School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine
Research Field
Professor Hung-Rong Yen is a physician scientist. He currently serves as the Dean of College of Chinese Medicine in China Medical University and the Director of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine in China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. He earned his M.D. degree with a double major in Western and Chinese medicine at China Medical University, Taiwan. Afterward, he completed dual clinical training in Western medicine (pediatrics) and Chinese medicine in Chang Gung Children Hospital and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, respectively. He also earned his Ph.D. degree in Chang Gung University, including a 3-year research fellowship in immunology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, U.S.A. Professor Yen’s academic training and research experience have provided him with a background in multiple biomedical aspects. As a physician scientist with dual clinical training in Western medicine and Chinese medicine, he is a leading advocate of the integration of Chinese medicine into conventional care and builds bridges between doctors of all backgrounds. His clinical practice with integrative medicine teams has received 2 Symbol of National Quality (SNQ) Awards in Taiwan. His research output in Chinese herbal medicine has also received 1 National Innovation Award. It is his hope that his training in clinical and basic science could be translated to a better understanding, treatment, and prevention of immunological diseases through approaches such as Chinese medicine. Professor Yen is ranked as the "World's Top 2% Scientists" through Scopus's paper influence data, including "Life-long Science Influence Rankings” and “Single Year's Science Impact Rankings”. He is also a pioneer in innovative pedagogical practice in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) education, including TCM-OSCE and TCM online courses. His bilingual lecture "Chinese Medicine Health Promotion Wisdom in Daily Life" is the first TCM-MOOCs in China Medical University.
The Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine (RCTCM) at China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) was founded by the Departments of Medical Research and Department of Chinese Medicine in September 2013. As a physician scientist, Dr. Hung-Rong Yen takes charge of the Center and aims to bridge basic and clinical research to lead the Center towards becoming a top international traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) research center.
Dr. Hung-Rong Yen at the CMUH Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine also helped China Medical University, Taiwan to apply for the "Chinese Medicine Research Center program" grant from the Aim for the Top University Project and the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education, respectively.
The research center focuses on TCM evidence-based studies and immunoregulation studies. On the one hand, we extend the research of basic immunoregulation mechanisms to TCM clinical immunotherapy and application. We carry out TCM evidence-based research and promote the clinical research of TCM translation supported by basic research, in an effort to support TCM clinical study based on basic research on cellular and molecular immunology.
The clinical problems can be answered through research, while research work can promote clinical efficacy. Long-term research work aims to apply multidisciplinary approaches, including but not limited to the knowledge of Chinese medicine, Western medicine, epidemiology, biostatistics, cellular experiments, biochemistry, molecular biology, and immunology, as well as scientific experimental data to confirm and find out the TCM that can control the immune response, and to perform TCM evidence-based translational and clinical research, enabling the immune disease to become a preventable, treatable, and controllable chronic disease.
The studies conducted by the center combine big data-bench-bedside research, including TCM empirical study and immunoregulation study. The combination of clinical and basic research increases international visibility of TCM research, integration of Western medicine and TCM, and promotes public health and welfare.
As immune disorders have become an important issue of human health, these diseases, including allergic diseases, autoimmune diseases, infectious or inflammatory diseases, and even cancer—the common cause of death in Taiwan, are closely bound up with the immune system. However, biomedicine has limitations in the treatment of immune diseases. TCM for regulating the immune system has been documented in the literature, such as qi- or blood-supplementing herbs. For example, Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi decoction, Yu-Ping-Feng powder, astragalus, Ganoderma, Chinese yam, and atractylodes have been reported to have the ability to regulate the immunity. Therefore, the study of TCM in immunology is an area that has great potential for development.
The research center implements clinical translational studies supported by basic research in stages and works with clinicians of the TCM and Western medicine-related departments. Stage 1 covers the epidemiological study of clinical cases, clinical symptoms, and TCM syndrome differentiation, to analyze the current status and summarize the unmet needs. In Stage 2, it collaborates with clinical Chinese and Western medicine physicians in collecting clinical specimens, and analyzing the inflammatory or immune response in the patient's body. Stage 3, promotes TCM translational clinical trials assisted by basic research, supporting TCM clinical research through the basic research of cellular and molecular immunology.
The TCM immunoregulation study is a key area for the research center, especially in the field of adaptive immunity. From the perspective of TCM, the research center probes deeply into TCM immunotherapy and immunoregulation efficacy and mechanisms. Immunoregulation is one of the possible mechanisms of TCM in the treatment of diseases. Although the clinical use of TCM to treat immune disorders can achieve good results, it remains to be seen whether the balance of immunity can be precisely harnessed and whether scientific evidence-based research can support the clinical observation. The research center applies scientific evidence-based research, combining TCM, molecular biology, and immunology research methods to investigate TCM clinical efficacy and therapeutic mechanism for immune disorders.
2011：
Best Teaching Award, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan
2012：
Best Teaching Award, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan
2012-2015:
Career Developing Grant, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan
2013:
Outstanding Service Award, National Union of Chinese Medical Doctor's Association, R.O.C.
2014：
Elite Physician, China Medical University, Taiwan
2016:
The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Travel Grant for the 16th International Congress of Immunology, Melbourne, Australia
2016:
Outstanding Service Award, National Union of Chinese Medical Doctor's Association, R.O.C.
2017:
Annual Best Teacher Professional Learning Communities "TCM Clinical Teaching in English"
2017:
The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Laboratory Travel Grant for IMMUNOLOGY 2017, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
2017:
Outstanding Associate Professor Award, China Medical University, Taiwan
2018:
Contribution to the Internationalization of Chinese Medicine Award, National Union of Chinese Medical Doctor's Association, R.O.C.
2018:
Annual Best Teacher Professional Learning Communities "TCM Clinical Teaching in English"
2018：
Elite Physician, China Medical University, Taiwan
2019:
Best Online Teaching Material “Chinese Medicine Health Promotion in Daily Life”, China Medical University, Taiwan
2019:
The Symbol of National Quality Award for the "Integrating Chinese medicine and western medicine to manage pediatric growth and development" Program
2020:
Annual Best Teacher Professional Learning Communities "Innovative Pedagogical Practice in TCM Education"
2021：
Elite Physician, China Medical University, Taiwan
2022:
The Symbol of National Quality Award for the "Integrating Chinese medicine and western medicine to manage pediatric allergic disorders" Program
2022:
The National Innovation Award for "Improvement the quality of Taiwan's indigenous Chinese herbal medicine Qing-dai for autoimmunity modulation"
Education and Post-Graduate Education:
| 1990-1997 | M.D. | School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical College, Taiwan. |
| 2004-2010 | Ph.D. | Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taiwan |
| 2007-2010 | Research Fellow | Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Maryland, U.S.A. |