godfather of surgery

Chapter 1264 Talent is Talent
The short distance of a few hundred meters from the laboratory building to the dean's office felt like an arduous journey for Dean Xia, who was deeply tormented by the experience.

The leader walked at the front, his steps light and brisk, clearly having fully recovered from the awkwardness in the lab earlier, and even in high spirits at discovering a "young talent" like Zhang Lin. He would occasionally turn back to chat with Zhang Lin, who was close behind.

"Xiao Zhang, I saw you giving a very passionate lecture in the lab just now! And the audience seemed very interested, which means your lecture was very lively and engaging. There aren't many young people like you these days who are so passionate about scientific research and so good at expressing themselves."

Zhang Lin's adrenaline had probably not completely subsided at this moment, and receiving such high-ranking praise from such a leader made him feel dizzy and smug, truly believing himself to be a promising young talent.

He completely forgot about the frequent winks from Dean Xia along the way, and his voice was louder than usual: "You flatter me, leader! It's mainly because the current policy attaches great importance to cultivating us young people, and our laboratory platform is also very good. Professor Yang Ping's research direction is very cutting-edge, and my colleagues are all very excellent. I've been influenced by them, but I've only learned a little bit. Compared to my excellent colleagues, there is still a lot I need to learn."

He may seem to be being modest, but he is actually implicitly acknowledging the leader's approval and praise.

Dean Xia followed behind, listening to Zhang Lin's modest words. His lips twitched involuntarily, and he thought to himself, "Superficial knowledge? You've got nothing but empty talk! Wait till you're exposed, then we'll see how you handle this!"

He was now just hoping to get to the office as soon as possible and find a reason to get rid of Zhang Lin, this "plague god".

However, the leader's interest was clearly much higher than he had anticipated.

Entering the spacious dean's office, the leader casually sat on the sofa for guests and kindly pointed to the seat next to him: "Xiao Zhang, sit down, don't be shy. Dean Xia, you sit down too. After a busy day, it's good to have some tea, rest your feet, and chat casually."

The secretary quickly brewed three cups of hot tea and brought them over. The tea was top-quality Longjing, with a fragrant aroma, but Dean Xia took a sip and found his mouth filled with bitterness.

He was thinking about how to get rid of Zhang Lin. This guy usually got by with just a silver tongue, and he was completely useless. He was worried that Zhang Lin would ruin the institute's reputation in front of the leaders. There were so many talented people in the institute, yet the leaders had to target him. Anyone else they could grab was a hundred times better than him.

The leader blew on the tea foam, took a sip, and then looked at Zhang Lin with a smile, beginning the formal "inspection."

"Xiao Zhang, judging from your accent, you're not from around here, are you? Which school did you graduate from?"

Dean Xia's heart tightened; Zhang Lin's alma mater wasn't a top-tier university. He quickly interjected, "Sir, young Zhang, he..."

"Hey, Lao Xia, let Xiao Zhang speak for himself." The leader gently interrupted Dean Xia, his gaze still encouraging as he looked at Zhang Lin. He had finally managed to retain a promising young talent from the research institute; how could he let him go so easily? He definitely wanted to have a thorough conversation with him, and also to understand the institute's progress and the level of its talent.

The last time he visited Sanbo Hospital, he only met with Yang Ping once. The two didn't discuss any professional issues; they just chatted over tea for a short time, and he didn't learn anything from the conversation. When chatting with Yang Ping, the leader couldn't very well pry into professional matters, fearing it would violate the principle of "not disturbing."

Now that we've decided to conduct a secret investigation, let's broaden the scope of that investigation.

Zhang Lin was quite frank and revealed the name of his alma mater. Although it was not a top-tier university, it was still a decent key university. However, it was not particularly outstanding among the top talents gathered at the Sanbo Research Institute.

The leader nodded, showing no dissatisfaction, and instead said, "Hmm, a good school, solid foundation. It seems your achievements were mainly gained in later scientific research practice. That's rare, truly rare!"

Dean Xia: "..."

The leader continued to ask, "Xiao Zhang, what is your current research focus? Young people must be focused and patient."

Research direction? I can't exactly say "Lagou" (a homophone for "relationship"), can I? That's a bit too crude.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Lin casually suggested a direction: "I'm planning to focus my research on spinal cord injuries recently."

