In September 1989, Zhu Yuejun, who had graduated from Hengyang Medical College, worked at the Second Xiangya Hospital and obtained a master's degree from Guiyang Medical College, was admitted to Shanghai Second Medical University (now Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine) to pursue a doctoral degree. He joined the team of Professor Wang Zhenyi, a leading authority in hematology, and participated in research on the mechanism of all-trans retinoic acid-induced differentiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells.