The department was built in 1953. The teaching staffs are extended from 4 persons (Hu Changren, Zhang Jianquan, Shan Yali, and Zhou Shulong) in early days, to 11 persons at present, among which 4 professors or doctoral advisors, 5 associate professors and 2 technicians. For more than sixty years, we has gained innumerable great achievements in teaching, scientific research, talent training and external exchanging, etc, through the joint efforts of several generations. Currently, we offers 8 undergraduate courses and 6 graduate courses, among which the course Human Parasitology was awarded school-level “quality course” as early as 1995, and respectively rated as Wuhan University Excellent Course and Hubei Province Excellent Course in 2007 and 2009. We edited, subedited or participated in preparation of 8 national level textbooks, among which the edited textbook Schistosoma japonicum Katsurada under “Tenth Five-year” Plan for National Important Audiovisual Publications of Ministry of Health was awarded the first prize of the fifth “National Excellent Educational Audiovisual Products Award” (national level) in 2004 and won nomination of the third “National Audiovisual Products Award” (the national highest prize of audiovisual products). We laid emphasis on educational reform and teaching research, hosted many items of teaching research projects, developed on-the-spot teaching of schistosomiasis, guided undergraduate innovative experiment research and summer social activities, etc, and published more than 10 teaching papers. The teaching research achievement “Research and Practice on Human Parasitology Practical Teaching Three-dimensional Educational Model” was respectively awarded the first prize of Wuhan University Excellent Teaching Achievements and the first prize of Hubei Province Teaching Achievements in 2004 and 2005.
Approved by Hubei Provincial Department of Education in 1978, we established the schistosomiasis laboratory jointly with the affiliated hospital’s infectious disease department which made great contribution to China’s prevention and cure of schistosomiasis. At present, we are involved in many research fields, such as growth and development of parasite and its relation with host, immunology of parasitic infection, population genetics of parasite and biological control of intermediary and urban pest management. We successively obtained 20 items of national level projects, tens of provincial and ministerial-level scientific research projects, edited Schistosoma, Ultrastructure of Schistosoma japonicum Katsurada etc, participated in preparation of more than 10 monographs, published nearly 400 papers, among which more than 50 paper were included in SCI, and obtained nearly 20 items of scientific achievements. The achievement in terms of the characteristic research of the department—cultured schistosomula Schistosoma japonicum was awarded the first prize in science of Ministry of Health and the second prize of state education commission scientific and technological progress. The achievement in culturing cells of Schistosoma japonicum was awarded the second prize of Hubei provincial scientific and technological progress. Therefore, this subject was awarded Hubei provincial key discipline for twice. The teachers in this department have gone abroad for visiting and post-doctoral research for many times, and established extensive academic communications with countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, German, Australian, Korea, Japan, Norway etc, and regions like Hong Kong etc. 8 teaches in 9 have oversea learning and exchanging experiences.
This department was one of the first batch of units (1978) which were approved for enrolling graduate students in China, and obtained the doctoral degree-granting authority in 1998. Up to now, we have trained 2 post doctors who completed their scientific research work. Among graduate students who are in planned enrollment, 18 graduate students have obtained doctorates and 71 graduate students have obtained master degree. Some of them have gone abroad for further study and some have been famous scholars. Numerous of the graduates who are working in domestic universities and institutions have been academic leaders and backbones. Moreover, we also hosted Parasitology courses for secondary normal school teachers, classes for further studies for schistosomiasis control backbones, station-master and physicians of antischistosomiaisis, training large number of professional for the society and enjoying a good reputation. Today, all the teachers and technicians in laboratory of Department of Human Parasitology are united as one to make new contribution to establishment and great-leap-forward development of School of Basic Medicine and Wuhan University, and strive to cultivate more medical health service persons with “three qualities”: innovation, creation and entrepreneurship.