| Thursday, May 1, 2003 |
| Academia Sinica to organize SARS vaccine project |
| Published: May 1, 2003 Source: Central News Agency |
 cademia
Sinica will organize a research team to try to develop
vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),
according to Lee Yuan-tseh, president of the
institution. Lee said on Tuesday that Michael M.C. Lai, who will take over the post as vice president of Academia Sinica in July, and Chen Ting-hsin, president of National Taiwan University Hospital, will be in charge of organizing the project. Lee expressed his confidence in the lineup of academicians, saying it is expected that the 16-member research unit will be able to develop the vaccines within six months to one year. In addition to Lai, an internationally renowned virologist who has good knowledge of coronaviruses, others recruited for the research unit include David D. Ho, scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, and researchers of Academia Sinica's Institutes of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biomedical Sciences, as well as the National Clinical Core for Genomic Medicine. Y.T. Chen, director of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, said Academia Sinica had already initiated a SARS research project. He said he believes that with the participation of international experts, the group will achieve a breakthrough in the near future. |