我们这一代人生长在一个多变的时代，我们的命运多半是机会决定的。感谢母亲常常对我的提醒：“机会只留给有准备的人”。1977年，中国文化大革命结束恢复高考的那一年，由于当时政策的原因，我没有机会参加当年的高考。于是我在北京医学院（现北京大学医学部）的生物化学系做了一名技术员，同时也旁听了一些77和78两级的课程。

1981年，机会降临了。我被允许和当年的77级大学生一起参加了研究生的入学考试并取得了优异的成绩。两个月后，我被推选参加美国康奈尔大学吴瑞教授发起的中美联合招生项目CUSBEA（China-United States Biochemistry Examination and Application Program）考试。我又拿起了书本。

当时在北京医学院的图书馆里只有一本美国生物化学权威Stryer教授写的 “Biochemistry” 。这本书只允许在图书馆里阅读，不能被拿出馆外。当时这本书的借书卡上轮流记着我和吴虹（第三届CUSBEA学生，现美国加州大学洛杉矶分校的教授）的名字。虽然当时我的生物化学科目考试成绩还不错，但那时我对分子生物学一无所知。

非常幸运，机会又一次光顾了我，我通过了CUSBEA笔试，被选拔参加面试。当时面试我的是两个美国教授，一个是哈佛大学的Karnovsky教授，另一个是康奈尔大学的Moffat教授。这是我平生第一次和外国人用英语对话，那时候和外国人说话常常会被认为是间谍。想像一下那个没有私人电话，没有email的年代，我们骑着自行车到北京大学打听面试的消息，在北大转了了一整天终于弄清了第二天的面试程序。回到家里从可数的两件衣服里挑出最好的，准备着第二天的面试。面试的时候，我是第一个。不用说，那是我一生中最难忘，也是最紧张的一次面试。面试后，美国教授给我们每个人推荐了四个学校去申请。在哈佛、康奈尔、犹他、和另外一个大学中，我选择了康奈尔大学。其中最主要的原因是因为吴瑞教授就在康奈尔大学。如果我在一个陌生的国度里遇到了困难，吴瑞教授会帮助我的。

1982年的秋天，我到了康奈尔大学。我在吴瑞教授的实验室渡过了我的第一个实验室轮转期（Rotation），其后，我选择了吴瑞教授做我的博士论文导师。那时，重组DAN技术还在它的摇篮期，吴瑞教授当时是DNA重组技术领域的开拓者，并且是第一个测定DNA序列的人。他运用primer-extension的方法，成功的测定了噬菌体的末端DNA。其后，他的方法被英国科学家Fred Sanger采纳并被进一步改进。Sanger最终以DNA测序技术荣获诺贝尔奖，其中也有吴瑞教授的重要贡献。

吴瑞教授实验室里开发的第一流的分子生物学技术，让我慢慢的进入了分子进化和基因调控的研究领域。在吴瑞实验室里一个最大的享受，就是每一个人都能自由的选择自己感兴趣的课题。记得在为吴瑞过70岁生日时，Jack Szostak（吴瑞的学生，2009诺贝尔奖获得者）也有同感。吴瑞，作为我们的启蒙导师，不仅在学术上给我们指导，也在我们的职业发展上，在我们的语言进步上，在我们的做人修养上，在生活小事上都给我们以最大的帮助。他甚至替我缴费学习驾车。我们实验室的人每一个节日都是在吴瑞家中渡过的。吴瑞先生的太太Christina为每一个节日都准备了丰盛可口的晚餐。在后来的日子里，当我自己建立了我自己的实验室，我也试图保持着这个传统，让实验室的每一个人体会到科研的趣味和同事的温暖。

吴瑞教授在三件事上对我的一生有重大的影响：第一件是他发起组织的CUSBEA项目，让我和许多和我一样的年轻人有一个机会步入科学研究的殿堂；第二是他作为我的启蒙导师教会了我如何做人和如何做科学；第三是当我毕业后选择博士后导师的时候，他建议并亲自打电话给麻省理工学院Whitehead研究所所长、著名教授、诺贝尔奖获得者Baltimore，让我去他的实验室做博士后研究。

在Whitehead的四年，是我一生中重要的四年，奠定了我后来的科学研究生涯。在Whitehead的四年，也让我和当时也在那里同一楼层的CUSBEA同学王小凡、俞强，楼上的吴虹、刘欣、廖沙美，以及街对面生物系的袁钧瑛、管俊林和徐明加强了学术上的交流和朋友间的友情。当时同期在Boston的还有在哈佛大学的傅向东、胡静珊、胡建祥、廖晓伶，骆利群，饶毅，吴茵，余国良，苏立山和马洪。我们经常在一起Party，讨论中国的科学和政治。那是一段我们一辈子都不会忘记的经历和时光。追寻科学和职业生涯让我们去到了美国的各个城市，科学和祖国又不断的把我们聚在一起。

作为第一批进入美国工作市场的中国学生，特别是女性，我们当时面对着极大的挑战，甚至怀疑。当时有些美国同事更多的是把我们当作“外来工”，而不是同事来对待。1991年，我在纽约大学医学院获得了助理教授的职位，开始了我的职业生涯。

