On June 25, Yao Ruyu, Director of the Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of Health Plant Resources Development (HPRD LAB), and Qian Jie, Deputy Director, visited the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. The two sides held specialized discussions and toured on-site facilities, exchanging in-depth views on medicinal plant research and international academic collaboration, laying a long-term scientific cooperation framework for China-Thailand natural healthcare industries.
As Thailand’s top pharmaceutical research institute, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences boasts a century-long expertise in tropical medicinal herb research, natural drug development and pharmaceutical standard assessment, equipped with comprehensive research platforms and mature industrial channels covering ASEAN markets. At the opening of the meeting, Dean Vorasit Vongsutilers extended a warm welcome to the Chinese delegation, while Associate Dean Bodin Tuesuwan presented the faculty’s research layout, core laboratory resources and international cooperation framework.
Deputy Director Qian Jie briefly outlined the development history, robust research capacity in medicinal plants and global partnership layout of Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Director Yao Ruyu then delivered a special presentation on HPRD LAB’s core mission. Rooted in the academic foundation of Kunming Institute of Botany and drawing on shared botanical resources across Yunnan and Thailand, the lab commits to building cross-border medicinal plant databases, breaking technical barriers in natural product research, fostering international research talents, and translating lab discoveries into industrial products. It aims to develop a regional innovation hub for health plant resources serving Southeast Asia and facilitate two-way exchanges of traditional medicine under the Health Silk Road initiative.
Yao Ruyu pointed out that Yunnan and Thailand share geographical proximity and homologous herbal resources, forming strong complementary strengths in research. HPRD LAB excels in exploring distinctive medicinal plants in southwest China, documenting ethnic herbal medical theories, and evaluating bioactive compounds, whereas Chulalongkorn University’s faculty holds unique advantages in tropical herb studies, pharmaceutical compliance evaluation and local industrial commercialization in Thailand, creating solid ground for all-round joint development.
He proposed that both parties establish regular academic communication mechanisms. Through faculty exchanges, joint research projects, joint applications for international research grants and shared academic publications, the two sides can build a complete industrial chain spanning resource surveys, fundamental research and commercial health product rollout. Joint efforts will address common industrial challenges including cross-border medicinal plant trade standards, resource exploitation and overseas commercialization of research achievements, enabling two-way flow of traditional medicine research resources and win-win progress for both nations.
During exchanges, both sides reached broad consensus on five key cooperation areas: staff exchange, joint research, joint talent training, academic publication sharing and international research grant applications. After the discussion, the delegation visited the Thai Traditional Medicine Museum and the faculty’s core research laboratories. They systematically studied local Thai herbal resources, ancient herbal processing techniques and herb preservation practices, and observed the operation of testing platforms for tropical medicinal plants and natural pharmaceutical preparations, drawing valuable experience in pharmaceutical standardization and industry-research integration.
This visit marks a key milestone in HPRD LAB’s outreach to top-tier ASEAN academic institutions in pharmaceutical research. Moving forward, the lab will maintain close communication with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences to refine long-term cooperation frameworks and steadily launch academic and research projects, driving high-quality development of China-Thailand healthcare industries through cross-border scientific collaboration.
Scene of the academic forum
Director Yao Ruyu delivering a presentation on HPRD LAB
Group photo