AWARDEE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES PRIZE
WEN YUMEI
Abstract
Professor Wen Yumei, a virologist, was born in 1934 in Beijing. After graduating from Shanghai First Medical College, she had her graduate training in microbiology and immunology in the Second Medical College and The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. In early eighties, she was awarded fellowships to study in London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Institutes of Health in USA. Since 1986 she has been appointed the Head of Department of Molecular Virology in Shanghai Medical University, a key laboratory sponsored by the Ministry of Public Health. Presently, she is the president of Chinese Society for Microbiology, and the vice president of Chinese Association of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. In addition, she is the editor-in-chief or editor of five domestic journals and also on the editorial board of Viral Immunology. She also served as the program consultant and evaluation expert invited by the European Commission in 1997 and 1998. She has published 150 papers in journals home and abroad, and has edited 6 books, among which “Viral hepatitis in China: Problems and control strategies” (Monographs in Virology, vol.19, 1992) has been a reference book introducing work on viral hepatitis done in China.
For the past twenty years she has concentrated her study on the molecular virology and immunology of hepatitis B virus, aiming at elucidating the mechanisms of virus persistence and developing new therapeutic measures. In her early studies, she found that around 90% of Chinese chronic hepatitis B patients did not show integration of viral genome, which encouraged her to pursue for treatment to clear the virus. She is the pioneer in developing therapeutic vaccine for hepatitis B patients. In 1988, supported by the 863 high technology grant, she has started to establish immune tolerant animal model in duck hepatitis B virus infected ducklings, mimicking maternal-infant transmission in human and used this model for breaking immune tolerance study. Using the viral envelope protein and its antibody complex, she has developed a therapeutic vaccine for hepatitis B, which was licensed for clinical trial. In addition, she also studied different hepatitis B variants in China, and was the first to detect precore mutants in liver cancer tissues. Her study on hepatitis B virus S gene variants in Chinese babies failed to be protected by postexposure vaccination indicated that mutation in the S gene is not the main cause for failure of vaccination, and provided important information for policy decision on the selection and preparation of the present hepatitis B vaccine.
Throughout her career, she has spent much time and energy in educating and training young scientists. The goal set for herself and her students is high morale and devotion with emphasis on new ideas and originality in research. Her motto is: “Originality is the core of research, Objectivity is the attitude for research, Persistence is the road for research, and For the people is the aim of research.” Presently, there are a group of young scientists in her lab with sound scientific background and high spirit of devotion.
For her achievements and contribution, Wen Yumei has been awarded a number of recognition, including the National Award for Natural Sciences, National award for Science and Technology, Prizes from the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Municipal Government.
