On October 18, Dr. David B. Weiner and Dr. Jing Bao visited the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. Dr. Weiner, known as the "father of DNA vaccines", is the Executive Vice President and the Director of Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center at The Wistar Institute. Dr. Jing Bao is a physician scientist receiving her PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and now is the partner of Shanghai Healthcare Capital.

After his visit, Dr. Weiner said that before coming to the museum, he had heard about the history of Jews seeking refuge in Shanghai but was not familiar with the details. Through this visit, he gained a wealth of historical facts, which was highly enlightening and touching.

In addition to the tour, Dr. Weiner also gained deep understanding of the original intentions behind the establishment of this museum, its operational model, and future development plans. He offered suggestions for the museum's future collaboration and communication with overseas counterparts.

David Weiner is also a Professor Emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Before The Wistar Institute he served as co-chair of the Tumor Virology Program of the Abramson Cancer Institute and as chair of the Gene Therapy and Vaccine Training Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Weiner directs a translational molecular immunology research team focused on creating novel immunotherapy approaches for disease prevention and treatment using synthetic nucleic acid technology. Accomplishments of the team and collaborators include the first clinical studies of DNA vaccines, with a focus on advances in gene optimization and electroporation (EP)-mediated DNA delivery. (Resource: The Wistar Institute Website)