About
Research and Innovation
To speed up the application of experiment result on clinical healthcare, CMUH has established the Department of Medical Research in 1996 to regularly appropriate research and development funding each year and encourage all medical units of CMUH to engage in the research. CMUH now owns many doctors in fundamental medicine who combine the clinical and fundamental medicine for in-depth discussion.
Apart from signing cooperation contract with University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for involvement in cancer research, other key research fields include genetics and gene therapy, proteome, molecular medicine, Chinese Materia Medica, and stem cells. The research projects carried out throughout the years and the research papers published have rapidly grown in both quantity and quality.
Currently the “Comprehensive Medical Centers” of CMUH not only offers patient oriented medical services, considerable design of medical process, complete and comprehensive medical care to patients but also substantially improve the research quality of CMUH through interdisciplinary clinical and fundamental integration.
The “Comprehensive Medical Centers” of CMUH include: Cancer Center, Cerebral Stroke Center, Cardiovascular Center, Organ Transplantation Center, Trauma and Emergency Center, Preventive Medicine Center, Renal Care Center, and International Medical Service Center.
CMUH has established the “Center for Molecular Medicine” in June, 1996, followed by establishing 9 research centers for local disease since August, 1999, including: Biomedical Technology Research Center, L5 Research Center, Sex Hormone Research Center, Chinese Medicine Translational Research Center, Center for Molecular Medicine, Translational (Brain Science) Medical Research Center, Mind-Body Interface Lab, Center for Psychiatric & Addictive Medicine, and Translational Medicine Research Center. These centers not only improve the research competitiveness of CMUH but also upgrade CMUH research to the international standard
CMUH “Comprehensive Medical Centers,” “Research Centers” and “Integrated Research Projects” all resolve around biomarker discovery, from translational medicine and clinical trial to the process from research to application, and industry innovation and biomedical engineering including portfolio biotech, medicine and equipment product development. The centers aim to activate the exquisite idea of personalized medicine and objective in developing health industry.
Biomarker Discovery for Personalized Medicine
The mystery about medicine is regarded as artistic conduct rather than pure and rigid numeric (science). The reason lies on the variation in patient symptoms and reactions to medicine. The supporting data from clinical collection must also undergo systematic integration and analytical application.
Diseases are the mutual and cross influence of multiple factors. All medical professionals of CMUH recognize that the effective management of disease must rely on the systematical analysis of various biomarkers for formation. With regards to the pathological mechanism for disease, biomarker research allows us to gain in-depth understanding of reasons forming disease, including genetics, infection, environment, or immune factors. The research on “biomarker” requires multiple disciplines, integration of different knowledge and rigid clinical proof. 。
CMUH profoundly understand that “biomarker” and more research are needed for CMUH to develop personalized medicine, which all be completed through rigid clinical trial. This process ins known as translational medicine and translational research.
In the future, the application of biomarker will help clinical diagnosis and treatment application, while maintaining close relation with each patient, namely “personalized medicine.”
Bilateral Pivot for Translational Medicine to combine research and application –Benefits of Constructive Feedback
“Translational medicine research” generally refers to the medicine research based on fundamental research, clinical research, and patients.
China Medical University clearly specifies the objectives of translational medicine research and content of product R&D. The most important mission in translational medicine is the implementation of effective application for clinical trial and biomarkers under fast, effective, and conformity with economic benefits. Practicing Excellence – Setting the Standard
Practicing Excellence – Setting the Standard
The Translational Medical Center carries out translational clinical research work, develops stem cell therapy with enthusiasm, gene therapy and new drug development, and establishes new therapies for various neurological diseases. For example, the biological technology and application of stem cell therapy are used to cure the various neurological diseases, including acute and chronicle cerebral strokes, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, brain injury, spinal cord injury, motor neurons or brain injury patients and other disease application. The research outcome is applied to clinical care. We have passed the clinical trial for allogeneic stem cell transplantation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Taiwan and the United States, in addition to completing six cases of phase-I human trial for treatment on cerebral stroke patients.
2010 In 2010, the Translational Medical Center received the “Translational Medical and Agricultural Talent Cultivation Pilot Program” from the Ministry of Education, where the medical team unfolded the pass-down of experience, including the research prior to clinical trial, stem cell distribution, building of clean room formulation and validation prepared by standards, stem cell collection, purification, quality control, and the standardized surgery for stem cell intracerebral transplantation, post-surgery patient follow-up and validation techniques, and the report writing for the outcome analysis on safety and validity in Phase II stem cell clinical trial. CMUH fully devotes in developing and promoting talents required in different fields of regenerative medicine and applies research outcome to clinical care through industry-academia collaboration.
Department of Medical Genetics – Human Genes Laboratory is devoted to applying molecular biological technology to analyze the various genetic diseases of Taiwanese people and has discovered over 60 new mutation points, establishing a complete local mutation point data for Taiwan’s genetics disease and provide the best support for patients’ clinical diagnosis. By the end of 2002, the lab was awarded with National Biotechnology Medical Quality Award.
