On June 21st, 2014, Xiangya Overseas Alumni Association (XYOAA) had a grand celebration for the 100th Anniversary of Xiangya School of Medicine (XYSM) in Ellicott City, Maryland, US, which attracted nearly 200 Xiangya alumni and their family members, Xiangya faculty, staff and students studying at US to attend. Prof. Sun Hong, president of Xiangya Hospital, attended this celebration on behalf of Central South University and Xiangya School of Medicine and brought the greeting message from Central South University.

Alumni Present at the Celebration

Ms. Nancy Yao Massbach, Executive Director of Yale-China Association

Prof. Cao Wei, President of XYOAA

Prof. Sun Hong, President of Xiangya Hospital, CSU Representative

Prof. Xia Yang, Alumni Representative

Prof. Deng Hanxiang, Alumni Representative

Liu Hong, Student Representative

President Sun Hong, Prof. Wang Liang (former president of XYOAA) with Xiangya Students Studying in the US

President Sun Hong, Prof. Xia Yang, with Xiangya Faculty Studying in the US

Alumni present at the celebration include: Prof. Han Ming (with his wife), former director ofSurgery at Xiangya Hospital; Mr. Liu Zhongyi, honorary doctor at UCLA Medical Center, consultant of Los Angeles Chinese Writers Association (LACWA), who once worked at Xiangya Hospital and 2nd Xiangya Hospital; Mr. Bill Watkins, English teacher at Hunan Medical College from 1981 to 1984 sent by the Yale-China Association; Prof. Yi Fuxian from Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, writer of “Big Country with an Empty Nest”; other excellent alumni including Cao Wei, Wang Liang, Zhou Xingguang, Li Tieluo, Deng Hanxiang, Zhang Liming, Xia Yang, Jiang Guojian, Li Changsheng, Tao Xiang, Zhang Dou, etc. XYOAA also selected and commended 11 young Xiangya students studying abroad to encourage them to keep progressing.

Ms. Nancy Yao Massbach, executive director of Yale-China Association introduced the history, current situation and vision of the Association, and expressed her sincere wish for a better future of XYSM. Mr. Zheng Baoguo, director of the Education Office, Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Washington DC, and Mr. Yang Xiuzhu, chair of Council of Chinese Alumni Associations at Greater Washington DC (CAAGW) also attended the celebration.

In the keynote talk given by Prof. Cao Wei from Massachusetts General Hospital, president of XYOAA, he expressed deep attachment to and best wishes for the alma mater on behalf of all Xiangya overseas alumni, and reported the latest work of XYOAA and academic exchanges with Xiangya, including the establishment of XYOAA-YCA Scholarship.

In the keynote speech "State of Xiangya and Xiangya Hospital" given by president Sun Hong, he brought the cordial greetings from leaders of Central South University, Xiangya School of Medicine and other affiliations of Xiangya to all overseas alumni, and expressed sincere gratitude for their huge contribution in Xiangya"s development. He also introduced the development and latest achievements of Xiangya and its affiliated hospitals, including China’s Clinical Key Specialty construction projects, Xiangya Clinical Big Data project, Xiangya Famous Doctors project, Xiangya Best Nurses project, etc. The alumni expressed their gratitude for Xiangya"s support as well as their confidence in and expectations on Xiangya’s future development.

In the seminar, Prof. Xia Yang from Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UT-Health), shared her research on cardiovascular and hematological diseases, introduced the “Xiangya Outstanding Young Scholar Training Program” implemented by UT-Health and Xiangya Hospital, and addressed on “What Makes a Successful Scientific Worker”. Doctoral candidate Liu Hong from UT-Health and post-doctoral fellow Li Huihua from UPMC, as student representatives, also gave academic reports to the teachers.

For more information about XYOAA, please visit http://www.xyoaa.org/.