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
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS