Sixteen Scientists Awarded the 2017 WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Scholar Award
On December 9, 2017, the results of the 11th WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Award, a prestigious honor in China’s life sciences research field, were announced in Beijing. Professors Wu Yilong from Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Dennis Lo Yuk-ming from the Department of Chemical Pathology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Zhou Demin from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Peking University received the “Outstanding Achievement Award.” Professor Xia Ningshao from the School of Public Health at Xiamen University was awarded the “Technology Transfer Award,” while Professor Qi Hai from the School of Medicine at Tsinghua University and 15 other recipients received the “Scholar Award.”
Group Photo of the WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Award Winners
The WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Award, established by WuXi AppTec and approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology in early 2007, aims to recognize outstanding young and middle-aged scientific and technological talents in China’s pharmaceutical R&D sector who have achieved significant results in scientific innovation, promotion of research outcomes, and industrialization of high-tech achievements.
Over the past decade, the WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Award has continuously optimized and innovated, playing a pivotal role in advancing scientific research innovation, technology transfer, and industrial development in related fields within China, and has become one of the highest honors in the Chinese life sciences sector.
As of this year, a total of 185 outstanding scientists have received this honor, among whom 15 are academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. This year, the “Award for Achievement in Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements” has been newly established to encourage researchers to translate their findings into products and to commend scientists who have demonstrated exemplary commitment and achieved remarkable results in facilitating such translation.
The research achievements of the three Outstanding Achievement Award winners and one Translational Medicine Award winner at this year’s event have had a profound impact on the advancement of human health.
Professor Wu Yilong of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital and the Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute has led numerous clinical trials and studies on novel therapies for lung cancer, making significant contributions to the precision treatment of the disease.
Professor Dennis Lo of The Chinese University of Hong Kong is hailed as the “Father of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT).” He discovered and developed a comprehensive methodology for accurately measuring cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood, laying the foundation for non-invasive prenatal testing.
Professor Zhou Demin of Peking University has invented a method to directly convert viruses into preventive vaccines and therapeutic drugs, paving a new path for the development of vaccines and drugs for viral prevention and treatment.
Professor Xia Ningshao of Xiamen University, a recipient of the Award for Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements, pioneered the global development of the hepatitis E vaccine. The vaccine has since been launched on the market and achieved industrial-scale production, making outstanding contributions to the prevention and control of hepatitis E.
“Let us congratulate the new cohort of awardees. Their research achievements are of milestone significance for drug development and disease prevention and control in China and around the world,” said Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WuXi AppTec. “I am confident that, with the support of all sectors of society, the ‘WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Award’ will continue to grow from strength to strength, making even greater contributions to advancing scientific and technological progress and industrial development in China’s life sciences field.”
Appendix:
Recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 11th WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Awards:
Wu YilongGuangdong Provincial People's Hospital
Dennis LoDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Zhou DeminSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University
Recipient of the 11th WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Award for Achievement in Scientific and Technological Transformation:
Xia NingshaoSchool of Public Health, Xiamen University
Winners of the Scholar Award at the 11th WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Awards:
Yu JunFaculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Qiu ZilongInstitute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences
You QidongChina Pharmaceutical University
Qi HaiTsinghua University School of Medicine
Zhang JianShanghai Jiao Tong University
Zhang LiEast China University of Science and Technology
Zhong ChenZhejiang University School of Medicine
Chen LigongSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University
Chen LijuanState Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University
Yang ZifengThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University
Li XiaokunWenzhou University
Jiang XuefengEast China Normal University
Jia JianpingXuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University
Huang MinzhongShanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Cui YiminPeking University First Hospital
Guan YoufeiDalian Medical University
