Peking University, June 3, 2020: On May 17, the second lecture of "The Charm of Interdisciplinary Studies" series was held by the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (AAIS) of Peking University. The lecture centered on the interdisciplinary practices amid COVID-19, and was delivered by Qiao Jie, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, executive vice president of the Peking University Health Science Center and president of the Peking University Third Hospital. The lecture was hosted by Chen Peng, vice dean of AAIS, vice dean of the Graduate School of Peking University and professor of the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Peking University. The lecture was broadcast on various online platforms and received more than 1.5 million views.

Qiao Jie 

As the leader of Peking University's national medical team aiding Hubei province, Qiao told the story of her 66-day battle against the epidemic on the front line of Wuhan, summing up her experiences and reflection.

After discussing the important role of the integration of medicine with mathematics, statistics, informatics and pharmacy in the different stages of epidemic prevention and control, she pointed out that existing interdisciplinary studies have yet to pay enough attention to public health protection. In terms of medical management, an automated medical reporting system with medical institutions as the "outposts" will be an important line of defense in the future. Regarding the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, Qiao stressed that the primary way to prevent mildly ill patients from developing into critically ill patients is to provide targeted treatment, and this should be done through the constant improvement of diagnostic efficiency and accuracy as well as the timely classification and isolation of patients with different illness severity

At the end of the lecture, Qiao once again stressed the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation and integration in the prevention and control of the epidemic, and expressed her gratitude for the support and assistance she received from all sides during the medical relief work in Wuhan. She also expressed her hope that more young people are keen to interdisciplinary studies.

Written by: Shi Zhenyu
Edited by: June Tan Rui Min
Source: PKU News (Chinese)