In contrast to other foreign speakers at the Wu Chien-shiung (吳健雄) Science camp, Professor Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) is comparatively reserved and bashful. The inspirational content of his lecture, entitled "Tackling the problem of Carbohydrate-Mediated Biological Recognition," however, was not hindered by his unadorned presentation.
"I decided to be a researcher because of my relatively withdrawn temperament. I am not a social type. When I graduated from MIT [majoring in Chemistry], many pharmaceutical companies offered me enticing positions. Still I chose teaching as my career because I knew business-related socializing was not my cup of tea," said the 52-year-old Wong, when asked what had motivated him to stay in the research arena.
After residing in the US for more than 20 years, Wong still comes across as a typical Taiwan-ese man with his unassuming attire and his Mandarin tinged with a Taiwanese accent.
"I always consider myself Taiwanese. No matter how long I stay in the US, there is never any recognition or identity confusion for me," he told the Taipei Times.
An award-winning organic chemist with 30 years of training in both Eastern and Western science, Wu said he totally enjoys his work. "I really take delight in my research. To excel in what you do, you've got to have a passion for it," he said.
"My becoming a researcher came rather late. It took me eight years to figure out where my true direction lay after I graduated from college. But when I found it, everything came along very naturally. The most essential thing is to find your calling," he said.
Wong's principal research interests focus on understanding the structure and function of carbohydrate in biological systems, especially on the surface of cells. "We then use this understanding to develop new drugs to control the functions of carbohydrate or carbohydrate-associated diseases such as cancer and influenza, as well as inflammatory and infectious diseases," Wong said.
Wong said he worries about the unwillingness of Taiwan's people to invest in bio-technology fields, especially in the pharmaceuticals industry. "The quality of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Taiwan has not improved at all in the past decades. All the drugs used in Taiwan are imported," said Wong.
Taiwan is a small country, where the most suitable state industry should be small volume and high value -- such as the biotech industry, requiring more brainwork and less labor. The government should develop such a vision, he said.
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