The Taiwan Bio-Development Foundation (TBF) recently announced that three Academia Sinica researchers are among the recipients of eight “TBF Biotechnology Chairs” to be awarded by the foundation this year. The Academia Sinica recipients of the endowments are Dr. Ruey-Hwa Chen, Distinguished Research Fellow of the Institute of Biological Chemistry; Dr. Chung-yi Wu, Associate Research Fellow of the Genomics Research Center; and Dr. Che Alex Ma, Associate Research Fellow of the Genomics Research Center. Each awardee will receive a NT$25 million research fund payable by the TBF over 10 years.

         The aim of the Chairs according to the Foundation, is to cultivate scientists in biotechnology by encouraging the talent of outstanding local scientists in the biotech field, making long-term investment in basic research and training, and promoting the development of the country’s biotechnology industry.

         Dr. Chen’s research interest is cancer cell signaling particularly the investigation of protein post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination. Her studies aid understanding of the characteristics of malignant tumors, therapeutic responses of resistant tumors, and aid identification of important tumor markers for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment.

         Dr. Wu’s research interest is in the development of new synthetic methods of synthesis of carbohydrates related to cancers and infectious diseases to tackle the complex problems of post-translational glycosylation and carbohydrate-mediated recognition. The current focus of his research is to develop carbohydrate-based therapeutics and devices, including new types of glycan array for the detection of influenza virus or cancers, and to design of vaccines to tackle the problems of cancers or infectious diseases.

         Dr. Ma studies the structure and function of human-disease-related membrane proteins, aiming to apply the knowledge obtained to drug discovery, including drug-resistant bacterial infection, influenza vaccines and cancers.

         The Taiwan Bio-development Foundation was established and is contributed to by a group of passionate entrepreneurs, who care about the development of biopharmaceutical research and biotech industry in Taiwan. The main purpose of the TBF is the cultivation of talent in the field of biotechnology through providing training scholarships, giving grants for research projects, establishing academic chairs, organizing and sponsoring seminars and events, as well as aiding in the protection of intellectual property and technology transfer.