Song Erwei

Song Erwei
宋尔卫
BornApril 1970 (age 56)
Heshan, Guangdong, China
EducationSun Yat-sen University
University of Duisburg-Essen
Scientific career
FieldsOncology
WorkplacesSecond Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese宋爾衛
Simplified Chinese宋尔卫
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSòng Ěrwèi

Song Erwei (Chinese: 宋尔卫; born April 1970) is a Chinese oncologist currently serving as Director of Sun Yat-sen University's Medical Department (Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences). He previously served as President of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (Canton Hospital) from 2016 until his resignation in February 2026.

Education

Song was born in Heshan, Guangdong in April 1970. His father is an English teacher. He primarily studied at Chaotianlu School and secondary studied at Guangzhou No. 2 High School.

In 1988, he was admitted to the seven-year clinical medicine program (combined Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Medicine degree track) at Sun Yat-sen Medical University. After completing the program, he began clinical work in general surgery at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Medical University (now Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital), where he trained under Professor Su Fengxi, a specialist in breast cancer.

After graduating from Sun Yat-sen University in 1995, he became a surgeon at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. In 1999, he was sent abroad to study at the University of Duisburg-Essen at the expense of the Chinese government, where he obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree. In 2002, he joined Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow.

Career

In 2003, Song co-authored a study in Nature Medicine demonstrating that RNA interference could be used to silence disease-causing genes in animal models. This research provided early evidence supporting the therapeutic potential of RNA-based treatments.

After returning to China, he worked at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. In 2010, he became Director of the hospital's Breast Cancer Center. His research on non-coding RNAs in tumor progression and chemoresistance gained national recognition, leading to a State Natural Science Award (Second Class) in 2015. In 2016, he was appointed President of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital. In 2017, he was elected a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th Central Committee of Jiusan Society. In 2018 he became a delegate to the 13th National People's Congress.

In November 2023, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital confirmed that three staff members who worked or studied at its breast cancer center laboratory under the supervision of Song, were diagnosed with cancer, including synovial sarcoma and pancreatic cancer. The hospital stated that two of the individuals had left Guangzhou in April 2022. The China Association for Science and Technology called for a professional investigation into whether the lab environment was linked to the diagnoses with the lab subsequently being closed.

In January 2025, he was appointed to Hong Kong Baptist University's (HKBU) expert advisory committee for its proposed medical school, but resigned after only two days following public criticism over concerns of academic integrity. Students at HKBU posted notices on campus opposing the appointment of a "tainted scholar." Ultimately, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) won the government bid to establish Hong Kong's third medical school in November 2025, beating out HKBU and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

In February 2026, Song stepped down as President of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital after a decade in the role, though he continues to serve as Director of Sun Yat-sen University's Medical Department.

Controversy

Lab safety incident

Under the supervision of Song at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital several members of his team composed of three doctors and a post-doctoral student all under 30 years old, were diagnosed with rare forms of cancer. The lab studies cancer development mechanisms through the use of cancer inducing agents tested on animal models. As a result, the lab was closed on November 8 over concerns of researcher safety.

Allegations of research misconduct and academic integrity

From 2003 to 2019, multiple papers co-authored or supervised by Academician Song Erwei were flagged for image duplication and related issues. A paper co-authored by his son Song Shijian (then a high school student) and his student Su Shicheng was also cited for image duplication.

In 2022, Song Shijian was admitted to a medical master's program at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, where his initial National Postgraduate Entrance Examination score of 370 was the lowest among the 11 admitted students. However, his posted repeat scores rose over a short period of time to the highest score in the re-examination, 477.83 points, ranking third overall drawing attention to the integrity of the admission process.

Tsinghua university lecture incident

On December 19, 2024, Song Erwei delivered a lecture at Tsinghua University, where he was questioned by a Peking University student regarding allegations of image duplication in his research papers and his role in a close relative's high school publication of SCI papers. Following the lecture, students from Tsinghua High School tore down Song's promotional poster.

Honours and awards

References

  1. 1 2 "Song Erwei -中山大学 SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY". www.sysu.edu.cn. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  2. 1 2 3 Cao Si (曹斯) (2 December 2019). 中科院院士宋尔卫：广州仔 逸仙情. southcn.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. ↑ Song, Erwei; Lee, Sang-Kyung; Wang, Jie; Ince, Nedim; Ouyang, Nengtai; Min, Jun; Chen, Jisheng; Shankar, Premlata; Lieberman, Judy (2003-03-01). "RNA interference targeting Fas protects mice from fulminant hepatitis". Nature Medicine. 9 (3): 347–351. doi:10.1038/nm828. ISSN 1078-8956. PMID 12579197.
  4. 1 2 "Song Erwei - Library of Congress Authorities". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  5. ↑ "Song Erwei - Sun Yat-sen University (archived)". Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  6. ↑ 九三学社第十四届中央委员会委员. Jiusan Society (in Chinese). 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  7. 1 2 "China's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital Confirms Three People Who Worked, Studied at Breast Cancer Center Have Cancer". www.yicaiglobal.com. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  8. ↑ 邢斯馨. "中山二院官方回應"乳腺外科團隊多人患癌"：近年有3人患癌，無在讀學生". big5.cctv.com. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  9. ↑ "Hong Kong Baptist University appoints controversial expert Song Erwei for medical school advisory committee". Dimsum Daily. 2025-01-15. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  10. ↑ "百度安全验证". wappass.baidu.com. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  11. ↑ "HKBU forms expert advisory committee for new medical school proposal". www.thestandard.com.hk. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  12. ↑ "Mainland professor leaves HKBU expert panel two days after appointment". www.thestandard.com.hk. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  13. ↑ "浸大邀內地專家宋爾衛成諮詢委員助申辦醫學院 被揭曾陷學術醜聞後因「公務繁重」辭任". Ming Pao. 2025-01-16. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  14. ↑ "HKUST to run Hong Kong's third medical school on 'strategic', 'financial' merits". South China Morning Post. 2025-11-18. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  15. ↑ "宋爾衛低調赴兩會 稱記者認錯人". Ming Pao. 2026-03-11. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  16. ↑ Koetse, Manya (2023-11-11). "Cancer Diagnoses in Young Doctors at Same Lab: About the Zhongshan Hospital Controversy". Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  17. ↑ Team, Discuz!. "宋尔卫、苏士成多篇论文被指控涉嫌学术不端 - 小桔灯网 - Powered by Discuz!". www.iivd.net. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  18. ↑ "中山二院院长之子中学就发表高水平论文？研考初试成绩最低考入本院？". www.guancha.cn. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  19. ↑ 网易 (2024-12-21). "震惊！院士清华讲座被犀利提问，海报被撕！". www.163.com. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  20. ↑ "百度安全验证". wappass.baidu.com. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  21. ↑ "北大学生当面质问宋尔卫-网大论坛 - Powered by Discuz!". www.netbig.top. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  22. ↑ 宋尔卫教授当选中国科学院院士. qq.com (in Chinese). 22 November 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.