Prof. Aaron Ciechanover
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004
Affiliation
Rappaport-Technion Integrated Cancer Center (R-TICC)
Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Bio
Aaron Ciechanover is a Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. He received his M.Sc. (1971) and M.D. (1973) from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He then completed obtained a doctorate in biology in the Faculty of Medicine in the Technion (D.Sc.; 1982). There, as a graduate student with Dr. Avram Hershko and in collaboration with Dr. Irwin A. Rose from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, USA, they discovered the ubiquitin proteolytic system. As a post- doctoral fellow with Dr. Harvey Lodish at the M.I.T., he continued his studies on the ubiquitin system and made additional important discoveries. Along the years it has become clear that ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis plays major roles in numerous cellular processes, and aberrations in the system underlie the pathogenetic mechanisms of many diseases, among them certain malignancies and neurodegenerative disorders. Consequently, the system has become an important platform for drug development. Among the numerous prizes Ciechanover received are the 2000 Albert Lasker Award and the 2004 Nobel Prize (Chemistry; shared with Drs. Hershko and Rose). Among many academies, Ciechanover is member of the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) and Medicine (NAM) of the USA (Foreign Associate).
Prof. Sir Andre Geim
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010
Affiliation
The University of Hong Kong
Bio
Sir Andre Geim has received numerous international honours, including the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is a member of the British, Chinese and American academies of sciences, among others, and has been repeatedly named among the world’s most cited scientists. His publication record includes fifty papers exceeding 1,000 citations and ten surpassing 10,000. Two of these are among the 100 most cited research papers in human history, according to journal Nature. He is credited with opening three new research fronts — diamagnetic levitation, gecko tape and graphene. Sir Andre has been knighted by both the Dutch and British monarchs.
Prof. Yuen Kwok-Yung
Affiliation
Henry Fok Professor in Infectious Diseases
Chair of Infectious Diseases
Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine
LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Bio
Professor Yuen Kwok-Yung has discovered over 100 novel species of virus, bacteria, fungi and parasites from patients and animals. Several of these novel animal viruses or their close relatives cause emerging infectious diseases by jumping from animals to human. In 2003, he led his team in the discovery of human SARS coronavirus and bat SARS-related coronavirus. He has published more than 1,300 papers on coronaviruses, influenza and other emerging infections. During COVID-19, he first showed SARS-CoV-2 could spread person-to-person and cause reinfection. His discoveries and expertise have been referenced by governments and healthcare policy makers internationally. He is also academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (Basic Medicine) and was awarded the Future Science Prize in 2021. The HKSAR government has awarded him a Silver and Gold Bauhinia Star for his work on microbial hunting and emerging infections.
