Professor Yen-Hsuan Ni, Dean of the NTU Centers of Genomic and Precision Medicine
The National Taiwan University Centers of Genomic and Precision Medicine (CGPM) provide patients with custom medical advice by offering different treatment methods and medications based on genetics, individual circumstances, living environments, and lifestyles. To achieve the ultimate goal of precision medicine, CGMP has shifted in recent years from precision treatment to precision health, focusing on precise prevention and treatment plans through in-depth exploration of disease formation mechanisms.
Precision medicine research involves high-throughput technologies and big data processing. CGPM promotes collaboration across disciplines and academic units in fields such as integrative and molecular biology, biochemistry, multiomics, structural biomedicine, biomedical informatics, and smart medicine. This collaborative effort, coupled with the top clinical research capabilities and clinical trial centers of the National Taiwan University Hospital, establishes a robust platform for cooperative science. CGPM embraces fundamental scientific thought while championing a technological platform that challenges conventional one-dimensional research approaches. Adopting diverse perspectives within its interdisciplinary research model, CGPM centers its focus on overarching themes like pathogenesis, drug development, and early diagnosis. In this approach, CGPM nurtures top-tier researchers with an international outlook and domain expertise in precision medicine, elevating Taiwan's global standing and contributing substantial value to the nation's industry.
CGPM established the Quanta AI Computation Zone at the Smart Medical Center in 2022 as a practical illustration of its collaboration across various disciplines. Spanning two colleges, the Zone has merged health-related big data with artificial intelligence technology and state-of-the-art computing with storage systems to address patient privacy, medical ethics, and data security issues effectively. This initiative positions the NTU College of Medicine as a model for change in the medical industry. Moreover, the Zone aligns with the government's projects to develop the niche field of precision medicine and is in line with the vision put forth in the 2022 Bio Taiwan Committee (BTC) meeting of the Executive Yuan to "forge a new future for precision medicine by integrating biomedicine and smart technology."
Dedicated to consolidating internal and external resources, CGPM collaborates with the NTU medical system—which encompasses the Clinical Trial Center, NTU Cancer Hospital, NTUH Biomedical Park Hospital in Zhubei, and the NTU biomedical campus ecosystem—to make plans for a cross-disciplinary platform for technical cooperation. CGMP also persists in advancing international collaborative research, facilitating cross-national academic and technical exchange. Through these efforts, we aim to become a technological leader and globally-competitive research center in precision medicine. Together, we can shape a promising future for precision medicine!
Certified by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as a "Precision Medicine Molecular Testing Laboratory"
In 2022, the Pharmacogenomics Core Lab (LDT0011) was LDTS-certified as a Precision Medicine Molecular Testing Laboratory by the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Food and Drug Administration. It can provide medical-grade genetic testing reports under the relevant management regulations. The laboratory is led by Professor Sung-Liang Yu of the NTU Department of Clinical Laboratory Science and Medical Biotechnology. The laboratory currently has three medical laboratory technologists, fourteen research personnel at the graduate level, and seven postdoctoral researchers.
Featured CGPM Technology
At the 2022 Taiwan Innotech Expo Future Tech Pavilion, the "Cell-free Virus-host Chimera DNA from Hepatitis B Virus Integration Sites as a Circulating Biomarker for Monitoring Hepatocellular Carcinoma" technology was awarded the Future Tech Award.
Establishment of the startup company Biogenius Biomedicine in 2023
With support from the Government-Industry Collaboration Plan, the Genomics Core Laboratory made the shift to high-throughput programmable protein chip technology and founded the startup company Biogenius Biomedicine.
High-throughput Programmable Protein Chip Technology
Purified gene expression plasmids are spotted on a microarray, allowing the protein to be expressed and fixed in situ through mammalian or human cell-free expression. This can be applied to research areas such as protein-protein interactions, drug discovery, vaccine development for human diseases, immune profiles, and more.
International Academic Exchange with the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Dean of the Medical Faculty at the University of Bern, Switzerland, Dr. Claudio L.A. Bassetti (fourth from the left); Vice-Dean Professor Dr. Stephan Windecker (third from the right); and researcher Dr. Chantal Kottler (third from the left) visited for academic exchange in 2023.