Prince Mahidol Award Conference 2007
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla 1892-1929 CONTENTS Page Welcoming Address to the Honorary Lectures 6 Schedule of the Special Lectures by the Prince Mahidol Awardees 20079 His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla 11 The Prince Mahidol Award &oundation 17 ÃÒ§ÇÑÅÊÁà´ç¨à¨Ò¿ÒÁËÔ´Å 19 µÃÒÊÒÃÁŹ٠¸Ô ÃÒ§ÇÔ ÅÊÁà´Ñ ¨à¨ç Ò¿ ÒÁË ´ÅÔ ã¹¾ÃкÃÁÃÒª»¶Ù ÁÀÑ 22 Members of Board of Trustees 29 Previous Prince Mahidol Awardees (1992 - 2006) 31 Prince Mahidol Awardees 200747 Professor Axel Ullrich 48 Professor Basil Stuart Hetzet 50 Dr. Sanduk Ruit 52 List of the Prince Mahidol Awardees Who Already Passed Away 55 Editorial Committee 56 5 WELCOMING ADDRESS TO THE HONORARY LECTURES BY THE 2007 PRINCE MAHIDOL AWARDEES by Teerawat Kulthanant, M.D. Dean and Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery &aculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University Professor Axel Ullrich, Professor Basil Stuart Hetzel, Dr Sanduk Ruit, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. On the behalf of the &aculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, I would like to welcome all of you to honor the 2007 Prince Mahidol Awardees. Professor Axel Ullrich is the Awardee in the field of Medicine; Professor Basil Stuart Hetzel and Dr Sanduk Ruit, in the field of Public Health. 6 The Prince Mahidol Award &oundation was established under the Royal Patronage on January 1st, 1992 to annually recognize individuals or institutions producing significant contributions to the advancement in the fields of medicine, public health and social services, throughout the world. The Award is to commemorate the Centenary of HRH Prince Mahidol of Songkla, the &ather of His Majesty the King, Bhumibol Adulyadej and the &ather of Modern Medicine of Thailand. Thus far, The Prince Mahidol Awards have been conferred to 45 awardees from 21 countries all over the world. &or 2007, 69 nominees from 35 countries were submitted. After careful consideration, the Board of Trustees, presided over by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, arrived to the decision. The Award in the field of Medicine goes to Professor Axel Ullrich, Director of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany. He is recognized for his continuing study of molecular mechanisms of cancer and his pioneering work in the concept of targeted cancer therapy. His discovery of the breast cancer oncogene the HER2/c-erbB2 gene, allowed further development of monoclonal antibodies to HER2. Subsequently, the humanized forms of the antibodies Trastuzumab or Herceptin, were produced and have been used successfully in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Since breast cancer is the most common cancer among women around the world, Professor Ullrichs contribution has therefore opened a new era of targeted cancer therapy not only to breast cancer but also to other types of cancer. The Awards in the field of Public Health go to Professor Basil Stuart Hetzel, Honorary President of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD), Australia and Dr Sanduk Ruit, Medical Director of the Tilganga Eye Center of Kathmandu, Nepal. Professor Basil Stuart Hetzel is recognized for his long and enduring work on the effect of iodine deficiency on the development of fetal central nervous system. He was among the first to show that iodine deficiency during pregnancy could lead to endemic cretinism and mental retardation among affected infants. By providing iodine to women during their reproductive period, such affliction could be readily averted. The International Council of Iodine Deficiency or ICCIDD, were founded by Professor Hetzel. The Council has helped promote comprehensive of iodized salt food industries and livestock sectors in approximately 100 countries. Professor Hetzels endeavors have made significant contribution to human population around the world, including Thailand. 7 Dr Sanduk Ruit from Nepal is also the other Awardee in the field of Public Health. Dr Ruit is a pioneer in the development of an effective suture-less cataract operation. Such technique allows rapid operations to be performed for a large number of patients in remote locations. He also collaborated in producing lower cost of high quality intraocular lenses to be used with the suture-less technique. With his mobile eye clinics, not only patients from Nepal and Himalayan regional but also patients from China, India, to Vietnam have benefited from his innovations. Besides, Dr Ruit and his team have trained more than 500 eye surgeons and personnel on such cost-effective and portable eye surgery technique, resulting in more than 35 millions cataract operations around the world. Without any further undue, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome you special lectures from our honorary Prince Mahidol Awardees. 