Mannstein and August are currently researching this topic, and Zhang Lin is also somewhat involved. He usually hangs out with them in forums and WeChat groups, so he can always come into contact with the most cutting-edge knowledge in this field.

"Oh...that's a good direction, is it about 'mitochondrial transplantation' to treat spinal cord injury? Are you familiar with it?" the leader asked with concern, as he was an expert in this field.

"Let's get familiar with it!"

Zhang Lin is exposed to far more cutting-edge knowledge than this, and he feels that this stuff is outdated. Now he is focused on a new technology based on spatial guidance theory: protocellular repair! In fact, this is also a kind of stem cell technology, which uses the original cells of the spinal cord to repair damage.

However, since the leader asked about the topic of 'mitochondrial transplantation' for treating spinal cord injury, he simply answered accordingly, so as not to offend the leader or jeopardize their interest.

The leader continued to delve deeper into this topic: "I remember that 'mitochondrial transplantation' for spinal cord injury has only seen breakthrough progress internationally in the last few years. Could you tell me more about your understanding of this, such as the new targeted delivery system recently published in Nature, and what are its specific advantages compared to traditional viral vectors or physical injections?"

This is a very technical question, pointing directly to core technologies, and it comes from the latest issue of a top-tier journal. Even researchers who regularly keep up with international research progress would find it difficult to answer such a question.

Dean Xia's heart leaped into his throat, and his palms began to sweat. He knew that although Zhang Lin was a teaching secretary at the research institute, he was essentially just doing menial tasks managing interns and visiting scholars. Now, his true colors were about to be exposed!
He immediately stood up, pretending to go get the kettle: "Boss, the tea's gotten cold, let me refill it for you. Xiao Zhang, go next door and get some tea leaves..."

"Not too cold, not too cold, just right." The leader waved his hand, looking intently at Zhang Lin. "No need to get tea leaves, this is fine. Let Xiao Zhang finish speaking, I'm very interested in this."

Zhang Lin remained unfazed, gently setting down his teacup with his back straight. His posture was remarkably composed, befitting a young scholar giving a presentation. He cleared his throat and began:

"Boss, that's a very professional question. The core advantages of this biomimetic nanoliposome delivery system are 'precision' and 'safety'."

"Oh? Tell me more." The leader leaned forward slightly, his interest piqued.

“Traditional viral vectors, while highly efficient at transfection, pose potential risks of immunogenicity and insertional mutations, and their targeting of terminally differentiated neurons is not ideal. Physical injection, on the other hand, is prone to causing secondary damage and has a limited delivery range,” Zhang Lin explained fluently, using technical terms with considerable expertise. “The new system, however, achieves highly efficient and specific targeting of neurons in the damaged area by modifying the surface of liposomes with a specific transmembrane peptide and neuronal targeting ligand. The membrane composition of the liposomes has been optimized, enabling them to fuse efficiently with the mitochondrial membrane, directly ‘delivering’ functional mitochondria into the cytoplasm of damaged cells, avoiding degradation via the endosome-lysosome pathway, and greatly improving transplantation efficiency. Because it is a non-viral vector, its biosafety is extremely high, with virtually no risk of tumorigenesis.”

In fact, Zhang Lin had never read this paper. However, he spent a lot of time in the group and would come into contact with it when others discussed it. Over time, he learned about everything and was able to say a little about it.

This statement was logically clear and focused, not only answering the question but also making a horizontal comparison, clearly demonstrating that the speaker is a top expert in this field.

The leader nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with increasing appreciation: "Excellent! Clear thinking, thorough understanding! So, how should you pre-set the observation indicators for this kind of research in animal models? What challenges will there be?"

Dean Xia was completely stunned, nearly dropping the kettle in his hand. He stared at Zhang Lin in disbelief. When did this kid learn all this so thoroughly? Wasn't he always spreading gossip in the lab about "who's dating whom" or "who's getting closer to whom lately"? Did he somehow also "absorb" and "broadcast" the technical challenges discussed by those top PhDs and post-doctoral fellows while spreading gossip?

Zhang Lin remained calm and continued answering: "In the rat model of spinal cord injury, we mainly use BBB scores, footprint analysis, electrophysiological detection, and histological staining for evaluation."

"As for the challenges," Zhang Lin paused, revealing a perfectly timed "troubled" expression, "I think the biggest difficulty lies in how to ensure the in vivo activity and long-term residence of transplanted mitochondria. Mitochondria are relatively fragile after being removed from the body, and they may be cleared by the host cells after transplantation. We are currently trying to solve this problem through pretreatment and the combined use of certain small molecule inhibitors."