Trial and Success
The process of validating “biomarker” requires rigorous clinical trial and utilization of biomedical information system integration. The cooperation with China Medical University biomedical information system not only covers the various clinical fields but also takes account of the fields in fundamental medicine and public health.
The research team of China Medical University profoundly perceives that the genetic factor for disease is not single but the interaction between multiple factors. Apart from genetic factors, the occurrence of disease is also subject to the influence from food, drinks, environment or the source of infection. We utilize effective biomedical information system to analyze and understand these interactions in order to effectively understand the formation of cause and pathogenic mechanism for diseases.
CMUH integrates the new drug clinical trial center and Chinese medicine clinical trial center into a General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and later adjusted to Clinical Trials Center (CTC) in February 2008 with funding for a 4-year project on “Clinical Trial and Research Center of Excellence” from the Bureau of Health Promotion, Executive Yuan.
CMUH will continue to strengthen the function of Clinical Trials Center to conform to international standards and cooperate with overseas well-known pharmaceutical company or biotech companies in order to carry out different stages of transnational clinical trials and industry-academia collaboration.
Practicing Excellence – Setting the Standard
The Trauma and Emergency Center cooperated with world-top Baltimore Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore of Maryland in U.S.A. and participated in the international clinical trial for recombinant factor VIIa. In 2008, CMUH has been awarded with the special honor in silver prize for National Biotechnology Medical Quality Award.
The Cerebral Stroke Center applies integrated fundamental and translational research in attempt to develop effective stroke stem cell therapy. Currently the center has completed Phase II autonomous peripheral hematopoietic stem cell for treatment of chronic strokes, with 30 patients participating in the clinical trials and excellent preliminary results. Cerebral stroke patients are able to stand up again and take care of themselves through the regeneration of cerebral spinal cord nerves.
China Medical University and the foundation of CMUH are based on the development of Chinese medicine, developing think slices of new drug BP releasing-agent tablet through artificial synthetic technology to prepare small molecules separated from angelica into medicine. Currently CMUH has finished the small-scale pharmaceutical production used for clinical patients with implementation of drug stability test and acute pathological test.
Industrial Innovation and Development
"Translational research" and "biomarker" development interact with "clinical trial" successfully to assist with the development of biomedical industry or pharmaceutical industry.
More specifically speaking from the industry dimension: The objective of translational medicine research aims to develop products with commercial value (i.e. drugs or test agents) and develop effective identification method to find out the new key reference on “diagnosis” and “treatment (i.e. diagnostic marker and prognostic marker)…etc.).
The medicine development from China Medical University features different stages and procedures with different trial processes from R&D discovery to products release. The application of biomarker can assist with process with more convenience and rapid progress. The continuous success in acquiring research funds and technological transfer licensing by CMUH is the best proof of industry innovation and development potential.
Practicing Excellence – Setting the Standard
Neuropsychiatric Research Center has completed 10 industry-academia collaboration projects and two technology transfers in stem cell therapy for cerebral strokes and new drug development for therapy on malignant tumor works since its foundation in 2006.
Biomedical engineering emphasizes on portfolio biotechnology, drugs and device product development - Combining Wisdom and Power
China Medical University specifically emphasizes on “portfolio products” and POC (point of care, fixed point care and diagnosis) device. The introduction of these devices and technologies change the concept and process of clinical trial while indirectly help with the timeliness of “biomarker” development.
“Portfolio product” is one new product concept. In conventional single biotechnological or pharmaceutical product development, verification and quality control have demonstrated considerably mature specification and experience. When these distinctive products are presented in a portfolio, there are still some complex issues and challenges to be faced. China Medical University cooperates with National Chiao Tung University and Central Taiwan Science Park to form a “rectangle,” where National Chiao Tung University focuses on engineering R&D, China Medical University focuses on fundamental research, CMUH focuses on clinical care, and the science park focuses on product design. These four units divide labor and work to supplement each other and fully push China Medical University and CMUH into the biomedical industries.
Practicing Excellence – Setting the Standard
Translational Medical Center not only implements the chip transplantation for Parkinson’s disease but also continues developing the feasibility of treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, cerebral palsy, dystonia, dementia, epilepsy, drug addiction, and other neurological and psychiatric diseases with chips. The transplantation for Parkinson’s disease must be considerably precise and currently the center is developing brain position system. (Brain position system)。
Chinese Medicine Diagnosis Research Center proactively develops modern Chinese medicine diagnosis instrument, including electro-conductive meridian instrument, tongue diagnosis electronic photography analyzer, electronic pulse measurement system, auscultation and smelling voice analyzer, and nail fold microcirculation computer analyzer in attempt to accomplish the objectives “Chinese medicine modernization and scientification.”
The Department of Dentistry is devoted in the development of口腔癌超頻譜篩檢儀之開發 and can effectively establish oral cavity cancer database through cancerating the protein spectrum information of relevant genes. The research team screens and discovers normal tissues separated from tumor tissues through the scanning of more 切片 and database establishment in attempt to establish fast and effective diagnosis of molecular image biomarkers for therapy.