Chen Zhu (; born August 17, 1953) is a Chinese
hematologist,
molecular biologist, and politician. He is a vice-chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and President of the
Red Cross Society of China. He was also the chairman of the
Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party from 2012 to 2022.
He formerly served as China's
Minister of Health. Chen also holds a professorship at the School of Medicine of
Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Biography
Chen was born in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
in August 1953 and his
ancestral hometown is
Zhenjiang,
Jiangsu Province.
Chen began his medical career by spending five years in rural China as a
barefoot doctor. Chen then obtained his master's degree from the Shanghai Second Medical Sciences University (now the
medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...
of
Shanghai Jiao Tong University) in September, 1981.
He obtained his Ph.D. from the
Paris Diderot University (Paris 7) in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
. Chen completed his
medical residency and
postdoctoral research at the same university and its
teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-locate ...
.
Chen is former President of the
Shanghai Institute of Hematology
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
and former
Director-general of the China Human Genome Center (South) in Shanghai.
Honors and awards
Chen is an Academician of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Repub ...
, foreign associate of the
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
, foreign member of the US
Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...
, foreign member of the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at th ...
, and a member of
The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Chen is also a Member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities. He was elected an Honorary Fellows of the UK
Academy of Medical Sciences
The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society.
Its mission is to ad ...
in 2008.
Chen was awarded the State Scientific and Technological Award by the Chinese government and the "Prix de l'Qise" by "La Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer" of France (he is the first non-French winner).
In 2002, Chen received the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
from French Government. In 2005, Chen was given an honorary doctor of science by the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public university, public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest Higher education in Hong Kong, tertia ...
.
In 2010, Chen was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of the University) by the University of York, UK, at a ceremony in Beijing.
In 2012, Chen was awarded the 7th Annual
Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research
The Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, established by National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) and named in honor of Albert Szent-Györgyi, Nobel Laureate and co-founder of NFCR, has been awarded annually since 2006 to out ...
by the
National Foundation for Cancer Research
National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1973. It provides funds to cancer scientists and researchers, with the ultimate goal of a cure for cancer.
Awards
The Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progr ...
. He was elected as a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
in 2013.
In 2018, Chen was awarded the
Sjöberg Prize by the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ''“for the clarification of molecular mechanisms and the development of a revolutionary treatment for acute promyelocytic leukaemia”''. He shared the prize and the prize amount of one million US dollars with cancer researchers
Anne Dejean and Hugues de Thé.
U.S. sanctions
On Dec 8, 2020, Chen Zhu, together with all 13 other vicechairpersons
of the National People's Congress of China was designated by US Department of State as connected with
the National Security Law (NSL), pursuant to
Executive Order (E.O.) 13936, “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization.”, and added to
OFAC's SDN List.
Family
Chen Zhu's father Chen Jialun () and mother Xu Manyin () are both prominent doctors and medical professors in Shanghai. He is the eldest of three children. His youngest brother,
Chen Zhen (1955–2000), was a globally recognized artist based in France. He also has a sister named Chen Jian ().
Chen Zhu's wife
Chen Saijuan is also a well-known hematologist and an academician of the
Chinese Academy of Engineering
The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...
.
[ The couple have a son. Both Chen and his wife studied under Wang Zhenyi.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Zhu
1953 births
Living people
20th-century Chinese physicians
21st-century Chinese physicians
Biologists from Shanghai
Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party politicians
Chinese hematologists
Chinese molecular biologists
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Educators from Shanghai
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Foreign Members of the Royal Society
Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Paris Diderot University alumni
People's Republic of China politicians from Shanghai
Physicians from Shanghai
Red Cross Society of China
Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni
Shanghai Jiao Tong University faculty
Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress
Individuals sanctioned by the United States under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act
Members of the National Academy of Medicine