Hepatitis B Foundation expresses appreciation for the work of Dr. Ding-Shinn Chen with the announcement of his death

Doylestown, Pa., June 25, 2020 - The Hepatitis B Foundation today is expressing its profound sadness at the passing of Dr. Ding-Shinn Chen, distinguished professor of the National Taiwan University College of Medicine.

“He was one of the field’s giants,” said Dr. Timothy Block, president and co-founder of the Hepatitis B Foundation. “While we grieve losing Prof. Chen, we also are grateful for all he did for those living with hepatitis B.”

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen this week praised Chen as instrumental in promoting Taiwan's 1986 universal hepatitis B vaccination program, which reduced deaths to HBV disease by more than 95% and helped establish the relationship between HBV and liver cancer.

For these accomplishments, the Hepatitis B foundation honored Prof. Chen in 2018 with its most prestigious award, the Baruch S. Blumberg Prize. Prof. Chen traveled to the Hepatitis B Foundation in Doylestown PA, to receive the award.  

Named in honor of Dr. Baruch S. Blumberg, who discovered HBV and received the 1977 Nobel Prize in Medicine, The Baruch S. Blumberg Prize is considered the “Nobel Prize” of hepatitis B research. It is the highest honor bestowed by the Hepatitis B Foundation, and is given in appreciation for outstanding contributions made by an individual to significantly advance the science and medicine of hepatitis B.  Drs. Chen and Blumberg were friends and colleagues.