Contributor：Prof. Sui-Yuan Chang, College of Medicine
At the critical moment when Taiwan reported its first imported case of COVID-19 back in January 2020, Dr. Sui-Yuan Chang, Professor of the Department of Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, and concurrently Deputy Director of Department of Laboratory Medicine at NTU Hospital, led a team that successfully isolated the first SARS-CoV-2 strain in Taiwan. This achievement subsequently sparked a series of studies on its virulence, accelerating the development of COVID-specific medications and vaccines. The results yielded invaluable scientific findings which translated into the foundation for pandemic prevention and control strategies not only in Taiwan but also globally.
When COVID outbreaks were reported on an international cruise and the ROCS Panshi naval ship, Professor Chang's team provided immediate assistance in processing serum samples and conducting antibody testing during the investigations. When Taiwan opted for vaccine mixing, the team diligently monitored antibody responses to ensure effectiveness, providing science-based advice to the government.
Professor Chang has made outstanding achievements in industry-academia collaboration, particularly in advancing the development of rapid test kits and researching the mechanism of COVID infection. One of the most noteworthy projects involved her collaboration with Dr. Pan-Chyr Yang, former NTU President and Academician of Academia Sinica, and Oneness Biotech in their development of SNS812 – a nucleic acid medicine designed to eliminate viruses and expected to serve as a solution in the post-pandemic era. In the face of the Omicron variant in 2022, Professor Chang established the "NTU BSL3 Research and Analysis Laboratory" to further strengthen Taiwan's resilience in responding to new outbreaks. Throughout the global pandemic, Professor Chang and her team have been an invaluable source of strength, greatly assisting both the University and the government of Taiwan.
Extended news article:
COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials may start in August
(Source: Taipei Times)
Professor Sui-Yuan Chang's lab collaborated with Dr. Pan-Chyr Yang and Microbio to develop the siRNA that can effectively inhibit the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. (Image retrieved from EMBO Molecular Medicine. 14(4):e15298.)
Prof. Sui-Yuan Chang (right), Dr. Pan-Chyr Yang (center), and Assistant Professor Kuo-Yen Huang (left, NTU College of Medicine) collaborated with their teams to design a humanized decoy antibody (ACE2-Fc fusion protein) that can target the interaction between viral spike protein and its cellular receptor, thereby impairing viral entry and activating cell degranulation. （Source: Liberty Times）
Prof. Chang and her lab members