Taiwan academician wins Khwarizmi award

2015-02-13

An academician from Taipei City-based Academia Sinica recently won a prestigious Khwarizmi International Award for his contributions to the advancement of science.

Dr. Liu Fu-tong, a distinguished research fellow and director of AS Institute of Biomedical Sciences, was nominated for the Iranian government-backed honor on the strength of his research in galectins spanning 30 years. He will be presented with the award by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at a ceremony March 3 in Tehran.

“Taiwan is a front-runner in the study of glycoscience,” Liu said. “The award also recognizes the invaluable contribution of AS President Wong Chi-huey in leading and overseeing our country’s efforts in this regard.”

According to Liu, his team is currently developing potent galectin-3 and galectin-12 inhibitors for the treatment of cancers, inflammatory diseases and obesity. “We have published over 300 scientific papers and review articles, as well as notching up 15,000-plus citations,” he said.

An alumnus of National Taiwan University, Liu studied medicine at the University of Miami and earned his doctorate of chemistry from the University of Chicago. He was elected an AS academician in 2012 and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 12 months later.

Launched in 1987, the award is named after Mohammad Ibn Mousa Khwarizimi, an eighth century Persian mathematician and astronomer widely hailed as the father of algebra.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=227440&CtNode=413)