2009 Awardees at Ceremony

Ma,Li （马丽）中科院上海生命科学研究院生物化学与细胞生物学研究所

Ms. Ma received her bachelor degree from Zhongshan University and is conducting her Ph.D. study under the direction of Dr. 朱学良at Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She studies control of cell division, particularly the assembly of mitotic spindle matrix. Her recent work is published in Nature Cell Biology. The prize committee recognizes her research on the purification of spindle matrix proteins and the biochemical and cell biology characterization of two components, Nudel and dynein, as highly original and technically challenging. She has made critical contributions in setting up the system and producing original data.

She begins as a post-doctoral fellow in Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology in 2010.

* This prize was sponsored by Epitomics, Inc.

Zhong, Bo (钟波) 武汉大学生命科学学院

Mr. Zhong received his double bachelor degree in English and Biology from Wuhan University. He is carrying out his Ph.D. study under the tutelage of Dr. 舒红兵 at Wuhan University. His research concerns innate immunity, specifically virus-triggered signaling events. He has published 6 papers, two of which are in Immunity with him being the first author. The prize committee recognizes his research on innate immunity as productive and original. He is very knowledgeable of the key questions in the field and his scientific writing is also impressive.

He begins as a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Chen Dong’s laboratory at MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2010.

Zhou, Chuan (周传) 中国科学院生物物理研究所

Mr. Zhou received his bachelor degree from Tsinghua University. As a student of Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, he is conducting his Ph.D. study in the laboratory of Dr. 饶毅 in National Institute of biological Sciences and later at Peking University. He has a keen interest in neurophilosophy and his research focuses on the mechanism underlying male aggression in fruitfly. His work is published in Nature Neuroscience. The prize committee recognizes his research on molecular mechanisms underlying behavior neuroscience, specifically on aggression in male Drosophila as original, thoughtful and he has a broad view of his field.

Liu, Chang (刘昶) National University of Singapore

Mr. Liu, born in China, received his bachelor degree from National University of Singapore, where he continued his Ph.D. study under Dr. Hao Yu. His research has to do with the developmental biology of Arabidopsis, particularly flowering patterning. He has 6 publications, two of which he published in Developmental Cell as a first author. The prize committee recognizes his research on the intrinsic connection in plant pattern formation and timing of flowering as significant and productive. He appeared to be very mature and highly confident.

He begins as a Research Fellow at Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory in Singapore in 2010.

Tseng, Chi-Gang (曾纪纲) 国立阳明大学

Mr. Tseng obtained his bachelor degree as a medical technologist from Chun Shan Medical University. Because of his interest in life sciences, he enrolled in the Ph.D. degree at National Yang-Ming University, where he studies under Dr. Soo-Chen Cheng. His discovery of the reversibility of RNA splicing was published in Science. The prize committee recognizes his research on RNA splicing as outstanding. He has a clear view on the importance of RNA in biological regulation. He is very solid, humble, thoughtful, knowledgeable and hard-working.

Li, Xian-Hong (李现红) 中南大学护理学院

Ms. Li graduated from School of Nursing Central South University, where she continued her Ph.D. study in nursing. Her work focuses on the sociology of AIDS care, particularly on the AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in south central China. She has designed clever ways to distribute anti-HIV drugs to ensure treatment adherence. The prize committee recognizes her work on social issues related to the treatment of AIDS as original and intelligent. She has found best ways to distribute the drugs and involved TV media to effectively educate the public. She appeared to be a very capable individual and have an outgoing personality and interpersonal skills that are necessary for her success in this field.

She is now a faculty member in Central South University, China.

Du, Xiang-Jun (杜向军) 中国科学院生物物理研究所

Mr. Du majored in physics in college. Out of curiosity about life sciences, he began his Ph.D. study under the direction of Dr. 蒋太交 at Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research focus is on the bioinformatics of influenza viruses. His earlier work was published in Genome Research. Furthermore, he has developed a new method for influenza antigen prediction and influenza monitoring, which is thought to be superior to the current method used by WHO. A patent based on this work is being filed and a publication is being prepared. The prize committee recognizes his research on influenza virus bioinformatics superior to the method currently used by the field. He appeared to be very sharp and knowledgeable about your field. He showed a leadership quality and a broad view.

Chou, Jui-Yu (周睿钰) 国立阳明大学

Mr. Chou studied taxonomy for his master thesis and became interested in molecular evolution, e.g. how new species arises. He is currently conducting on his Ph.D. under the direction of Dr. Jun-Yi Leu. Using yeast as a model system, he is studying mechanisms underlying speciation. He published their findings in Cell as a co-first author. He is now conducting experimental evolution in yeast. The prize committee recognizes his research on how species arise by generating hybrid lines between different species of yeast as significant and original. He showed a very active mind and being able to look at big pictures.

RWMF members at the award ceremony for the 2009 Ray Wu Prize