Tang Prize Newsletter

Tang Prize Foundation and EB signed a 10-year memorandum in 2015. Every year since then, Tang Prize Biopharmaceutical Science laureate gives lecture at the EB. The two organizations collaborate closely to foster a broader information exchange and outreach. More than 6,000 people attended 2018 Experimental Biology (EB) Tang Prize Award Lecture in San Diego, California. The lecture was given by the Tang Prize Biopharmaceutical Science laureate Dr. Feng Zhang. “Tonight we have a full house,” announced the Executive Officer of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Judith Siuciak, who is also the Chair of the 2018 EB Management Committee. Many latecomers stood at the back of the ballroom throughout the entire lecture. The live screening outside the ballroom also attracted a number of passers-by.

Zhang’s team has developed a platform termed “SHERLOCK” from a dead variant of Cas13 (dCas13) in the CRISPR-Cas family. This February, the team published an article on the journal, Science, reporting four advances integrated into SHERLOKv2. His team then found the key, T375G, and the optimization boosts the system accuracy to a thousand folds higher. The system shows remarkable sensitivity that can go with portable equipment. These upgrades enable SHERLOCKv2 to detect Dengue or Zika virus ssRNA in the “Lateral Flow Test Strips” in a much faster and reliable fashion.

The host, Professor Shu Chien of UCSD, praised Zhang’s research as “ingenious and groundbreaking.” It’s not just biopharmaceutical science, other disciplines will benefit from its application. At the end of the lecture Professor Chien asked Zhang to share a few words with young researchers. Zhang humbly expressed his gratitude towards his family and teachers. He said, “I’m very lucky. First, I have good parents. Second, I have good teachers.” Zhang mentioned when he entered the San Diego Convention Center, he bumped into a bunch of high school students. He like that the Tang Prize Award Lecture opens a door to everyone. Zhang thinks his teachers in each stage of his studies knew him well, and they selflessly guided him to his success. “When you have achieved something, don’t forget to help the others and thank your teachers.” Zhang’s words echoed the spirit of Confucianism in a way that he respects the past and takes the responsibility of inspiring the future. His advice to the young won a thunderous applause from the audience. After the lecture, many attendees stayed behind and hoped to talk to Zhang in person.

Five leading bioscience institutions together host EB this year. They are American Association of Anatomists (AAA), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), and ASPET.

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TAIPEI –2018 Tang Prize Diploma Unveiling took place on June 2nd at Xinyi eslite. Dutch book designer Irma Boom is commissioned to design the diploma. Hundreds of people attended the event, including the Head Representative of the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office, Guy Wittich, and Taiwan Design Center Deputy CEO, Shu-tin Ai.

Boom used her favorite poet’s poem “The Road Not Taken” as her design concept for the 2018 Tang Prize Diploma. Tang Prize laureates don’t look for the obvious but step on the road not taken. They dare to think of the unthought-of and hence discover a new path. Abstract and original, the diploma design is paper art in its simplicity. Folding is more like an action, giving a new perspective of looking a piece of paper.

Boom made a last minute change of the diploma colors. At the beginning, blue was used for Biopharmaceutical Science, and yellow the Rule of Law. For Boom, blue is a reliable color. It represents trust, and Rule of Law should provide this trust base. Yellow, on the other hand, is more active and bright just like chemical reactions the scientists do. Sinology has always been red because this is the color of Chinese culture. And green is a broadly recognized color for the nature, a sustainable environment.

The diploma celebrates the Tang Prize for its bold and independent spirit in the 21st century. Tang Prize laureates don’t look for the obvious but step on the road not taken. They dare to think of the unthought-of and hence discover a new path. The four prize categories are folded into their own unique way, pointing to different directions that lead to greater diversity. Conventional A4 size paper is folded to break its regular outlines.

Boom is a world renowned book designer, named the “Best Book Designer” by the New York Times in 2010. She has won the Golden Medal of the World Most Beautiful Book not just once, but three times. She is also the youngest recipient of the German Book Design award “Gutenberg Prize”.

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SEOUL - The 24th International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) Congress opened on June 4 in Seoul, Korea. Inaugural Tang Prize Biopharmaceutical Science laureate, Professor Tasuku Honjo, gave the Tang Prize Lecture titled “Cancer Immunotherapy by PD-1 blockade” right after the Opening Ceremony. Professor Honjo suggests “mitochondrial activation may be a good marker for immunotherapy effectiveness.”