"Brilliant!" The leader couldn't help but gently pat the sofa armrest, his face full of the joy of discovering a treasure. "Look! Old Xia, this is the talent of our Sanbo Research Institute! Solid basic theory, knowledgeable about cutting-edge developments, and even more valuable is a clear understanding of the difficulties and challenges in research! Not impetuous, not evasive, good! Very good!"

Dean Xia's facial muscles stiffened, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Yes...yes, Xiao Zhang...he's usually quite...quite studious." He was already thinking to himself: Damn, this scoundrel is answering so fluently, acting like a real young talent.

The leader became increasingly happy as they chatted, and then asked several questions in different directions, from the ethical boundaries of gene editing technology to the application prospects of artificial intelligence in medical imaging diagnosis, and even the spatially guided gene theory.

Zhang Lin seemed to have activated a "super broadcast" mode, skillfully integrating and refining the discussions, debates, and even complaints from true experts that he "listened" to in group chats or various corners of the lab, and then packaging them in a confident and fluent manner. He was like a human search engine; although lacking in originality, his information reserves were astonishing, and his retrieval speed was extremely fast.

Dean Xia tried to interrupt several times.

"Sir, it's getting late, what do you think..."

"Xiao Zhang, is your phone ringing?"

"Song Ziming from the ward just messaged you urgently?"

"Dr. Zhang, are you on duty today?"

Each time, the leader, engrossed in conversation, easily defused the situation.

"No rush, no rush, let's chat a little longer."

Dean Xia was completely at a loss and could only sit with him on pins and needles, watching Zhang Lin go further and further down the path of the "young talent" persona, while he himself sank deeper and deeper into the fear of "how to deal with the consequences after the truth is exposed".

"A single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study!" the leader concluded with emotion. "Xiao Zhang, you have filled me with confidence in your institute and even in the younger generation of researchers in our country! You are not bound by books or superiors, but only by facts; you have ideas, passion, imagination, and a sense of responsibility!"

He stood up and patted Zhang Lin on the shoulder warmly: "Keep up the good work! The future belongs to you. I hope that next time I come, I will see that the project you are leading has achieved groundbreaking results."

Zhang Lin blushed with excitement, straightened his chest, and said in a loud voice, "Please rest assured, leader, I will definitely work hard and live up to your expectations and the organization's training!"

The leader nodded in satisfaction and said to Dean Xia, "Old Xia, your institute is truly full of hidden talents! I am very pleased!"

Dean Xia could only force a smile and agree, "You flatter us, leader. We will definitely continue to work hard."

The leader glanced at his watch; it was getting late. He still had to go to the Southern Metropolitan Government Department for an inspection, so his visit to Sanbo Hospital was over.

Finally, the satisfied leader was seen off.

As soon as the office door closed, Dean Xia slumped onto the sofa as if all his strength had been drained, letting out a long sigh, as if he had fought an extremely difficult battle.

Still basking in the immense excitement and glory, Zhang Lin rubbed his hands together and approached Dean Xia, asking for credit, "Dean, did I do well just now? Did I embarrass you?"

Dean Xia raised his head and looked at Zhang Lin with an extremely complicated expression. His eyes contained lingering fear, helplessness, a mix of laughter and tears, and even a strange sense of admiration.
He opened his mouth, wanting to curse him, but remembering his fluent response, he swallowed the words back. In the end, he just waved his hand weakly.

"Get out! Get back to your ward right now! Keep this to yourself! If Tang Shun and Yang Ping find out I sneaked in with a leader and caused this mess, you'll be sorry!"

Zhang Lin shrank back, but couldn't hide his smugness. He replied, "Yes, I promise! Dean Xia, you don't know me well. This matter will definitely stay a secret once you leave this room." Then he slipped out of the office with light steps.

In the empty office, Dean Xia sat alone, reliving the thrilling hour or so that had just passed. He picked up the now-cold tea and drank it all in one gulp, the bitter taste spreading through the air.

He muttered to himself, "Could this kid really be a prodigy? Even the worst student, Zhang Lin, has become an invaluable talent in the eyes of the unsuspecting leaders? This shows..."

Thinking of this, Dean Xia's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, inexplicably calmed down, and a smile appeared on his lips.

(End of this chapter)