Around 2,300 delegates of the Communist Party of China (CPC) gather in the capital Beijing to attend the 19th CPC National Congress. They were elected from various sectors and social spectra across the country. 

Du Yutao is one of these delegates. She works as a genomics scientist at BGI, the world’s largest genomics institute.

Located in Shenzhen, the center was once known as a “cloned pigs factory", and Dr. Du was the inventor of a record-breaking technology in the world, called “hand-made cloning”.

“When I did my Ph.D. in Denmark in 2005, my tutor, my colleagues and I succeeded in creating the world’s first batch of hand-made cloned pigs.” Du Yutao told CGTN, “The technique is different from the traditional cloning method. We managed to reduce our reliance on expensive machines and replace them with trained operators to make the cloning process quicker and easier. Then I came back to China with this technology.”

In Shenzhen, Dr. Du founded China’s first lab of hand-made cloning. After making marked progress in her study of cloned pigs, Dr. Du is now looking for a better connection between genomics and human health.

Fitness equipment can be seen all over Du’s office. Here in BGI, it’s more like a gym than a typical office. Everyone is encouraged to do exercise in order to provide data for research. The institute also offers a sports health course to the public, in a bid to promote the concept of an “exercise prescription”.

Hong Hongxing, a boxer taking part in the course, told CGTN that his wife has brain cancer. Apart from receiving the necessary medical treatment, his wife managed to keep the disease under control through appropriate exercise and dietary plans. The BGI is now gathering her physical data for further research and health suggestions.

“Gene sequencing cannot tell you everything about your body,” Dr. Du explains to CGTN, “To have a comprehensive health assessment, we need all kinds of data like ones pertaining to nutrition, immune system and so on.”

In light of her scientific achievements, Dr. Du was elected as a delegate to attend the 19th CPC National Congress. 

“My parents were both farmers. Thanks to the CPC, they had a chance to go to college and became doctors. They are grateful to the Party, and me being a CPC delegate is an honor for my entire family.” Said Du.

Dr. Du has been studying genomics for about 20 years, and it was during this period that China made rapid advancement in this sector.

Take the BGI as an example, the institute provides over half of the world’s genomics data and research outputs, more than the total of Britain and the US – the two other leading countries in this field.

BGI also runs China National Genebank in Shenzhen.

“In 1999, China had little study in this sector, we had to follow in the footsteps of other countries.” Said Du, “But then we gradually caught up, and now China is definitely a pioneer in genomics research.”

China is also one of six countries in the world taking part in a “human genome project”, aiming to sequence and map all of the human genes.