Mei-Hwei Chang
The Baby Saver
The 30th Academician of Life Sciences
Education:
M.D., School of Medicine, National Taiwan University (1974)
Professional Experience:
- National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital
- Pediatric Residency and Chief Resident (1974-78)
- Department of Internal Medicine (1977-79)
- Chief, Division of Gastroenterology (1985-present), Chairperson (1996-2003)
- Department of Pediatrics
- Chairperson, Hepatitis Research Center (2009-present)
- National Taiwan University (NTU): Lecturer (1979-85); Professor (1990-present
- Distinguished Professor (2006-present)
- UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, U.S.A. (1981)
- Laboratory of Experirnental Carcinogenesis, NCI, NIH, U.S.A (2004)
Specialties:
Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hepatitis, Cancer Prevention
Awards and Honors:
- Top-Ten Outstanding Young Female Award (1986)
- Outstanding Research Award, National Science Council (1990, 1992, 1995, 1997)
- Special Contract Research Award, National Science Council (1999-2001, 2002-04)
- Harvard Combined Program Marvin L. Dixon Visiting Professorship Award (1997)
- Outstanding Achievement Award in Science and Technology, the Executive Yuan (2005)
- Asian Distinguished Pediatrician Award (2006)
- Academic Award, Ministry of Education (2006)
- President, the Federation of International Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology,
- Hepatology, and Nutrition (FISPGHAN) (2008-12)
- Taiwan Outstanding Women in Science Award (2010)
- WHO, the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Disease (ICD-11), the Internal Medicine Topic Advisory Group (IM-TAG) (2010-present)
- Health Promotion Contribution Award, Ministry of Health and Welfare (2013)
- The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize in Medical Sciences (2013)
- Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society Distinguished Achievement Award (2014)
Current Positions:
Chair Professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University (NTU); Chairperson, Hepatitis Research Center, NTU Hospital
Do it and you will get it!
“As long as you’ve done it, you will always get feedback!” The NTUH:::Hepatitis Research Center Director, NTHU Pediatrics Professor, Academician Mei- Hwei Chang appears as “a practicing nun” as the metaphor of herself. Some years ago, she discovered the feces color of the infants has certain relation with biliary atresia disease. Dr. Chang had not only design the Infant Stool Color Card, but also promoting screening for health check. The major goal is to let the infants with the disease to be discovered and recovered as early as possible.
Dr. Chang has been the first person to develop Infant Stool Color Card screening system. The next step is to develop the screening by blood testing, to make sure that every new born baby is healthy.
The inspiration of designing the Infant Stool Color Card came from the habit of Dr. Chang “collecting” different feces colors from the infant. The feces colors are strongly related to body health. Whenever there is unusualness, Dr. Chang will take a photo of it and keep the record. As she analyzed and categorized them, she discovered that feces color can determine if the baby has biliary atresia or not.
Support from the family
Dr. Chang had once struggled between her family and career. She got a chance to study abroad in 1981, when her two kids were only one and three years old. Although her husband had supported the decision, Dr. Chang seemed to be unwilling to leave the children. She cried as boarding the plane. Dr. Chang had wanted to return to Taiwan, but she was too afraid that she would not be able to leave her family again. After one year, when Dr. Chang finally got home, her son could not recognize her at all.
“One many female scientists born to children, they will consider if they should spend the time on the kids.” Said Dr. Chang, who encouraged the female scientists to keep on doing the things they like. “My husband has always told me that my accomplishment is meaningful” she smiled, “which makes me unable to stop the work.”
(Summerized by Joseph Lin, Cody Wang)