Late May.
The Medical Department of Suzhou University.
Inside an office.
Liu Qi, a fifth-year medical student, politely knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
A strong voice came from inside.
Liu Qi, feeling slightly restrained, pushed open the door and approached Chen Yu's desk.
He said politely, "Professor Chen, I'm Liu Qi from the Class 10 of the Medical Department (2)."
“I recently wrote a paper, with both Chinese and English versions."
“If you're not busy, could you take a look and give me some pointers?”
Chen Yu glanced at Liu Qi and nodded with a smile.
He remembered this student, a standout in Class 10 of the Medical Department (2), a well-rounded and excellent student.
Chen Yu took the USB drive Liu Qi offered, plugged it into his computer, and opened the paper.
He curiously asked, “Xiao Liu, what field is your paper about?”
Liu Qi truthfully replied, “Professor Chen, it’s a paper on the respiratory tract.”
Nowadays, throughout the Suzhou University Medical Department.
Everyone knows.
How profound Professor Chen Yu's knowledge is in the medical field, and his expertise spans all branches of medicine.
That's why.
He dared to come and ask for Professor Chen’s guidance.
Hearing this, Chen Yu nodded and focused his attention on the computer screen.
After the paper finished loading.
He glanced at the title: “The Conduction Pathway from Nasal Mucosa Sensory Nerve Fibers to the Brainstem Respiratory Nucleus.”
Then, Chen Yu carefully read the paper.
Liu Qi mentioned in the opening that.
Sneezing is a protective reflex of the respiratory tract and a symptom of diseases such as allergic rhinitis.
The body “sneezes” almost every day.
But little is known about its neural signal pathway.
To find the specific neuronal groups and neurotransmitters/neuropeptides involved in the reflex and explore the underlying neural conduction pathway, Liu Qi.
He used the fact that capsaicin can induce sneezing to construct a mouse model that can spontaneously sneeze while being active.
Then, Liu Qi applied a "two-step-reverse" research approach, first identifying the common neuropeptides/neurotransmitters in the trigeminal ganglion where TRPV1+ nerve fibers of the nasal mucosa project, using single-cell RT-PCR, and then examining sneezing behavior in mice with related gene knockout, screening NMB (Neuromedin-B) as a necessary neuropeptide for the conduction pathway of sneezing.
Liu Qi further used neuronal ablation (NMB-Saporin), gene knockout, and brainstem electrophysiological recording.
The results showed that: TRPV1+ neurons expressing NMB, when stimulated (capsaicin, histamine, and allergens), release NMB into the NMBR+ secondary neurons in the trigeminal nucleus.
To determine the specific projection target.
Liu Qi further used Nmbr-eGFP reporter mice to track the neurons expressing NMBR.
He found that NMBR-GFP(+) neurons directly project to the caudal-ventral-respiratory-group (cVRG) in the brainstem.
Finally, Liu Qi verified the functional connection between NMBR neurons and the cVRG through in vitro brainstem electrophysiological recordings and injecting NMB directly into the cVRG to induce sneezing.
Overall.
Liu Qi delineated the neural pathways of chemical and allergic sneezing: Nasal sensory neurons expressing NMB → neurons expressing NMB receptors in the sneezing induction area → neurons located in the cVRG.
The experimental data in the paper is very detailed and meticulous.
Seeing this.
Chen Yu nodded in praise, “Xiao Liu, your paper is of high quality.
This is also the first peptidergic neural pathway discovered so far for chemical and allergen-mediated sneezing.
The dissection of this pathway has very positive implications for the treatment of pathological sneezing and the prevention and control of respiratory transmission of diseases.”
“The research conclusions in the paper are well-founded and convincing.”
Hearing this.
Liu Qi's eyes lit up.
To have his paper praised by Professor Chen.
It was undoubtedly the greatest affirmation of his hard work in pursuing academic excellence!
Chen Yu smiled and said, "Xiao Liu, your paper is of high quality, I have nothing to point out.”
“The only thing that can be considered a flaw is the paper's formatting and the use of some words in the details.”
“Leave the paper with me, I’ll make some adjustments.”
“Come back to my office at 5 p.m. today to pick it up.”
“Thank you, Professor Chen!”
Liu Qi quickly thanked him.
Professor Chen has published numerous medical papers in top journals, so he is familiar with formatting and such things.
He also knew.
Professor Chen has a heavy teaching and research workload every day.
Even with such a busy schedule, he was willing to help revise the paper.
Liu Qi was deeply moved.
Chen Yu inquired, "Xiao Liu, have you decided which journal you'll submit your paper to?"
“I haven’t decided yet!”
