Zhu Jiming (; 12 September 1917 – 6 January 1998), better known in English as Chi-Ming Chu, was a Chinese virologist. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Science and an Honorary Member of the American Society for Microbiology.

Early life and education

Chu was born 12 September 1917 in

Yixing Yixing () is a county-level city administrated under the prefecture-level city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, China, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. The city is known for its traditional Yixing clay ware tea pots. It is a pene-excla ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

, China. He attended

Shanghai Medical College The Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, formerly the independent Shanghai Medical University, is one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in China. Clinical medicine of the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University is c ...

and graduated in 1939. He gained his PhD in 1948 from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Career

Chu's career spanned from classical

virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

to the era of molecular virology. His research on

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

viruses included work on virus structure, surveillance and subunit vaccine development. He also worked on

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

, attenuated viral vaccines, recombinant

hepatitis B virus ''Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) is a partially double-stranded DNA virus, a species of the genus ''Orthohepadnavirus'' and a member of the ''Hepadnaviridae'' family of viruses. This virus causes the disease hepatitis B. Disease Despite there bein ...

(HBV) vaccines and

vaccinia ''Vaccinia virus'' (VACV or VV) is a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 kbp in length, which encodes approximately 250 genes. The dimensions of the ...

viral vectors Viral vectors are tools commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material into cells. This process can be performed inside a living organism (''in vivo'') or in cell culture (''in vitro''). Viruses have evolved specialized molecul ...

. Chu was the first head of the World Influenza Centre (WIC) at the

National Institute for Medical Research The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR b ...

at Mill Hill (London) from 1948 to 1950. The WIC was established by the

World Health Organisation The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

as a result of a meeting at the 4th International Congress of Microbiology, held in 1947. After returning to China in 1950 he worked at the National Vaccine and Serum Institute (Beijing) before moving to the National Institute of Biologicals in Changchun and then the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine (CAPM). At the end of his life Dr. Chu was a member of the Chinese Academy of Science, an Academician of the British Royal Institute for Internal Medicine, an Honorary Member of the American Society for Microbiology and Honorary Director of the Institute of Virology. Chu was engaged in influenza virus research from 1945 to 1984. Among his contributions, Dr. Chu discovered the filamentous form of influenza virus and was the first to report its variability in ''Lancet'' in 1949. Chu's work on influenza viruses was important for later work on virus detection and the worldwide program of influenza virus surveillance. He discovered the Chu inhibitor, the filamentous property of influenza viruses, and the origins of the 1957 and 1977 influenza pandemics. He appeared in a 1997 documentary explaining his research. Chi-Ming Chu's personal motto was “Only by simplifying your everyday life and suppressing your desire for material things can you reach your goals. Only a calm mind and absence of anxiety will grant you broad vision”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, Chi-Ming 1917 births 1998 deaths Alumni of the University of Cambridge Biologists from Jiangsu Chinese virologists Fudan University alumni Influenza researchers Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences People from Yixing Scientists from Wuxi Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom