Ding-Shinn Chen (Chinese: 陳定信; pinyin: Chén Dìngxìn; 6 July 1943 – 24 June 2020) was a Taiwanese hepatologist.
Life and career
editHe was born on 6 July 1943,[1] in what became Yingge District, New Taipei City.[2] Chen's mother became sick when he was a child, and needed surgical intervention.[2] As such, Chen was around medical professionals at a young age, which sparked his interest in the field.[2] Upon high school graduation, Chen was accepted into the National Taiwan University College of Medicine.[2] During his fourth year of medical school, Chen's father died of liver cancer, inspiring him to study hepatology.[3] He completed medical studies in 1968.[4] Chen became a resident at National Taiwan University Hospital and later joined the NTU medical faculty, working closely with Sung Juei-low .[5][6] Chen and Sung advocated for widespread preventative measures against hepatitis B, resulting in the establishment of a mass vaccination program in 1984.[7] Chen specialized in liver disease research,[8][9] namely hepatitis.[10][11] His research earned Chen the nickname Liver King (肝帝; gāndì), which, pronounced in Mandarin, is homophonous to Gandhi.[12]
In 1991, Chen was elected a member of Academia Sinica.[13] In 2001 he was appointed dean of NTU's College of Medicine.[14] That same year, he became a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences.[15] In 2002, Chen traveled to Malawi to deliver medical textbooks.[16] During the 2003 SARS outbreak, Chen worked closely with Michael M. C. Lai on research into vaccinations against the disease.[13][17] In 2005, Chen was elected a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences.[18][19] Chen stepped down as dean in 2007.[14] He was the 2009 recipient of the International Recognition Award presented by the European Association for the Study of the Liver.[4] Chen won the 2010 Nikkei Asia Prize in science and technology.[20][21] In 2012, Chen spoke in support of decriminalizing medical malpractice.[22] He favored granting Chen Shui-bian medical parole in 2014.[23] In 2018, Chen was awarded Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon.[24] That same year, Chen received the Baruch S. Blumberg Prize from the Hepatitis B Foundation.[25]
Chen died at the National Taiwan University Hospital on 24 June 2020 from pancreatic cancer, aged 76.[7][26]
References
edit- ^ "Ding-Shinn-Chen (CV)" (PDF). Taiwan Society of Internal Medicine. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d Downey, Philip (25 September 2007). "Profile of Ding-Shinn Chen". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105 (39): 15173–15175. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10415173D. doi:10.1073/pnas.0704698104. PMC 2000525. PMID 17875984.
- ^ "Professor honored for hepatitis research". Taiwan Today. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ a b Lok, Anna Suk-Fong (2009). "EASL International Recognition Awardee 2009: Prof. Ding-Shinn Chen" (PDF). Journal of Hepatology. 51 (4): 615–616. doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2009.07.003. PMID 19760808.
- ^ "Liver researcher wins Nikkei Asia Prize". Taiwan Today. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Chen, Ding-Shinn". Academia Sinica. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ a b Chung, Jake (26 June 2020). "Tributes paid as hepatitis expert Chen dies at 76". Taipei Times.
- ^ "Liver disease on the rise". Taipei Times. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Taiwan's doctors beating hepatitis". Taipei Times. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Researchers urge solution to avoid destroying tissue". 7 November 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Hsu, Stacy (4 February 2015). "Researchers find link between age, HBV resistance". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Han Cheung (5 July 2020). "Taiwan in Time: In remembrance of the 'Liver King'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- ^ a b Chen, Melody (19 May 2003). "'Father of the coronavirus' leads fight against SARS". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Ding-Shinn Chen" (PDF). Asia Pacific Digestive Week Foundation. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Chen Ding-Shinn". The World Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Chu, Monique (20 December 2002). "Malawi gets donation of medical books". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Vaccine hunt team formed". Taipei Times. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Wu, Po-wei; Chung, Li-hua; Chin, Jonathan (4 May 2017). "US' NAS mislabels nationality of vice president, academic". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Ding-Shinn Chen". United States National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Yang, Ming-chu; Lee, Bear (19 April 2010). "NTU professor awarded for hepatitis B research". Central News Agency. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Yang, Ming-chu; Wu, Lillian (26 April 2010). "NTU professor wins Nikkei Asia prize for research on hepatitis B". Central News Agency. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Experts say medical malpractice law needs to be revised". Taipei Times. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Tang, Chia-ling; Pan, Jason (4 July 2014). "Academicians petition for former president's release". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Prof. Ding-Shinn Chen Awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon". National Taiwan University. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- ^ "Fred Beans and Ding-Shinn Chen at its 2018 Crystal Ball Gala". Hepatitis B Foundation. April 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Wu, Hsin-yun; Mazetta, Matthew (25 June 2020). "Renowned Taiwanese liver specialist Chen Ding-shinn dies at 76". Central News Agency. Retrieved 25 June 2020.