It has been a year for serving as the third term president of AAFMUA since last March. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all FJMU alumni and AAFMUA leaders in the United States for your enthusiastic support and unremitting efforts in the past year. Your contributions are the sources for our organizational great success. Here I would like to present you the major activities of AAFMUA in the past year.
Scientific and clinical exchange between FJMU and AAFMUA
One of our important missions is to promote the exchanges of clinical medicine, education, and biomedical research between FJMU and universities in U.S.A. Many of our alumni strongly support this mission.
In the past year, Dr. Shidu Yan accepted a new postdoc, Dr. Fang Fang from Union Hospital to work in her Lab. Dr. Yan has sponsored and trained five postdocs in the past few years. Most of them have been gone back to FJMU and they are now important forces in research in FJMU. Dr. Ke Zhang has research cooperation with Dr. Yuanzhong Chen and is currently training a postdoc fellow, Dr. Xuwei Yang. Dr. Lurong Zhang has recently accepted a postdoc fellow from the second affiliated hospital. She has long been a strong supporter to FJMU and AAFMUA. Dr. Taosheng Huang at UC Irvine is currently training a postdoc from FJMU, Dr. Xianhe Xie. Dr. Huang is an expert on pediatric genetics, and is also an outstanding physician Scientist. Dr. Zhenmin Lei, an outstanding alumnus has trained several alumni scientists and some of them are now playing the key role in research and teaching in FJMU. Dr. Lei is currently training two postdocs from FJMU, Jing Lin, M.D., Ph.D. from Dept. of Histology and Embryology, and Fangping Yuan, M.D. from Dept. of Pathology. Dr. Zaodung Lin, Associate Professor of Rush University is currently supervising and training 4 PhD student and postdocs from FJMU. Dr. Jizhen Lin’s lab has accepted a research fellow, Dr. Chuan Wang, from the Union Hospital, Department of Oncology. Dr. Wang is Secretary of Fujian Anti-Cancer Association. Dr. Lin also has research collaboration with Dr. Yuan-Zhong Chen’s laboratory. He also has research collaboration with Dept. of Otolaryngology helping them in manuscript preparation, grant application, reagents and technical support. etc. Dr. Lin’s contribution to FJMU has been greatly appreciated. We strongly believe that these academic exchanges will significantly benefit both FMU and research institutes in U.S.A.
AAFMUA also introduces U.S. alumni to FJMU when they visit Fujian. Visiting the alma mater has become an excellent opportunity to promote academic exchanges. In the past year, there were at least 13 of our alumni who visited FJMU or affiliated hospitals to present scientific seminars or exchange clinical experience. They are Drs. Minggui Pan, Quinrui Ye, Xiaonian Zheng, Gong Chen, Suhe Wang, Shifang Yan, Yi-Shun Lin, Wei Zheng, Che Fang, Yonghua Zhu, Wei Guo, Ronglan Zheng and Hong Shi. These academic activities will undoubtedly enhance the research and clinical work in FJMU. Drs. Ronglan Zheng and Hong Shi also donated textbooks to FJMU and gave their advisory suggestion on teaching as well as clinical training in Rehabilitation Medicine.
In the past year AAFMUA also very successfully organized a research grant review committee to review 18 research grant applications submitted to AAFMUA. Based on the research projects 17 of our alumni who are experts in the relevant research fields served as grants reviewers. Many of these reviewers have extensive grant review experience in U.S government agencies as well as research foundations. Each grant was reviewed by two reviewers in The U.S. and two experts in China. According to the final results total of 2.82 millions RMB are awarded to 11 grants which are all in our top ranking. Our work has been highly appreciated by FJMU. For confidential reason I could not reveal their names but I am deeply grateful for their highly responsible attitude and their expertise. I believe that we have many outstanding alumni in many research and clinical fields which would enable us to make great contribution to FJMU in the future.
There are many ways to help FJMU. Many of our alumni donated reagents, textbooks, medical instruments to FJMU. These alumni at least include Drs. Lieping Chen, Lurong Zhang, Ken Chen, Zao-dung Lin and Xiaonian Zheng, Ronglan Zheng and Hong Shi. Some of our alumni have submitted papers to Journal of FJMU for publication; they are Drs. Yishun Lin, Fan Lin, etc. As consultants of the President of FJMU Drs. Lieping Chen and Kunping Lu have also given the FJMU very constructive suggestion. The FJMU research grant application evaluation in USA was one of their great contributions. Drs. Ken Chen and Kunping Lu also invited Dr. Yiping Jiang, Director of Scientific Research Department of FJMU, to visit their labs and established the cooperation relationship.
