The genes of dreams

Craig Mello attends the 2015 Friendship Award ceremony in Beijing, where he was greeted by Premier Li Keqiang.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"The more different ideas you can bring into a discussion, the more likely you will come up with interesting solutions. That works both for the science and the business side of the company," he says.

Other than the Nobel, Mello's scientific achievements have won him many honors. Now, he holds a number of positions, including as an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the US.

According to Mello, he developed a strong interest in science from looking for dinosaur bones with his father, a paleontologist who frequently took him on fossil-hunting tours.

"I became fascinated pursuing my curiosity about the Earth and its history," he recalls. "When you are a scientist, it becomes your job to keep asking questions your whole life. It does shape your lifestyle."

Recognized for his work in China, Mello was given the 2015 Friendship Award, a top honor for foreigners who have made significant contributions to China's social and economic development.

"I'm honored by the award. I'm very proud to be a friend of China, and hope I can give back to China in the future as our relationship continues to develop," Mello says.

"It's great that China celebrates its friendships that way. The awards bring experts into China to let the country benefit from their wisdom."

Early last year, Mello was invited to a seminar held by the Research Office of the State Council and the top administration for foreign expert affairs to seek feedback from foreigners on the Chinese government's work report.

Mello's advice to Chinese officials was: China should keep its current policy of investing in basic scientific research in areas that aren't ready for commercialization yet.

"It will have the biggest payoff down the road because the new discoveries are totally unanticipated," says Mello, noting the example of his own finding, which was the outcome of experimenting on a worm.

"You wouldn't discover it if you just tried to kill cancer in your laboratory and only worked on sick humans."

In Mello's opinion, China has all the ingredients - brain power and strong government funding for research at a time when budgets in the sector are down in other countries - to play a leading role in world science.

"Now we see many Chinese scientists coming back and succeeding here," Mello says. "I think the stage is really set for China to take a leadership role scientifically."

That's going to be a really good thing in many ways, he says, including healthy rivalry for the US.

Contact the writer at liuxiangrui@chinadaily.com.cn