中国科学院外籍院士约翰·罗杰·斯彼克曼：在深圳，我找到了科学的“未来感”

办公室的墙上，挂着很多照片，无声讲述着中国科学院外籍院士约翰·罗杰·斯彼克曼在中国15年的故事。

一面墙，是他在北京的故事：从2011年到2020年，最初只有助手和两名学生，团队在照片中逐渐壮大。

约翰·罗杰·斯彼克曼 （受访单位供图） John Roger Speakman Courtesy of the interviewee

另一面墙，则是深圳篇章的开启：2020年，他来到中国科学院深圳先进技术研究院，担任生物医药与技术研究所首席科学家，去年，团队已拥有35名成员。“这就是我在中国生活的演变。”斯彼克曼微笑着说，“深圳，是这段故事里最充满活力的一章。”

从英国到北京，再到深圳，这位世界顶尖科学家的每一次迁徙，都是为了更接近一个目标：把全部工作时间投入真正的科学研究。在深圳，他不仅建成中国首个人类双标水实验室，破解大众关心的肥胖、代谢、健康等谜题，更找到了一种“生活在未来”的科研与生活方式。

牵头建立国内首个人类双标水实验室

在科研上，斯彼克曼是“打破常规”的践行者。

在肥胖症演化机制研究领域，长期流行“节俭基因”假说。斯彼克曼通过严谨的理论推导和数据分析，指出了该假说的重大缺陷，并创造性提出了“漂移基因”假说，为理解肥胖的演化开辟了全新的研究方向。

而他最广为人知的贡献，是推动“双标水技术”成为能量代谢检测的“金标准”。早在1986年，他就开始研究这项技术，2020年全职加入深圳先进院后，我国首个人类双标水实验室的建设工作正式启动。

利用这项技术，他领导的团队取得了两项颠覆性发现：2021年在《科学》发文，首次揭示人类全生命周期代谢规律，推翻“人到中年代谢率下降”的传统认知，指出中年发福主因是食物摄入增加而非代谢下降；2022年再次在《科学》发文，颠覆“每天喝8杯水”的普遍认知，首次揭示了人类全生命周期的需水量规律。

“我想把所有时间都花在科研上”

斯彼克曼今年68岁，15年前入职中国科学院遗传与发育生物学研究所，开启在中国的科研生涯。在此之前，他在英国一所顶尖高校研究所任职所长。

“如果我留在英国，随着在学术阶梯上晋升，成为系主任、院长，我可能根本没有时间做科研了。”斯彼克曼坦言，这是他选择离开英国舒适区的根本原因，“我想走一条不同的路——把所有时间都用来做科研。而中国，尤其是深圳，给了我实现这个梦想的机会。”

在今年人民大会堂的外国专家新春座谈会上，斯彼克曼建议改革科研资助体系：设立稳定的专项资助、赋予科研人员经费自主权、精简考核。“要把科研人员从繁重的文书工作中解放出来，聚焦核心科研工作。”

建议的背后，是他对科学自由与创新生态的深层信念。“科学的突破往往需要时间和耐心。”问及为何最终选择深圳，斯彼克曼的答案既关乎科研，也关乎生活。

真正让他下定决心的，是一次为期一周的体验。“我和妻子四处探索，去了海上世界、欢乐海岸……发现这里非常干净，山海连城，是非常宜居的城市。”

更让他着迷的，是深圳无处不在的“未来感”。“我觉得在深圳，就像生活在5年后的未来。”他列举着日常：随处可见的无人驾驶出租车、走廊尽头就能接收无人机送餐的驿站、跳舞的机器人……“我在外地开会，说来深圳必须完成‘三件事’：坐无人驾驶出租车、看跳舞机器人、用无人机点快餐。对我们来说，这只是日常生活。”

“科学的未来是国际化”

作为2026年APEC会议举办城市，深圳的“开放、创新、包容”精神，在斯彼克曼看来有着生动体现。

“深圳保持广阔的国际视野至关重要，这不仅吸引国际人才，更鼓励国际合作。”他认为，科学的未来必然是国际化。他牵头在深圳举办的第六届能量代谢与热量测定前沿研究国际会议，首次在中国举行就吸引了全球21个国家的学者，这正是深圳作为国际科研合作枢纽能力的证明。

他的研究本身也具有深刻的全球意义。关于能量代谢和需水量的研究，数据来自全球26个国家、5600多名参与者。“了解人类能量和水的需求，对于应对全球性挑战——如肥胖危机和粮食安全，至关重要。”

对于2026年APEC会议，他寄予厚望：“代表们来到深圳，会看到这座动态、快速发展的未来城市。这可以成为他们思考自己发展的一种模式。”他期待深圳能利用APEC机制，深化亚太地区在健康科学等领域的科研合作与知识共享。

John Roger Speakman, chief scientist of the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology at Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a foreign member of Chese Academy of Sciences:

In Shenzhen, science ‘lives in the future’

■ Wen Kun and Zeng Yimin, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

The photos on Prof. John Roger Speakman’s office walls silently narrate a 15-year odyssey in China. One wall chronicles his journey in Beijing from 2011 to 2020, where his team grew from a single assistant and two students into a robust research group. The opposite wall marks his new chapter in Shenzhen: in 2020, he joined the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. By last year, his team had grown to 35 members.

“This is the evolution of my life in China,” Speakman said with a smile. “And Shenzhen is the most vibrant chapter of my story.”

