Dr. Han-Chung Wu, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology and Director of the Biomedical Translation Research Center at Academia Sinica, was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) of the United States in December 2020. This is among the highest achievable honors for an academic inventor. The award ceremony will be held in Florida, United States, on June 7 to 9, 2021.

In his work, Dr. Wu has dedicated himself to research and development of new treatments for cancer and infectious disease, creating lengthy record of research on basic and translational medicine. In particular, his interests lie in discovering new tumor antigens and developing novel drug delivery systems to be applied in tumor molecular imaging and therapy. He also developed phage display technologies that are used for the generation of fully human monoclonal antibodies and identification of tumor-targeting peptides.

Dr. Wu has published over 110 original articles in world-renowned journals and is an inventor on 93 patents, including 66 granted patents. Among the technologies described in these patents, 20 have been licensed to biotechnology companies. Seven of the licensed technologies serve as the basis for products that are currently in clinical trials or already on the market. Another seven are currently in preclinical studies for the development of therapeutics. Thus, his innovative research results have high value not only in basic research and applied science, but his work has also contributed substantially to the biomedical industry and drug development, garnering international recognition.

Previously, Dr. Wu received many awards, including: the Academia Sinica Young Investigator Award; Yung-Shing Young Investigator Award; Outstanding Research Award from the National Science Council of Taiwan; Taiwan Bio-Development Foundation Biotechnology Award; Ho Jen-Dui Distinguished Honor Award; Outstanding Research Award from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan; International Inventor Prize and Lifetime Achievement Academic Award; The Executive Yuan Award for Outstanding Science and Technology Contribution; Award for Excellent Contribution in Technology Transfer from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan; and Special Research Fellow Award, also from Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology. He was also a four-time winner of the Taiwan National Innovation Award. All of these honors and awards affirm the impact of his innovative research results.

Each year, the NAI elects hundreds of scientists and innovators as NAI Fellows to honor their outstanding contributions and innovative spirit. To date, there are 1,403 NAI Fellows worldwide from 250 top academic institutions as well as governmental and non-profit research organizations. These NAI Fellows collectively own more than 42,700 issued US patents.