The Tang Prize Partners with IUBMB to Facilitate Education in Biopharmaceutical Science

Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 30, 2017 -- After the signing of a memorandum of cooperation that establishes a 10-year partnership with the Experimental Biology (EB), the Tang Prize Foundation has taken another step forward in promoting the advancement of biopharmaceutical science education by forming another partnership with the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB). 

IUBMB plays a significant role in uniting researchers and scientists in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology from 77 countries across four continents. Dr. Andrew H. J. Wang is a world-renowned researcher in the field who currently serves as the President-Elect of the IUBMB and is also the Academician of the Academia Sinica.  He acted as a go-between to facilitate a 9-year partnership project between the Tang Prize and the IUBMB. This project has already been signed in 2016 and is currently on the move. 

On September 6^th – 8^th, Dr. Wang will participate in the “New Horizons in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Education” conference hosted by the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS), one of the world’s leading science research institutions in Israel that ranked 6^th in the 2017 Nature Innovation Index. Co-organized by WIS, IUBMB, and the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), this educational conference aims to provide a think-tank setting that can bring inspiration to the teaching approach in the subjects relating to biochemistry and molecular biology. The Tang Prize will support outstanding young scientists to attend the conference along with Dr. Wang, which in turn can provide them with an opportunity to introduce their research and establish international network. 

The IUBMB-FEBS conference on education is followed by the FEBS 2017 Congress, which will take place on September 10^th – 14^th at the International Conference Center (ICC) in Jerusalem. This year, the congress will focus on topics surrounding the application of CRISPR/Cas9. Dr. Feng Zhang – a 2016 Tang Prize laureate and the Associate Professor at the MIT Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering – is hosting a Tang Prize/IUBMB lecture on September 12^th with the topic “From Microbial Immunity to Genome Editing.” Dr. Zhang was awarded the 2016 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science along with Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Dr. Jennifer Doudna “for the development of CRISPR/Cas9 as a breakthrough genome editing platform that promises to revolutionize biomedical research and disease treatment.” He first reported the successful adaption of Cas9-based genome editing in mammalian and human cells. Dr. Zhang further improved approaches for simultaneously targeting multiple genes and homology-based gene repair. His groundbreaking research has made him a high-profile researcher in the field of gene editing. 

The cooperation between the Tang Prize and the world’s top research organizations not only promotes awareness of the Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science but also encourages education and technology exchange in the Prize’s four award fields. Coming up next year, Dr. Zhang is going to host the opening lecture at the EB 2018 in April, and the inaugural Tang Prize recipient in Biopharmaceutical Science, Dr. Tasuku Honjo, will deliver a lecture on the first day of the 2018 IUBMB Congress in June. In the future, the Tang Prize seeks to support more lectures across the globe, which will then facilitate laureates’ contributions to the world. 

For more information on Dr. Zhang’s Tang Prize/IUBMB lecture, please visit the website:  http://www.tang-prize.org/en/first.php 

About Tang Prize

Dr. Samuel Yin, chairman of Ruentex Group, founded the Tang Prize in December of 2012 as an extension of the supreme value his family placed on education. Harkening back to the golden age of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history, the Tang Prize seeks to be an inspiring force for people working in all corners of the world. For more information on the Tang Prize and its laureates, please visit www.tang-prize.org

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