From the U.K. to Beijing, and finally to Shenzhen, every move by this world-class scientist has been driven by one goal: to dedicate his life to genuine scientific inquiry. In Shenzhen, he has not only established China’s first human doubly labeled water laboratory — addressing critical questions about obesity and metabolism — but has also found a way to live and work “in the future.”

Speakman is a known rule-breaker in the lab. For decades, the “thrifty gene” hypothesis dominated the study of obesity’s evolutionary mechanisms. Through rigorous theoretical derivation and data analysis, Speakman identified fundamental flaws in that theory and proposed the “drifting gene” hypothesis, opening an entirely new frontier in understanding how obesity evolved.

His most acclaimed contribution is the advancement of the doubly labeled water technique as the gold standard for measuring energy expenditure. Having worked on this method since 1986, he launched China’s first human doubly labeled water laboratory in Shenzhen in 2020.

约翰·罗杰·斯彼克曼 摄 Photo by John Roger Speakman

Using this technique, his team achieved two groundbreaking discoveries published in journal Science. In 2021, they revealed metabolic patterns across the human lifespan, overturning the long held belief that metabolism slows down in middle age. They proved that middle aged weight gain is driven by increased food intake rather than a biological metabolic decline. In 2022, his team published another study debunking the common wisdom that humans require “eight glasses of water a day.”

Now 68, Speakman reflected on his departure from a top U.K. university, where he served as a research institute director. “If I had stayed in the U.K., rising further up the academic ladder to become a dean, I would have had no time for research at all,” he explained. “I wanted to use all my time for science. China, and especially Shenzhen, provides the opportunity to realize that dream.”

His advocacy for science extends beyond the laboratory. At a symposium for foreign experts at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing earlier this year, he urged reform of the research funding system. He suggested establishing stable, specialized funding that grants researchers autonomy and reduces administrative burdens. “We need to free scientists from heavy paperwork so they can focus on their core research,” he said.

Speakman’s affinity for Shenzhen is both professional and personal. A one-week visit with his wife convinced him to move to the city, which impressed them as clean and livable.

However, it was Shenzhen’s ubiquitous “sense of the future” that truly fascinated him. “Living in Shenzhen feels like living five years in the future,” he said, citing driverless taxis, drone deliveries, and dancing robots as everyday realities for residents.

As Shenzhen prepares to host the 2026 APEC summit, Speakman sees the city as a living embodiment of “openness, innovation, and inclusiveness.”

He believes maintaining an international vision is vital for attracting global talent and fostering collaboration. This was evidenced last year when he led Shenzhen’s effort to host the 6th RACMEM (Recent Advances and Controversies in the Measurement of Energy Metabolism) conference — the first time this prestigious research event was held in China — attracting scholars from 21 countries.

His own research remains profoundly global, drawing on data from more than 5,600 participants from 26 countries. “Understanding human energy and water needs is vital for addressing global challenges such as the obesity crisis and food security,” he noted.

Looking ahead to APEC 2026, Speakman has high hopes. “When delegates arrive, they will see a dynamic city of the future — a model for development in their own hometowns.” He hopes to use the APEC platform to further deepen research collaboration and knowledge sharing in health sciences across the Asia Pacific region.

(Translated by Li Jing)

回眸APEC

APEC Through the Years

第十一站：泰国曼谷

亚太经济合作组织领导人第11次非正式会议于2003年10月20日在泰国曼谷举行，会议以“在多样性的世界，为未来建立伙伴关系”为主题，强调在知识经济、金融体系和经济结构改革等领域加大投入，承诺在人类安全领域开展务实合作，批准了《APEC抗击非典行动计划》。

泰国曼谷大皇宫。（视觉中国） The Grand Palace in Bangkok. VCG

曼谷位于昭披耶河东岸，南临暹罗湾，是泰国首都和最大城市，中南半岛最大城市，东南亚第二大城市，为泰国政治、经济、贸易、交通、文化、科技、教育、宗教与各方面中心。曼谷是国际活动中心之一，每年有多达二三百起的各种国际会议在此举行。城内设有联合国亚太经社委员会总部、世界银行、世界卫生组织、国际劳工组织以及20多个国际机构的区域办事处。曼谷被誉为“佛教之都”，是“世界佛教联谊会”总部及亚洲理工学院所在地。

11th Stop:

Bangkok, Thailand

On October 20, 2003, Bangkok hosted the 11th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting under the theme “A World of Differences: Partnership for the Future.” The meeting focused on bolstering the knowledge economy and financial systems while addressing human security through the landmark APEC Action Plan for SARS.

Bangkok, the vibrant capital of Thailand, sits along the Chao Phraya River and stands as the second-largest city in Southeast Asia. It is the nation’s undisputed heart — a hub for trade, culture, technology, education, and religion. Renowned as a premier destination for international exchange, the city hosts hundreds of global conferences each year. It is home to regional offices of major international bodies, including the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the World Bank, and the WHO. Dubbed the “City of Buddhas,” Bangkok harmonizes its rich religious heritage as the headquarters of the World Fellowship of Buddhists with its status as a modern center for research and technology.

斯彼克曼表示：“我的妻子每天去公园散步，而我有空就带着相机去拍鸟，我们拥有非常美好的生活方式。”

“My wife goes for a walk in the park every day, and when I have free time, I take my camera to photograph birds. We have a very nice lifestyle,” Speakman said.

编辑 高原 审读 卓晶 二审 党毅浩