The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has announced a recruiting drive to fill three key positions in a new institute of computational biology it will build in Shanghai in cooperation with the German Ministry of Education and Research, and Max-Planck Society of Germany, according to Science and Nature magazine.

The institue will be first of the kind in China.

Computational biology is a combination of mathematical and life sciences, and it is an efficient way to learn the overall rules and complexity governing life science research and to advance the development of the research by way of applying computational biology to the research, especially data collection and treatment in the research, CAS Vice President Chen Zhu said.

With the recruitment bids for the three lab leaders still open, a dozen candidates from countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, France on Monday went to Shanghai to have interviews with the specialists on the special committee in charge of the recruitment.

"Apart from strong personal capabilities in scientific research, a lab leader should be capable of fostering new scientists and must have a strategic vision so that he can decide the orientation of the institute according to international yardsticks and lead his team to accomplish first-class achievements," said Chen.

Recruiting will be close next February, said Chen.

The institute, under the administration of CAS Shanghai Life Science Academy, will have three labs. The leader will be rotating and will be chosen from the directors of the three labs.