Ding-Shinn Chen

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

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.[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]