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Professor Tsui, who is the first person in Hong Kong elected a Foreign Associate, will join other previously elected NAS members from the Mainland and Taiwan. Among them are noted Chinese mathematician Chern Shing-shen; Former President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Zhou Guangzhou; Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Chen Zhu, and Nobel Laureate & chemist Yuan-Tseh Lee from Taiwan's Academia Sinica. Other past elected members include noted economist Milton Friedman and Nobel Laureate and mathematician John F. Nash Jr.
Professor Tsui was elected today as one of 18 foreign associates from 13 countries and 72 new members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Foreign associates are those with citizenship outside the United States. Today's election brings the total number of foreign associates to 351.
The election was held last night at the 141st annual meeting of the Academy. Election to membership in the Academy is considered one of the highest honours that can be accorded a scientist. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to over 2,300, of whom more than 180 have won Nobel Prizes.
In its citation for the election, the Academy said Professor Tsui, who became Vice-Chancellor of HKU in September 2002, "made major contributions to the mapping, cloning, and characterization of the gene mutated in cystic fibrosis as well as the molecular genetics of this common genetic disorder."
In 1985 Professor Tsui found the first DNA marker linked to the disease locus for cystic fibrosis, a common genetic disease in the Caucasian population.
In 1989, Professor Tsui and his colleagues painstakingly identified the gene and the major mutation causing this disorder. His pioneering research has opened up a new approach to tracing the source of genetic diseases.
"I am very honoured at being elected to the National Academy of Sciences," said Professor Tsui. "I hope my election will spur others in my field to vigorously continue their scientific research which will benefit all mankind," he added.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Under a United States congressional charter in 1863, the Academy has a mandate to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters.
To keep pace with the growing roles that science and technology would play in public life, the institution that was founded in 1863 eventually expanded to include the National Research Council in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering in 1964, and the Institute of Medicine in 1970. Collectively, the four organizations are known as the National Academies.
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Note to Editors: Further details about the awards and past elected members may be obtained from http://www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf/leftnav/Membership_Overview?OpenDocument
For further enquiries, please contact Ms. Polo Leung of the External Relations Office at 2859 2600.
HKU Vice-Chancellor Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences in United States of America
21 Apr 2004
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in its 141st Annual Meeting today (April 20) in Washington, D.C.
Professor Tsui, who is the first person in Hong Kong elected a Foreign Associate, will join other previously elected NAS members from the Mainland and Taiwan. Among them are noted Chinese mathematician Chern Shing-shen; Former President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Zhou Guangzhou; Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Chen Zhu, and Nobel Laureate & chemist Yuan-Tseh Lee from Taiwan's Academia Sinica. Other past elected members include noted economist Milton Friedman and Nobel Laureate and mathematician John F. Nash Jr.
Professor Tsui was elected today as one of 18 foreign associates from 13 countries and 72 new members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Foreign associates are those with citizenship outside the United States. Today's election brings the total number of foreign associates to 351.
The election was held last night at the 141st annual meeting of the Academy. Election to membership in the Academy is considered one of the highest honours that can be accorded a scientist. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to over 2,300, of whom more than 180 have won Nobel Prizes.
In its citation for the election, the Academy said Professor Tsui, who became Vice-Chancellor of HKU in September 2002, "made major contributions to the mapping, cloning, and characterization of the gene mutated in cystic fibrosis as well as the molecular genetics of this common genetic disorder."
In 1985 Professor Tsui found the first DNA marker linked to the disease locus for cystic fibrosis, a common genetic disease in the Caucasian population.
In 1989, Professor Tsui and his colleagues painstakingly identified the gene and the major mutation causing this disorder. His pioneering research has opened up a new approach to tracing the source of genetic diseases.
"I am very honoured at being elected to the National Academy of Sciences," said Professor Tsui. "I hope my election will spur others in my field to vigorously continue their scientific research which will benefit all mankind," he added.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Under a United States congressional charter in 1863, the Academy has a mandate to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters.
To keep pace with the growing roles that science and technology would play in public life, the institution that was founded in 1863 eventually expanded to include the National Research Council in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering in 1964, and the Institute of Medicine in 1970. Collectively, the four organizations are known as the National Academies.
* * * * *
Note to Editors: Further details about the awards and past elected members may be obtained from http://www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf/leftnav/Membership_Overview?OpenDocument
For further enquiries, please contact Ms. Polo Leung of the External Relations Office at 2859 2600.
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