Dr. Ming-Wei Wang, Senior Advisor of Shanghai Clinical Research Center, was recently appointed as a member of the newly created Thematic Reference Group on Innovation and Biotechnology by Dr. Robert Ridley, Director of WHO/TDR. This group was set up under the initiatives for research on diseases of poverty supported by UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank and WHO, and is consisting of scientists, physicians, entrepreneurs and government officials from different continents. It will perform strategic studies on biotechnology and innovations and provide advices to the UN and its member countries.