Academician BEI Shizhang, who was also the founding director of the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), served as the first head of the Department. In 1978, it became Department of Biology (the 8th Departments) in USTC. It expanded in 1998 as the School of Life Sciences under the leadership of Academician SHI Yunyu. In the next two decades, the School gradually expanded and exceeded well in basic medical sciences. On December 23, 2017, the School of Life Sciences became an integral part of USTC's Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, which was established offically by CAS, the National Health Commission of China and Anhui Provincial Government.