Recommendation of Guest Professors to FJMU
The Recommendation Committee for Guest Professor of FMU led by Drs. Lieping Chen, Tongchuan Li and Zhengbo Huang had recommended 5 alumni, Drs. Ronglan Zheng, Yonghuan Zhu, Weiping Qin, Yanyu Sun and Weihen Chen, as well as two non-alumni professors, Drs. Jing-Kuan Yee and Ren-Jang Lin at City of Hope National Medical Center to FMU and they were appointed as Guest Professors. Dr. Xiaonian Zheng at Rush University was also appointed as Guest Professor during his visit at FJMU. Dr. Xiaonian Zheng is a strong supporter to AAFMUA and FJMU. During his visit at FJMU he gave two seminars and donated medical instruments to the affiliated hospitals. AAFMUA will recommend new candidates to FJMU soon according to The Regulation for FMU Guest Professor Appointment (see www.fjmufriend.com). I would like to point out that in the past 3 years AAFMUA has recommended 4 non-alumni to FJMU and they are appointed as Guest Professors. These non-alumni Guest Professors are all outstanding scientists in different research fields and willing to help FJMU. Dr. Delong Liu, Assistant Professor and Attending Physician of New York Medical College accepted and financially supported a visiting scholar, Dr. Xudong Ma, a FJMU alumna from Fujian to work in his lab and participated in clinical rounds. Dr. Yangxin Fu, Professor of University of Chicago, gave research seminar in FJMU affiliated hospital during his visit last year and is going to attend a research symposium in FJMU in April, 2005. Dr. Ren-Jang Lin is also going to attend the Research Symposium in April. We believe that the non-alumni Guest Professors are another important source for promoting the academic and clinical development in FJMU and we will continue to recommend high quality non-alumni to FJMU for guest professor appointment. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Drs. Lieping Chen and De-fu Zeng for their effort to introduce these outstanding scientists to FJMU, and my thanks to Drs. Zheng-Bo Huang and Tongchuan Li for their superb job in AAFMUA.
Introduction of new outstanding Alumni
AAFMUA is very proud of its alumni. In the past year we were very happy to introduce another 4 outstanding alumni on our website (www.fjmufriend.com). Thanks for our Vice President, Dr. Minggui Pan’s great effort the third issue of “Outstanding Alumni” provides a window to let everybody in the world have a chance to get to know Drs. Zao-Dung Lin, He Li, Ke Zhang and Tongchuan Li. All of them have excellent academic records and have long been strong supporters to AAFMUA and FJMU. Drs. Zao-dung Lin, He Li and Ke Zhang are all associate professors in the well known Universities. They have all accepted scholars or students from FJMU and have scientific cooperation with FJMU. They have all made significant contribution to our organization and our alma mater. Dr. Tongchuan Li is one of founders of AAFMUA and is well known to our alumni for his great contribution to our organization. In addition to being an excellent scientist, he has also an outstanding community activist. No doubt, we have many outstanding alumni in the different fields. AAFMUA will continue to introduce more outstanding alumni to the outside world.
Alumni Services
Another important mission of the AAFMUA is to serve our alumni. Owing to the great effort by Dr. Yishun Lin, Vice President of AAFMUA, we have successfully solved the website problemwhich prevented the alumni in China to access our web. Now our alumni in China can freelybrows the web again. Dr. Lin has recently redesigned the web page and made it moreprofessional looking. In the past year AAFMUA was also very fortunate to have Dr.Yiqun Bao to join us and serve as Associate Director of Information Services of AAFMUA. With theirenthusiastic support and frequently updated web site more and more FJMU alumni, either in U.S.A. or abroad, get to know our organization.
Thanks for Dr. Yiwu Huang and Ken Chen for their superb job in updating Alumni Directory, which makes our alumni information updated and bring us more closely to each other. A new update directory is also preparing and will be available soon. We would like our alumni who have changed their email addresses and phone numbers to email us your new information so that AAFMUA can deliver the massage to you and your friends can reach you with more convenience.
Last year AAFMUA invited a delegation from FJMU to USA. We were grateful for Drs. Ronglan Zheng, Ke Zhang and De-fu Zeng’s wonderful job to make two welcome parties in New York and Los Angles very successfully. More than 50 alumni from several states attended the party in Dr. Ronglan’s home in NY and more than 10 alumni participated in the welcome party in Dr. De-fu Zeng’s home in LA. In Chinese New Year, we also had unforgettable night at Drs. Shi-du Yan and Xi Chen’s home. The delicious food and Karaoke made everyone hesitate in leaving, the party started at 5 pm and lasted until almost midnight!
In addition to Holiday greetings, in the past year AAFMUA also sent alumni some interesting emails including Health information and several beautiful and very enjoyable images provided by Drs. Tongchuan Li and Ronglan Zheng. AAFMUA encourage our alumni to share any interesting and beneficial information, articles, images, etc. We will highly appreciate your contribution.
Other AAFMUA activities
Our Treasurers Drs. Ling Zheng and Yi-Wu Huang (also Vice President), who are in charge of finance management of AAFMUA, also have done an excellent job with bookkeeping. Dr. Ling Zheng also helped in organizing alumni activities in New York City. Dr. Yi-wu Huang, an outstanding oncologist has been interviewed with BBC station and provided updated knowledge for audience. He has also published his second book on oncology. Our Honorary President Dr. Tongchuan Li has spent the tremendous amount of time and energy in drafting the Bylaw of Dr. Shen Yun-Ying Foundation which will help the excellent students with financial hardship in FJMU. We are now in the final step of editing the Bylaw and hoping that it will go into effect in the fall 2005. We are looking forward to everyone’s support to this great and very meaningful project, since this is a wonderful way to express our appreciation and a sincere feedback to our Alma Mater. Dr. Minggui Pan, Vice President, has contributed a lot to AAFMUA. In addition to the above work mentioned, he also established a communication channel to Journal of FJMU and organized our alumni to submit papers to the Journal and has made many constructive suggestions to AAFMUA.
It goes without saying that the great success achieved by AAFMUA will not be possible without the continuous support by our alumni. Many of our alumni who I do not mention above have been actively participating in a variety of activities and contributing their precious time and money to support the organization. Last year several alumni have paid life membership to support AAFMUA (please visit www.fjmufriend.com for details). I strongly encourage our alumni to actively participate in the AAFMUA activity and welcome your comments and suggestion to improve our work. Best of all, we work as a team, a strong, united and efficient team, for our great missions.
Ruoqing Huang, M.D., Ph.D.
AAFMUA President