Shen Yuqin

Dr. Shen Yuqin, MD/PhD — Professor & Chief Physician, Director of Rehabilitation Medicine Center and Cardiac Rehabilitation Department, Shanghai Tongji Hospital

Dr. Shen Yuqin is a medical doctor (MD/PhD), Professor, and Chief Physician serving as Director of both the Rehabilitation Medicine Center and the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department at Shanghai Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine. As a Doctoral Supervisor, she is recognized as a national pioneer and leading figure in heart failure cardiac rehabilitation in China, and has been honored as a "National Advanced Worker in the Health System" as well as a leading academic in the key supported discipline of Shanghai's health system.

Clinical Innovation in Cardiac Rehabilitation

Dr. Shen's most landmark contribution lies in her groundbreaking work in heart failure rehabilitation. She was the first in China to conduct heart failure rehabilitation under cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)​ and the first to use the anaerobic threshold as the exercise intensity standard​ for heart failure patients' exercise rehabilitation—a methodology that has since been widely adopted nationwide. Furthermore, she pioneered the "hospital–community–home" closed-loop model​ for heart failure exercise rehabilitation in China, a model now promoted across the entire country. Her team's innovations have led to the exploration of four primary care-appropriate technologies and the development of an autonomous, intellectual-property-backed cardiac rehabilitation referral system with standardized transfer processes. Under her leadership, Tongji Hospital became home to Shanghai's only tertiary hospital with a dedicated cardiac rehabilitation inpatient ward, established in 2020.

Research Leadership & Academic Output

Dr. Shen has led 2 General Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, along with multiple provincial-ministerial and bureau-level projects, while participating in National 973 Programs and National Key R&D Programs. As first completer, she received the First Prize of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association Science and Technology Award (2019)​ for her project "Research and Promotion of Anaerobic Threshold-Based Exercise Rehabilitation for Chronic Stable Heart Failure," as well as two First Prizes of the Shanghai Rehabilitation Medicine Science and Technology Progress Award (2018, 2024). Her work has been incorporated into the Chinese Expert Consensus on Exercise Rehabilitation for Chronic Stable Heart Failure and the Chinese Expert Consensus on Cardiac Rehabilitation for Chronic Heart Failure. She has published over 50 papers as first or corresponding author, authored 1 monograph as chief editor, 2 as associate editor, and contributed to over 10 others. She has also filed 22 patents (15 authorized, including 3 inventions) and 5 software copyrights, with 9 technology transfers.

Academic Leadership & Professional Service

Dr. Shen holds prominent national and regional appointments: Vice Chair of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association's Rehabilitation Physicians Branch, Standing Committee Member of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, Member of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Group of the Chinese Medical Association's Cardiovascular Branch, Chair of the Shanghai Rehabilitation Medicine Association's Cardiac Rehabilitation Professional Committee, and Corresponding Editorial Board Member of the Chinese Journal of Cardiology. She serves as Associate Editor of Journal of Cardiovascular Health and is a certified expert member of the CDQI National Standardized Cardiac Rehabilitation Center. She has drafted 8 expert consensuses, guidelines, and group standards, and was elected as a Fellow of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (FAACVPR).

Education, Mentorship & Patient Impact

As a Doctoral Supervisor at Tongji University, Dr. Shen has cultivated a new generation of cardiac rehabilitation specialists through a three-dimensional platform combining conference training, fellowship programs, and community outreach. She has organized 20 national continuing education training courses. The Tongji Cardiac Rehabilitation Center she built has served over 10,000 patients, extending its "hospital–community–home" model across multiple districts in Shanghai and, with support from the Shanghai and Yunnan Provincial Health Commissions, throughout Yunnan Province.

Recognition & Vision

Dr. Shen's contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the 2018 "Excellent Rehabilitation Physician Award" from the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, the "Award for Promoting Cardiac Rehabilitation Contribution," the 34th Shanghai Excellent Invention Silver Award (2022), the Tongji University "March 8th Red Flag Bearer," and the 2023 Shanghai Science Popularization Innovation Award (First Prize for Outstanding Volunteers). In 2025, her department was awarded the "Shanghai March 8th Red Banner Collective" for 2022–2024.

Looking ahead, Dr. Shen continues to champion the deep integration of cardiac rehabilitation with precision medicine, digital technologies, and interdisciplinary innovation—leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to achieve precise, full-process monitoring of rehabilitation protocols. Through her unwavering dedication, she has not only given thousands of patients a second lease on life but has also brought specialized cardiac rehabilitation services beyond hospital walls into communities and homes across China, truly embodying her personal motto: "Be honest as a person, work hard, and pursue scholarship with rigor."