Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone and academician Ma Shengming's team sign a cooperation agreement to build Hefei Advanced Institute of Functional Molecules. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]

Hefei Advanced Institute of Functional Molecules, led by academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Ma Shengming, will be established in the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province.

The academician's team and the zone's government signed an agreement Dec 13 to jointly build the institute.

Ma's team gathers outstanding researchers from prestigious universities in China, which include Fudan University, Peking University, Zhejiang University, University of Science and Technology of China, East China Normal University as well as professionals in such fields as business incubation, management and operation, investment and financing.

The team has rich experience in basic research, technology research and development (R&D) and the commercialization of sci-tech achievements in terms of the design and development of new catalysts, the discovery of drugs and lead compounds, the design and application of new functional molecules and functional materials, and scientific and technological information services.

The Hefei Advanced Institute of Functional Molecules is expected to give full play to the team's strength to create a functional molecular scientific research industrialization ecosystem that integrates design, R&D, pilot trials, incubation, industrial acceleration, and digital empowerment.

It plans to build four innovation centers focusing on industrial catalysis and green technology, new drug discovery and synthetic biology, advanced polymers and composite materials, and technological information empowerment respectively.

It will focus on the incubation of the technological R&D results of key functional molecules, carry out applied research and industrial technology R&D, and establish an industry incubation fund.

The institute will help attract high-end talents in the field of functional molecules from overseas, solve bottleneck problems concerning basic materials in key areas of the biomedicine and new materials industries, and bolster the development of strategic emerging industries such as biomedicine and new materials in Hefei.