"

Jiang He said, "It’s all thanks to Director Yang."

Xu Wenpei clicked his tongue. "I know Old Yang. He’s a decent surgeon, but since when was he this good at teaching students? I don’t buy it. This is definitely the result of your own hard work!"

Jiang He replied, "Alright then."

After another sigh of amazement, Xu Wenpei said, "By the way, do you remember what I told you before? Next June, the Chinese Medical Association Surgery Branch is holding a national pancreatic academic summit in the Capital City."

Jiang He nodded. "I remember."

"I have one nomination slot for a young scholar, and I’ve decided to give it to you."

As Xu Wenpei said this,

he suddenly felt like he was in an episode of Pokémon... ’Charmander, I choose you!’

Jiang He nodded again. "Thank you, Director Xu."

"Once you present the clinical data on the posterior approach from Affiliated Hospital No. 1 and your early prediction model at the summit, you’ll make a huge splash. After that, the next step in your career evaluation will be a matter of course. Given your age and accomplishments, you have a great chance of being exceptionally named a Yangtze River Scholar."

The Yangtze River Scholar is an academic title that carries immense weight in the country.

For a young man in his early twenties to receive this title would be a groundbreaking event, sending shockwaves through the entire nation’s medical community.

Xu Wenpei continued, "Of course, I know your ambitions don’t stop there. You’re aiming to become an academician, aren’t you?"

Jiang He went, "Hm?"

’To be honest, I haven’t really thought that far ahead.’

’But if he was forced to answer, then of course he wanted it.’

Xu Wenpei explained, "Let me bring you up to speed. To be considered for an academician position in this country, the basic requirement is to have won a National Science and Technology Award—that is, one of the three major awards: the State Natural Science Award, the State Technological Invention Award, or the State Science and Technology Progress Award."

Jiang He listened quietly.

Xu Wenpei added, "Oh, and you probably want to win a Nobel Prize, too, right?"

Jiang He: "Hm?"

Xu Wenpei sighed. "The Nobel Prize... that’s even more distant. The Nobel Prize values disruptive breakthroughs. Your SAP early prediction model and this improved posterior approach are incredible, yes, but academically, they fall into the category of clinical application improvement and optimization. They don’t quite reach the level required for a Nobel."

Jiang He had a good idea why Xu Wenpei was bringing this up.

Before 2008, no one from China had ever won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

It wouldn’t be until 2015 that Tu Youyou would win the award for her success in discovering and extracting the antimalarial drug artemisinin from a traditional herb.

Xu Wenpei must have seen the potential in him and was already thinking far into the future.

If he could really win the Nobel Prize in Medicine, it would be more than a personal honor; it would be a milestone for the entire nation.

’The miRNA early screening project is definitely a Nobel-level nominee.’

’As for a targeted drug for pancreatic cancer... if I can actually develop that, then going to Stockholm to collect the Nobel Prize would just be a matter of booking a flight.’

Jiang He reined in his thoughts and got to the point. "Director Xu, I understand what you’re saying. Actually, apart from the surgical exchange, there’s one more thing I wanted to trouble you with during my visit to Peking Union Medical College Hospital."

"Go ahead."

"I need a large number of serum samples from patients with very early-stage pancreatic cancer. The sample size in Southern China is insufficient, so I’d like to access the serum sample bank at Peking Union Medical College Hospital."

Hearing this, Xu Wenpei paused, then shook his head with a wry smile. "Ah, Jiang He, I’m afraid that won’t be possible."

In 2008, nowhere in the country, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, had a standardized biological sample bank been established.

There were no unified collection standards, no temperature-controlled traceability, and a lack of clinical data for follow-up.

A tube of serum might be sitting in a freezer with a label that was already faded and blurry.

The patient’s subsequent survival time and pathological type were impossible to match with the sample.

For research on early screening of very early-stage pancreatic cancer, such samples were completely useless.

Jiang He had anticipated this, which was why he had asked Teacher Gu to mail serum samples back from Europe.

The reason he was bringing it up now, however, was because...

’If one doesn’t exist, then they should build one!’

Jiang He said, "Director Xu, in that case, why don’t we build one?"

Xu Wenpei: "Huh?"

Jiang He laid out his plan. "I have the need, and Peking Union Medical College Hospital has the industry standing. As long as Professor Zhong is willing to take the lead, we can use Peking Union and Affiliated Hospital No. 1 as the core to jointly establish a ’Standard for Pancreatic Cancer Serum Sample Collection and Data Follow-up.’ Wouldn’t that be laying the foundation for the entire nation’s medical system?"

Xu Wenpei was floored by Jiang He’s proposal.

’Holy crap! I thought you just wanted some data, but you want to drop Mentos into a bottle of Coke and ride it to the moon!’

"I can’t make the call on this myself. Professor Zhong just mentioned to me that he’s very interested in your research. Come on, I’ll take you to see him right now."

「Twenty minutes later, in Professor Zhong Shouxian’s office.」

After listening to Jiang He’s grand vision, he was silent for a long time.

Ultimately, he agreed to draft a proposal for the joint establishment of a standardized, specialized pancreatic serum sample bank.

He believed it was a good deed that would benefit the nation and its people.

"Keep up the great work, Jiang He."

Professor Zhong looked at him, his eyes filled with expectation.

"I look forward to the results you’ll produce in the future, and I hope I’m there to see that day..."

As he walked out of the office, Jiang He quickly ran through his upcoming plans in his mind.

’Peking Union Medical College Hospital was a relatively easy conquest.’

’With Xu Wenpei building bridges for me, and now having won over Professor Zhong Shouxian through the surgery, I’ve secured the endorsement of Peking Union.’

’The first shot in the campaign to establish a national standardized serum bank has been fired.’

’But relying on just Affiliated Hospital No. 1 and Peking Union Medical College Hospital isn’t enough. The sample size would still be far too small.’

’I have to keep expanding.’

’I still need to win over other top-tier hospitals.’

’Like Ruijin and Huaxi.’

’After I get back from the United States in mid-December, I’ll have to start doing exchange studies at those places.’

’One conquest at a time.’

’Win them over, one by one.’

’I’ll need to gain the recognition of the medical giants in each region and secure administrative support from the local health authorities.’

’At the same time, I’ll promote the widespread use of the SAP early prediction model in these places to establish my influence.’

’Then I’ll leverage that influence to get them to join the project.’

’That way, I’ll be able to acquire a large volume of serum from early-stage pancreatic cancer patients in the future.’

’Hmm... why does this feel like Pokémon again?’

’This business of going around and challenging all the different gyms...’

’In any case, a true medical breakthrough is impossible without massive infrastructure.’

’I must unite the nation’s top hospitals and get this standardized serum bank operational.’

’We have to conduct a massive number of double-blind tests and data verifications, and go through an extremely long and rigorous process of clinical trial and error.’

’Only then can we confirm that this thing is viable in a complex, real-world medical environment.’

’This is what sets medicine apart from other scientific disciplines.’

’It’s a matter of life and death; there are no shortcuts.’

’Oh, right. I can start laying the groundwork for this right now.’

He opened his QQ group chat. Zhiyu sent a message to Li Jianping of Ruijin Hepatobiliary: "You there?"

As the saying goes, only a clown starts a conversation with "You there?"

But Elder Zhi was unfazed.

Li Jianping replied instantly: "I’m here. What is it, Elder Zhi?"

Zhiyu: "I have a student..."