几年后，由于厌倦纽约喧闹的都市生活，举家迁往了俄克拉荷马州。在俄克拉荷马医学研究院，我的实验室继续开展淋巴细胞分化机理的研究工作。现在，我已经成了那里的一名正教授和Myra and Lew Ward Chair。我同时也担任了北京大学医学部的客座教授。

随着年龄的增长和智慧的成熟，我越加珍惜CUSBEA，珍惜CUSBEA的经历和CUSBEA及其他同学。

My experience with CUSBEA and Dr. Ray Wu

Growing up in an era of unpredictability, one’s future was largely determined by opportunities.  As my mother often reminded me, opportunity is for the prepared (a wisdom existing in both eastern and western cultures).  When universities re-opened after the culture revolution, I was prohibited from taking a college entrance examination because of certain policies that were enforced at the time.  Thus, I worked as a laboratory technician in the Department of Biochemistry, Beijing Medical College (BMC, now called Peking University Health Sciences Center).  I was also able to audit some college courses with the Classes of 1977 and 1978.  In 1981, I was allowed to take an entrance examination for graduate school and I scored well.  Two months later, word came that I was selected to take another examination in English given by the China-United States Biochemistry Examination and Application Program (known as CUSBEA), which was initiated by Dr. Ray Wu of Cornell University.  It was time to hit the books again.  There was only one copy of Stryer’s “Biochemistry” in the library of Beijing Medical Colloege (now Peking University Health Science Center), which could not be checked out and can only be read there during library hours.  The log of that book showed my name and Hong Wu’s in alternation.  Although I did fairly well in the biochemistry section, plasmids and bacterial phages were a mystery to me. 

Miraculously, I passed the CUSBEA examination and was selected to be interviewed by two American professors (Dr. Karnovsky of Harvard and Dr. Moffat of Cornell), which was the first time I ever talked to native English speakers (back then, one could be accused of spying by talking to foreigners).  Imaging the days without personal telephone or e-mail, we all traveled to Peking University by bicycle for instructions about the interview.  After waiting for a whole day, we learned the plan for the next day and went home to get ready (selecting the best clothes to wear out of a handful).  By pure chance, I was the first to be interviewed.  Needless-to-say, it was a nerve wracking experience.  Each candidate was given four choices of schools to send in an application.  Among Harvard, Cornell, the University of Utah and a fourth one, Cornell trumped all cards, mainly because of the added comfort of knowing that Dr. Ray Wu would be there in case something went wrong in this foreign country totally unknown to us at the time.

After arriving at Cornell in the fall of 1982, I did my first rotation with Dr. Wu and later joined his laboratory for my thesis work.  In those days, recombinant DNA technology was in its infancy and Dr. Wu’s laboratory was a pioneer in this area of research.  In fact, Dr. Wu was the first person to ever sequence DNA; by introducing the primer-extension approach, he sequenced the ends of  phage.  Later on, his approach was adopted and improved by Fred Sanger who eventually won a Nobel Prize.  Taking advantage of the superb technologies developed in the Wu lab, I was able to develop my research interest in molecular evolution and later in gene regulation.  One remarkable benefit that I, as well as other members in the laboratory, received from Dr. Wu was the complete freedom to pursue our own scientific interests.  As a mentor, Dr. Wu provided advice not only on scientific matters but also on career development, language enrichment, and ways to become a well-rounded person.  He even paid for my driving lessons.  We spent every holiday in the Wu house with wonderful meals prepared by his wife, Christina.  After establishing my own laboratory, I followed this example and learned to truly appreciate the efforts involved.

I am indebted to Dr. Wu for three things.  The first is for initiating the CUSBEA program, which gave me an opportunity to develop my scientific career.  This program also helped many others directly or indirectly.  The second is for his mentorship as my Ph.D. advisor as described above.  The last is for suggesting that I apply to Dr. David Baltimore for my postdoctoral training.  His personal phone call to Dr. Baltimore provided me with an opportunity that proved to be incredibly valuable to my career.  At the Whitehead Institute, where Dr. Baltimore was the Director, I also had an opportunity to re-kindle my friendship with several CUSBEA classmates, as many of us were attracted to the Institute for our postdoctoral training. Xiao-Fan Wang and Qiang Yu were on the same floor as me, and Hong Wu, Xin Liu and Sha-Mei Liao were upstairs. Junying Yuan, Jun-Lin Guan and Ming Xu were across the street at MIT.  Together with those that were at Harvard, including Xiang-Dong Fu, Jin-Shan Hu, Jian-Xiang Hu, Lishan Su and Hong Ma, we often discussed science and politics of China.  These were happy and memorable times.  Our search for independent scientific careers sent us all over the US, but our common cause in furthering the scientific advancement of China frequently brought us together.

 As the first batch of Chinese students to hit the job market in the US, we faced extra challenges and skepticisms, especially as a woman.  At that time, some employers were more accustomed to viewing us as inferiors than peers.  In 1991, I was offered a position as assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine and started my independent career.  Eventually, my family grew tired of New York City's hectic lifestyle, and moved to the "greener pastures" of Oklahoma.  My laboratory continues to study the molecular mechanisms governing lymphocyte differentiation.  I am now a full member and hold a Myra and Lew Ward Chair for Biomedical Research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.  I am also a guest professor at Peking University Health Sciences Center.  As I grow older and wiser, I especially treasure the memories of CUSBEA and the friendships shared with my classmates and many others.