Liu Qi replied truthfully, "I just finished the paper and came to you for guidance. I haven't decided which journal to submit to yet.”
Chen Yu patiently said, "Internationally renowned academic journals include Cell, Nature, and Science, also known as CNS.”
“Publishing a paper in any of these three journals is more valuable than publishing many papers in ordinary journals.”
Hearing this, Liu Qi nodded.
He had long heard of these three top academic journals.
Nature journal, the latest impact factor is 42.351.
The world's earliest international science journal, founded in 1869, consistently reports and reviews the most significant breakthroughs in the global scientific community.
The journal covers life sciences, natural sciences, clinical medicine, physics, chemistry, and other fields.
Cell journal, the latest impact factor is 33.116.
The best journal in the field of biosciences, mainly publishing the latest research findings in the field of life sciences.
Science journal, the latest impact factor is 31.477.
An academic journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the most authoritative academic journals in the world.
It mainly publishes the latest scientific research findings, covering various disciplines.
Liu Qi knew very well.
If his paper could be published by these three top academic journals, it would be of great benefit to his future employment, medical practice, academic research, and other aspects.
At this moment, Chen Yu suggested, “Xiao Liu, based on the quality of your paper, I suggest you submit it to Cell journal.”
“Compared to the more stringent review processes of Nature and Science journals.”
“Personally, I think your paper has a higher chance of being accepted by Cell!”
The impact factors of CNS journals fluctuate every year.
Chen Yu clearly remembered.
The impact factor of Nature journal was 64.8 in 2023 and 50.5 in 2024.
The impact factor of Cell journal was 64.5 in 2023 and 45.5 in 2024.
The impact factor of Science journal was 56.9 in 2023 and 44.7 in 2024.
Of course, no matter how much the impact factor fluctuates every year.
Publishing a paper in the main journals of these three is a remarkable achievement.
“Thank you, Professor Chen, I’ll take your advice.”
Liu Qi quickly thanked him.
…
At 5 p.m.
Chen Yu returned the USB drive to Liu Qi and said, “I've revised the paper’s formatting, not much has been changed, I won't be adding my name to it, I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
Hearing this, Liu Qi felt a pang in his heart.
Although young, he had heard of some rules in the academic world.
For example, co-authorship of a paper.
Today, when he asked Professor Chen to revise his paper, he was already prepared to be the second author.
Liu Qi hurriedly said, "Professor Chen, your name must be on the paper! Without your guidance, my paper wouldn't have the right format, and it would have been rejected.”
“What kind of guidance is that?”
Chen Yu waved his hand, “Co-authorship of an academic paper is a very serious matter.”
“It involves whether you participated in the research, how much you contributed, and it’s best to be truthful.”
“I helped you with the formatting and made some minor changes.”
“That doesn’t constitute academic discussion, let alone co-authorship.”
“I don’t care about other professors’ rules.”
“But here, there’s no such rule!”
Liu Qi again said, “Professor Chen, should I put your name in the second author field?”
“No need!”
Chen Yu shook his head, "This paper, from the data source, the experimental data, the writing, it’s all your own independent work.”
“There's really no need to put my name on it.”
“If you keep dwelling on this, I'll have to ask you to leave!”
As soon as he finished speaking.
Liu Qi once again thanked him, “Thank you, Professor Chen!”
A moment later.
Chen Yu watched Liu Qi leave, feeling a little emotional.
He has a natural aura of a master teacher.
When he teaches, the teaching effect is doubled.
Students who take his classes for a long time will make great strides in their medical skills.
Clearly, Liu Qi was one of them.
Before he could finish his thoughts.
Another knock came from the office door.
Many medical students came to him.
“Professor Chen, my paper is called ‘Organ-specific Fibroblasts and Their Medical Applications,’ I beg you to give me some pointers!”
“Professor Chen, I also have a paper I’d like you to take a look at, it's called ‘The Emergence of New Generation Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors’.”
“Professor Chen, my paper is called ‘Single-Cell Sequencing for Building Spatiotemporal Dynamic Maps of Macrophage Development,’ I want you to give me some guidance.”
“Professor Chen, I also have a paper, ‘Neutrophil Response Related to Tumor Control in Immunotherapy’, please give me some advice.”
“Professor Chen, I have a paper here called ‘Long-Range Neural Networks Regulate Hippocampal Neural Stem Cells and Neurogenesis,’ please give me some guidance, please, please!”
“…”
Hearing the requests of these students for guidance on their papers.
Chen Yu was deeply moved.
This is what every university teacher hopes to see, isn't it?
While feeling gratified, he also fell into contemplation.
The power of a master teacher's aura.
It seems…even more powerful than he imagined?