Xiamen University engineer Zheng Qingbing attends international conference in New Zealand

Summary

Zheng Qingbing, a senior engineer in Professor Xia Ningshao's team at our institute, visited New Zealand from 1 to 5 September at the invitation of Mihnea Bostina, director of the electron microscopy platform at the University of Otago, Dr Alice-Roza Eruera, and Joanna Hicks, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Waikato, to take part in academic activities linked to Queenstown Research Week 2026 (QRW 2026). Team member Chen Yuanzhi, an assistant researcher, attended as well. QRW is one of Oceania's most influential series of academic events in the life sciences and biomedicine, drawing each year staff from universities and research institutions in New Zealand, Australia and a range of other countries and regions.

At the event, Zheng delivered a presentation titled 'Cryo-EM-Driven Structural Vaccinology for Antiviral Vaccine and Antibody Development', covering the application of cryo-electron microscopy and structural vaccinology to HPV and RSV vaccines and antibodies, and discussed further cooperation between China and New Zealand in structural biology and biomedicine with attending scholars. During the visit, Zheng and his colleague toured the University of Otago's Christchurch campus, the University of Canterbury, the University of Auckland and the Maurice Wilkins Centre (MWC), New Zealand's national centre of research excellence, exchanging views with researchers on progress and cooperation opportunities in life and health research. In Auckland, they met again with Professor Rod Dunbar of the University of Auckland, academic director of MWC, and Peter Lai, executive director of the MWC China-New Zealand programme (C-MWC), reviewing progress over the past year in academic visits and cooperation in the China-New Zealand life and health sector and discussing the next stage of academic interaction, personnel exchanges and research cooperation.

Commentary

New Zealand's life sciences industry is centred on Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. MWC has deep strengths in cancer research and drug delivery, but most of its companies are small and medium-sized and lack high-end structural biology equipment and specialist staff. The Xiamen University team has already achieved domestic substitution in HPV vaccine development, and its cryo-EM-driven structural vaccinology approach can speed up antigen design, complementing New Zealand's work on RSV vaccines and antibody engineering.

For local biotechnology SMEs, such academic cooperation points to potential technology licensing, joint development or contract research opportunities. In the multibillion-dollar RSV vaccine race contested by GSK and Pfizer in particular, New Zealand companies can lower development risk by taking part in early structural analysis. On the other hand, Chinese research institutions are closely linked with industry, so NZ SMEs need to watch the intellectual property ownership and commercialisation terms in any cooperation and avoid becoming mere data providers.

QRW, as an influential academic platform in Oceania, offers local companies a window onto Asian innovation resources, but turning that into commercial orders still depends on the bridge role of institutions such as MWC, along with tracking follow-up arrangements on China-New Zealand research funding and mutual recognition of regulation.

Keywords: Zheng Qingbing, New Zealand, Queenstown Research Week, structural vaccinology, cryo-electron microscopy, University of Otago, Maurice Wilkins Centre, China-New Zealand academic exchange, life sciences

Summary in Chinese | 摘要

我院夏宁邵教授团队郑清炳高级工程师于9月1日至5日应新西兰奥塔哥大学电镜平台主任Mihnea Bostina、Alice-Roza Eruera博士及怀卡托大学药学与生物医学学院院长Joanna Hicks邀请，赴新西兰参加Queenstown Research Week 2026（QRW 2026）相关学术活动，团队成员陈远志助理研究员共同参会。QRW是大洋洲具有重要影响力的生命科学与生物医学系列学术活动之一，每年汇集来自新西兰、澳大利亚及全球多个国家和地区的高校、科研机构人员。会上，郑清炳作题为“Cryo-EM-Driven Structural Vaccinology for Antiviral Vaccine and Antibody Development”的学术报告，介绍冷冻电镜技术和结构疫苗学在HPV与RSV疫苗及抗体方面的应用研究，并与参会学者探讨中新两国结构生物学及生物医学领域进一步合作。

访问期间，郑清炳一行参访奥塔哥大学基督城校区、坎特伯雷大学、奥克兰大学及新西兰莫里斯·威尔金斯国家卓越研究中心（MWC），与相关科研人员就生命健康领域研究进展及合作机会进行交流。在奥克兰，他们与MWC学术主任、奥克兰大学Rod Dunbar教授以及MWC中国—新西兰项目（C-MWC）行政总监Peter Lai等人再次会面，回顾过去一年间中新生命健康领域学术互访与合作取得的进展，并围绕下一阶段学术互动、人员互访及科研合作进行沟通。

Commentary in Chinese | 评论

新西兰生命科学产业以奥克兰、基督城和但尼丁为中心，MWC在癌症研究、药物递送等领域有深厚积累，但多数企业为中小型，缺乏结构生物学高端仪器和专业人才。厦门大学团队在HPV疫苗研发上已实现国产替代，其冷冻电镜驱动的结构疫苗学方法可加速抗原设计，与新西兰在RSV疫苗、抗体工程等方向形成互补。对本地生物技术中小企业来说，此类学术合作意味着潜在的技术授权、联合研发或合同研究机会，尤其在RSV疫苗这一GSK、辉瑞竞逐的百亿美元赛道，新西兰企业可通过参与早期结构解析降低研发风险。

另一方面，中国科研机构与产业联动紧密，NZ SME需注意合作中的知识产权归属和商业化条款，避免仅作为数据提供方。QRW作为大洋洲有影响力的学术平台，为本地企业接触亚洲创新资源提供了窗口，但真正转化为商业订单仍需依托MWC等机构的桥梁作用，并跟踪中新科研基金和监管互认的后续安排。

关键词: 郑清炳, 新西兰, Queenstown Research Week, 结构疫苗学, 冷冻电镜, 奥塔哥大学, 莫里斯·威尔金斯国家卓越研究中心, 中新学术交流, 生命科学

Source: Xiamen University