Recently, Cai Yiquan, a 2024-level doctoral student of our college (supervisor: Professor Li Ming), stood out from multiple rounds of selections involving 33 universities and research institutions with her solid professional skills and international perspective, successfully winning the internship position at the "Pest Control Section, FAO/IAEA Joint Centre for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This position is the only one available globally in this field for 2025, and Cai Yiquan will go to Vienna, Austria in September this year to carry out research work for a one-year period.
The selection strictly followed the internship dispatch agreement between the National Atomic Energy Agency and the IAEA, going through multiple levels of assessment including college recommendation, university review, expert evaluation, domestic interview, and final interview by the international organization. Under the guidance of relevant experts from the Department of Pathogen Biology and Biosecurity, Cai Yiquan finally won the unanimous approval of the jury with her research accumulation and innovative potential in the field of the Sterile Insect Technique.
 

As an authoritative institution for global cooperation in the atomic energy field, the IAEA has, since its establishment in 1957, been committed to promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology and providing professional guidance to more than 200 member states. Its subordinate FAO/IAEA Joint Centre for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture enjoys a high reputation in the field of agricultural nuclear technology application, especially in the research of the Sterile Insect Technique in the Pest Control Laboratory, which is at the international leading level. This technology has been widely used in key areas such as green prevention and control of agricultural pests and diseases, providing important technical support for global food security.
It is understood that Cai Yiquan will focus on participating in the research project "Sterilization and Quality Control of the Sterile Insect Technique". This technology induces insect sterility through nuclear radiation to achieve green prevention and control of pests and diseases, and has important application value in agricultural production and public health fields. She said, "I will take this internship as an opportunity to delve into international cutting-edge technologies, actively explore their application paths in mosquito vector control in China, and strive to contribute youth power to the prevention and control of mosquito-borne infectious diseases."

This selection is not only a high recognition of Cai Yiquan's personal academic ability, but also a reflection of the achievements of our college in talent training in the interdisciplinary field of nuclear technology application. The college will continue to promote the international education strategy, build a higher-level academic exchange platform for students, and help cultivate more compound talents with global competitiveness.

Personal Profile of Cai Yiquan
Cai Yiquan, a Communist Party member, is a 2024-level doctoral student at Sun Yat-sen University's Zhongshan School of Medicine (supervisor: Professor Li Ming), with her main research direction being the prevention and control of mosquito-borne infectious diseases. She serves as the monitor of the 2024 Doctoral Class 3; in January 2025, she won the Bronze Award in the Employment Track of the 2nd Guangdong Provincial National College Students' Career Planning Competition; in June 2025, she was selected into the "2025 Lancang-Mekong Future Diplomats Cultivation Program" training class (only 80 outstanding students were recruited from the six Lancang-Mekong countries).