The College of Life Sciences at SCU focuses on the application of biotechnology in agriculture, pharmaceutical industry, sanitation, and environment protection. Capitalizing on modern approaches and platforms, the college has made notable achievements in the classification of animals and plants, as well as system evolution, conservation and utilization of microorganism resources, protection of giant pandas and other rare species, healthy breeding of animals, mechanisms of stress resistance in plants, crop breeding, biofuel production technologies, human diseases, metabolism and ageing, as well as environmental restoration techniques.

Xiao Zhixiong, a senior scientist on the state 973 project, leads a team focusing on cancer metastasis. They studied the function and regulation of tumour suppressor proteins and contributed to a better understanding of mechanisms for preventing cancer metastasis. Research results are published in journals, such as Oncogene, Cancer Cell, and Nature Cell Biology.

Wang Hongning and colleagues have studied antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria in pigs and chickens, leading to the development of safe and effective veterinary drugs. This research, along with her study on the resource protection, development and utilization of the Rongchang swine breed have won national awards in science and technology.

Yang Zhirong and Zhang Jie assessed the ecological value for ecotones in China and advanced key restoration and treatment technologies, which was also awarded the national prize for progress in science and technology by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).

A major centre for China's panda conservation research since the 1970s, SCU has been inst rumental in major field surveys on the number and habitat of these remarkable creatures.

Currently, panda research at SCU focuses on the protection of these rare animals in the wild. Under the conservation biologist, Ran Jianghong, strategies have been based around the impacts of disturbances in panda habitats. Meanwhile, zoologist, Yue Bisong, and his colleagues work on genetic relationships and diversity, and the genetic management of panda populations.

Researchers at the College of Life Sciences have also made great strides in the breeding, protection and disease control of other endangered or threatened wild animals, such as Tibetan macaques and dwarf musk deer. Specifically, Liu Jianquan's functional genomics study on yaks has contributed to advances in conservation research.