Academia Sinica’s Chen Ding-shinn (陳定信), the nation’s leading authority on hepatitis, died from pancreatic cancer at National Taiwan University Hospital on Wednesday. He was 76.
Born on July 6, 1943, in then-Taipei County’s Yingge Township (鶯歌), Chen was a student of National Taiwan University College of Medicine professor Sung Juei-low (宋瑞樓), dubbed the Taiwanese father of liver disease research.
Chen attributed his dedication to the study of liver diseases to his father dying of liver cancer when he was in his senior year in college and to his contracting hepatitis A when he was in elementary school.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
He was in the original group that persuaded the government to introduce hepatitis B preventive measures, leading to the government’s introduction of a mass vaccination program in 1984, the first nation in the world to do so.
To overcome public resistance to the program, Chen and Sung appeared on TV and radio to promote it.
To date, the program has benefitted 8 million Taiwanese.
Chen and his team finalized the genetic sequencing of the Taiwan strain of the hepatitis C virus, paving the way for the development of a treatment using short-term interferon alongside Ribavirin.
That became the foundation for the development of a treatment using long-term interferon with Ribavirin.
Although Chen retired in 2013, he continued to go to his office daily to conduct research and teach students during clinical treatment sessions, National Taiwan University Hospital vice superintendent Wu Ming-shiang (吳明賢) said.
A doctor can only save one life through treatment, but through top-notch research, they can help many, Wu quoted Chen as saying, adding that Chen was a role model for Taiwanese physicians.
Chen’s decision to remain in Taiwan was a boon for the nation’s medical sector, Wu said, citing how Chen had saved the Gastroenterological Society of Taiwan by virtue of his reputation alone when the society was at risk of being removed from the World Gastroenterological Organization due to Chinese interference.
Academia Sinica on Wednesday night also issued a statement in remembrance of Chen.
Chen’s research on hepatitis B and C, and his influence on related policymaking, made Taiwan a world leader in liver disease research, Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said.
Over the past few months, Chen also served as a consultant for the institution’s team researching COVID-19, even though he was unwell, Liao said, expressing deep regret over losing such a valuable mentor.
Additional reporting by Yang Yuan-ting and Lin Chia-nan
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS