Four distinguished scientists from developing countries have won the Trieste Science Prize for 2006, launched by an Italian company Illycaffée and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). Among them three laureates, two who have made fundamental contributions to our understanding and prevention of lethal infectious diseases and one who have shed light on some of the world’s most mind-boggling mathematical problems, are from Asia. The announcement was made on July 5 in Trieste, Italy.
RAO Zihe, director of the CAS Institute of Biophysics and CAS Member, is being recognized for his world-class contributions to structural biology and his studies of viruses responsible for human diseases. Rao led a team of Chinese researchers who deciphered the first crystal structure of the coronavirus, which causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). His findings provide a potential framework for the design of anti-SARS drugs. The SARS epidemic infected more than 8,000 people and caused more than 800 deaths in 2003. With the rising incidence of infectious diseases and the risk of pandemics, Rao’s focus on the relationship between protein structure and function – and ultimately on protein engineering and drug design – has gained increasing global attention.
Chen Ding-Shinn, dean of the National Taiwan University College of Medicine and chair of the Taiwanese Government’s Hepatitis Control Committee, is being honored for the leading role he played in uncovering the factors responsible for the transmission of the hepatitis B virus from mothers to infants and for proving that this viral disease was associated not only with liver cirrhosis but also with liver cancer. He used this knowledge to gain support for a comprehensive vaccination campaign in Taiwan – a strategy that has since been adopted by countries across the globe. Thanks to Chen’s efforts, the incidence of hepatitis B has declined rapidly and hepatocellular carcinoma has become the first human cancer to be prevented through immunization.
C.S. Seshadri, founding director, Chennai Mathematical Institute in India, will share the prize in the category of mathematics, is being honored for the prominent role he has played in shaping the field of algebraic geometry, one of the dominant fields in 21st century mathematics. He is a leading figure in such cutting-edge topics as the theory of vector bundles and quotient and compact homogenous spaces. He is recognized as the creator of the Standard Monomial Theory and Seshadri Constant, which have found important applications both in mathematics and physics. Seshadri has also been the leading force behind the creation of the Chennai Mathematical Institute, which over the past decade has emerged as one of world’s pre-eminent centers for mathematics.
CAS President LU Yongxiang, who is also vice president of TWAS, has sent his congratulations to Rao. The award is given annually and rotates among the different scientific fields. This year two medical scientists and two mathematicians are chosen for the prize. The other laureate of the prize in 2006 is Jacob Palis, from Brazil's Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro.
Notes:
The Trieste Science Prize. This marks the second year of the Trieste Science Prize. The prize is designed to bring recognition and distinction to the developing world’s most eminent scientists who have not yet been honored by other international award schemes dedicated to honouring scientific achievement. It is named after Trieste, a city in northeast Italy that has made fundamental contributions to the promotion of science in the developing world. Individuals who have received the Nobel Prize, the Tokyo/Kyoto Prize, the Craaford Prize or the Abel Prize are not eligible. The prize is given annually and rotates among the following scientific fields: biological sciences and physics/astrophysics (2005); mathematics and medical sciences (2006); agricultural sciences and chemistry (2007); and earth and engineering sciences (2008). http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~twas/honor/TSP_info.html
From:CAS
date:2006-7-15 |