8 The Special Lectures by the Prince Mahidol Awardees 2007 January 29, 2008 At the Rajapattayalai Auditorium Conference Room 4aculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University Bangkok, Thailand 1.30 pm Welcome Ceremony 1.35 pm Opening address by Clinical Professor Teerawat Kulthanan Dean of the &aculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital 1.40 pm History and Results of the Prince Mahidol Award 2007 by Clinical Professor Supat Vanichakarn, Secretary General of the Prince Mahidol Award &oundation 1.50 pm Prince Mahidol Awardees 2007 Lecture: Target-specific cancer therapy for breast cancer by Professor Axel Ullrich introduced by Professor Supakorn Rojananin 2.15 pm Prince Mahidol Awardees 2007 Lecture: Towards the Global Elimination of Brain Damage due to Iodine Deficiency by Professor Basil Stuart Hetzel introduced by Assistant Professor Thavatchai Peerapatdit 2.40 pm Prince Mahidol Awardees 2007 Lecture: Preventive Ophthalmology by Dr. Sanduk Ruit introduced by Associate Professor Apichart Singalavanija 3.05 pm Questions and Answers 3.15 pm Closing Ceremony by Clinical Professor Teerawat Kulthanan Dean of the &aculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital 3.30 pm High tea 9 His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla 1892-1929 HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE MAHIDOL O4 SONGKLA His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla was born on January 1 st, 1892, to Their Majesties King Chulalongkorn and Queen Savang Vadhana. He was brought up in his formative years according to the Royal Thai tradition and ordained as a Buddhist novice like his brothers before receiving his education at Harrow, a renowned Public School in England. He then proceeded to Germany to continue his studies in accordance with the wishes of his father who was a close friend of Emperor William II. Prince Mahidol first attended the Royal Prussian Military Preparatory College at Potsdam which also offered courses on humanities and sciences in addition to military science. This liberal education background as well as self-study and sedulous visits to museums during that period together helped to form the intellectual and philosophical basis of his attitude and personality. Prince Mahidol subsequently attended the Imperial Military Academy at Gross Lichterfelde in Berlin for two more years. He then followed the wishes of His Majesty King Vajiravudh by entering the Nurwik Imperial German Naval Academy at &lensbourg in 1912. In that year, Prince Mahidol was commissioned by His Majesty King Vajiravudh as Lieutenant in the Royal Thai Navy. He was concurrently commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Imperial German Navy. Prince Mahidol completed his naval study but was prevented from joining the Imperial German Navy since he was instructed by His Majesty King Vajiravudh to return to Thailand at the outbreak of the &irst World War. After a years service in the Royal Thai Navy, Prince Mahidol resigned, with His Majesty King Vajiravudhs permission, to pursue a civilian career. This was both the decisive turning point in his personal life and a momentous national event signalling his lasting contributions to the advancement of higher education, especially in the fields of basic sciences, public health, medicine, nursing and medical research. Prince Mahidol had noted, while serving in the Royal Thai Navy, the serious need for improvement in the standard of medical practitioners and public health in Thailand. In undertaking such mission, Prince Mahidol set in motion a whole range of activities in accordance with his conviction that human resources development at the national level was of utmost importance and his belief that improvement of public health constituted an essential factor in national development. One of his primary tasks was to lay a solid foundation for teaching basic sciences which Prince Mahidol pursued through all necessary measures. These included the provision of a considerable sum of his own money as scholarships for six talented students to study physics, chemistry and biology in England. Upon 12 H.R.H. Prince Mahidol with H.R.H. The Princess Mother and his daughter Princess Galyani Vadhana their return, these students formed the core of well-qualified teaching staff in basic sciences which the country had hitherto lacked. Once the teaching of basic sciences was well established, the teaching of other fields of applied sciences was upgraded. Here, Prince Mahidol placed special emphasis on medical education, public health, nursing, and medical research. His initiative and effort produced a most remarkable and lasting impact on the improvement of modern medicine and public health in Thailand such that he was subsequently honoured with the title of &ather of Modern Medicine and Public Health. In implementing his plan for institutional development in these areas, Prince Mahidol decided to study public health and medicine himself. Upon leaving the Royal Thai Navy, he proceeded to the United States and enrolled at Harvard University in 1916. In spite of having to shuttle between Harvard for his study and 13 Thailand for his official duties and work as well as his ill health, Prince Mahidol managed to concentrate on his study. He succeeded and received the Certificate of Public Health in 1921, the degree of Doctor of Medicine (cum laude) in 1928 and the honour of Alpha Omega Alpha membership.