Professor Honjo has long been speculated as one of the most likely winners of the Nobel Prize from Japan. He received his Ph.D. from the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University and served as a professor there. The latest results published by Professor Honjo’s team found close relations between the effectiveness of PD-1 immunotherapy and mitochondrial activation. “PD-1 blockade combinatorial therapy using mitochondrial activators, especially PGC-1α activators, may be promising. Clinical trials should be carried out. This combination may save more patients and lower costs,” said Professor Honjo.

Professor Honjo thinks the 20th century benefits from the discovery of Penicillin. Many infectious diseases have since then been eased out. The 21st century is the era of PD-1 immunotherapy. He believes cancer can be well controlled by PD-1 regulation, and a better understanding of PD-1 will certainly improve treatment efficiency.

Using anti-PD-1 antibody to block immune checkpoints is a revolution in cancer treatment. It has many advantages over other treatment approaches. Anti-PD-1 is effective for a wide range of tumor cells, its effect sustains, and it has less adverse effects. Professor Honjo believes that anti-PD-1 immunotherapy is likely to become the first choice in cancer treatment.

Many cancers can be now treated by immunotherapy, including melanoma, lung cancer, renal cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, urothelial cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. It is estimated that cancer treatments using immunotherapy will increase from 5% in 2016 to 50% in 2020. In 2030, it may reach as high as 90%. Professor Honjo predicts that cancer tumor may not completely disappear, but might be controlled by immunotherapy. Cancer could be a chronic disease instead of an acute death sentence.

The Tang Prize Foundation signed a nine-year memorandum with IUBMB in 2016, sponsoring conferences in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology and financially supporting young researchers for travel expense or relocation. This collaboration should enable more people to join the line of research and provide new job opportunities. The exchange of experience and knowledge will facilitate the development of biopharmaceutical science.

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Former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Inaugural (2014) Tang Prize Laureate of Sustainable Development, came to Taiwan to attend “Week of Women in Sustainable Development” in April. Brundtland joined a panel discussion at Academia Sinica and gave a talk at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU). Feedback from the audience was a tremendous success. Brundtland also accepted the Honorary Doctorate Award from NCKU. “NCKU formally adopts the SDGs as the university guiding principle and we are proud to celebrate by associating with Madame Gro Brundtland, the godmother of sustainable development, through granting this Honorary Doctorate,” said the NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su.

On April 2, Brundtalnd and the rest of the panelists including Academician Shaw Chen Liu, NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su, and the Dean of School of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Chang-Chuan Chan talked about “the impact of climate change on the environment and sustainable development” and “the condition of public health in a changing environment and society.” Issues like population decline, air pollution and energy were also brought up in the discussion. Brundtland suggested government policy is critical to the sustainable development. A leader should have an insight and a long-term plan. Compulsory education is indispensable. Policy making should come along with sufficient explanation regarding its direction and purpose.

Brundtland has taken humanity sustainability to heart. She has dedicated her whole life promoting economy development, society sustainability and world peace. These are her lifetime goals. Brundtland delivered a plenary speech entitled “Sustainable Development Goals, a thirty year story of international collaboration” at NCKU on April 3. The talk received fervent response from high school students including Tainan First Senior High School, Tainan Girls’ Senior High School and Sheng Kung Girls’ High School. A law school student asked Brundtland how to achieve the balance between personal and professional life. Improving family policy and quality child care are two solutions Brundtland provided. Brundtland said, back in her time, the government offered 12 weeks of parental leave for women. Her daughter had 18 weeks, and her granddaughter has parental leave up to one year. Men can also take between 14 and 52 weeks of parental leave.

Now as the Deputy Chair of The Elders, Brundtland has dedicated her life to address concerns related to global climate change, equitable health system, human rights and the ultimate goal – sustainability for human society. “Gro Brundtland Week of Women in Sustainability” is an event founded by the Tang Prize research grant given to Brundtland. Since 2016 it has now come to its third year with 15 female scientists from developing countries being awarded. This year, Brundtland came to Taiwan to present the award to five awardees, including Natisha Dukhi (South Africa), Barbara Burmen (Kenya), Neha Dahiya (India), Weena Gera (Philippine), and Sarva Mangala Praveena’s (Malaysia).

Dr. Jenn-Chuan Chern, CEO of the Tang Prize Foundation, expressed his appreciation to Brundtland for traveling afar to Taiwan. This is the last year of the event but not the end of the mission. International collaborations have been fostered to combat climate change and develop a greener economy. We are heading toward the same goal of a sustainable society.

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