Minister Chen and MOST delegation attended special session of TTBA 2019 Symposium and visited MD Anderson

Minister Chen and delegation of Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Taiwan and National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) arrived in Houston in the evening of July 13.

On July 14, they first joined the Special Session of 2019 Texas Taiwanese Biotechnology Association, TTBA Symposium and arranged a brief presentation by NARLabs on topics relevant to the main theme of the symposium namely “Accelerating the Innovation of Biomedicine by AI.” In the afternoon, Minister Chen and delegation members visit Johnson Space Center of NASA and the Applied Optoelectronics Inc. In the evening of July 14 Minister Chen presented certificates of appreciation to several scientific leaders in recognition of their supporting the research cooperation between Taiwan and the Southern United States and cultivating Taiwanese young professionals and talents. Minister Chen also took the opportunities to meet with overseas young scientists and encourage them to establish cooperative partnerships with counterparts in Taiwan. The Young Scholar Fellowship Program, including the Einstein Program and the Columbus Program as well as Leaders in Future Trends (LIFT 2.0) Program were introduced.

On July 15, Minister Chen visit MD Anderson Cancer Center hosted by Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Carin Hagberg and Chief Medical Executive Dr. Stephen M Hahn. The Delegation presented “Innovation and Development of Taiwan Biotechnology” by Dr. Woei-Jer Chuang, Director General for the Department of Life Sciences; “Semiconductor and Smart Machine Technologies for Biomedical Applications” by Dr. Shuo-Hung Hsu, Director General for the Department Engineering and Technology, and “TWCC: The Taiwan Supercomputer with Bio-Medical AI Applications” by Dr. Shepherd Shi, Director General, National Center for High Performance Computing (NCHC) of NARLabs. From MDA, there were presentations made by Dr. Jennifer Wargo from Department of Surgical Oncology and Dr. Andrew Futreal from Department of Genomic Medicine. The meetings proceeded smoothly and productively as both sides were interested in several topics, such as clinical trial, tissue bank, and AI applications.

Then, the delegation visited the TMCx and JLAB@TMC which are accelerators in Texas Medical Center (TMC). TMCx focus on the topics of medical device and health care. JLAB@TMC provides a platform for start-up companies. Minister Chen emphasized the importance of innovation for biomedical research in Taiwan and encouraged the collaboration between Taiwan and TMCx.

Media Contact

Dr. Jiun-Haw Lee

Director

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston

Tel : +1-713-840-3857

E-mail: jhlee@nstc.gov.tw

Delegation led by Minster Chen in TMCx