Ding-Shinn Chen

Ding-Shinn Chen (Chinese: 陳定信; pinyin: Chén Dìngxìn; 6 July 1943 – 24 June 2020) was a Taiwanese hepatologist.

Life and career

He 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 [zh].[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

1. "Ding-Shinn-Chen (CV)" (PDF). Taiwan Society of Internal Medicine. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
2. 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.
3. "Professor honored for hepatitis research". Taiwan Today. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
4. 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.
5. "Liver researcher wins Nikkei Asia Prize". Taiwan Today. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
6. "Chen, Ding-Shinn". Academia Sinica. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
7. Chung, Jake (26 June 2020). "Tributes paid as hepatitis expert Chen dies at 76". Taipei Times.
8. "Liver disease on the rise". Taipei Times. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
9. "Taiwan's doctors beating hepatitis". Taipei Times. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
10. "Researchers urge solution to avoid destroying tissue". 7 November 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
11. Hsu, Stacy (4 February 2015). "Researchers find link between age, HBV resistance". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
12. Han Cheung (5 July 2020). "Taiwan in Time: In remembrance of the 'Liver King'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
13. Chen, Melody (19 May 2003). "'Father of the coronavirus' leads fight against SARS". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
14. "Ding-Shinn Chen" (PDF). Asia Pacific Digestive Week Foundation. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
15. "Chen Ding-Shinn". The World Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
16. Chu, Monique (20 December 2002). "Malawi gets donation of medical books". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
17. "Vaccine hunt team formed". Taipei Times. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
18. 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.
19. "Ding-Shinn Chen". United States National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
20. Yang, Ming-chu; Lee, Bear (19 April 2010). "NTU professor awarded for hepatitis B research". Central News Agency. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
21. 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.
22. "Experts say medical malpractice law needs to be revised". Taipei Times. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
23. Tang, Chia-ling; Pan, Jason (4 July 2014). "Academicians petition for former president's release". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
24. "Prof. Ding-Shinn Chen Awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon". National Taiwan University. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
25. "Fred Beans and Ding-Shinn Chen at its 2018 Crystal Ball Gala". Hepatitis B Foundation. April 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
26. 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.