The 2020 Tang Prize winners for sustainable development and biopharmaceutical science were announced June 18 and 19, respectively, by Taipei City-based Tang Prize Foundation.
Jane Goodall was honored for contributions to primatology and environmental conservation, while Charles Dinarello, Marc Feldmann and Tadamitsu Kishimoto were jointly recognized for advancing inflammatory disease treatment.
According to TPF, Goodall started studying chimpanzees in 1960 and made ground-breaking discoveries on the animal’s behavior over the next few years. The British ethologist established a U.S.-based institute in her name in 1977 and opened a Taipei City office 21 years later.
Goodall was appointed a U.N. Messenger of Peace in 2002 and made a Dame of the British Empire in 2004 for promoting environmental education and wildlife conservation.
Feldmann, an emeritus professor of the University of Oxford, identified tumor necrosis factors as a key proinflammatory contributor in rheumatoid arthritis and developed an antibody to treat the disease. Dinarello, a professor at the University of Colorado, discovered and purified a protein strand as an inflammation mediator, as well as laid the foundation for research on cytokine biology and pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.
Kishimoto, a professor at Osaka University, successfully cloned an antibody regulator and contributed to therapeutics on severe multiorgan chronic diseases.
Established by Taiwan entrepreneur Samuel Yin in 2012 and first conferred two years later, the Tang Prize allocates recipients in the categories of sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, Sinology and rule of law NT$40 million (US$1.35 million), as well as a research grant of up to NT$10 million.
The laureates are to be feted at a ceremony Sept. 25 in Taipei. A series of forums and speeches highlighting related work and achievements will also be staged during Sept. 20 to 25 during Tang Prize Week. (YCH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw