School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University consists four departments (Biology, Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Biomedical Sciences and Agricultural Biotechnology), National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Cell Biology and Tumor Cell Engineering., Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Subtropical Wetland Ecosystem Research, etc. It was founded in November 1999 as an expansion of the original Department of Biology, which dated back to 1922. The school is well known for its achievements in both teaching and scientific research with many distinguished scholars who graduated from or used to work in the department..
At present, there are 146 faculty and staff members, about 600 undergraduate students and about 750 gradua
te students. Studies in Biomedical Sciences, Parasitological Zoology, Mangrove ecology and Agricultural Biotechnology are characteristic research fields of the school. At the same time, the school has been establishing extensive research collaborations at home and abroad, including those with institutes in USA, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Hungary, Japan, Singapore and many other countries.