1. Career Development Seminar Organized by SABPA
A Career Development Seminar & Panel Discussion was organized by SABPA on January 24, 2004 at Institute of Americas, UCSD. A variety of topics regarding career development were discussed from the points of view of employers, managers, workers, minorities, headhunters and self-employed entrepreneurs. Invited speakers and panelists were Kurt Roggin (Pfizer), Jun Wang (GenBase), Rob Mayers (Yoh Scientifc) and Frank Hong (Allergan). The event Chairman was Yun He. More than 200 SABPA members, including 60-70 new members participated the seminar and discussion.
2. SABPA Community Service Awards
The most recent SABPA Community Service Awards have been handed to Dr. Ying Li (2002-2003 award) and Dr. Hui Li (2003-2004 award) on January 24, 2004 for their extraordinary contribution to SABPA and the community. Ying was the first Secretary and first Treasurer of SABPA. She has made major contribution to event organizing and numerous everyday activities. Hui is the VP of SABPA and the Chair of Fund Raising Committees with significant contributions to SABPA fund raising and event organizing.
3. Announcement of SABPA Organization
The organization of the current SABPA leadership teams was announced on January 24, 2004 during the Career Development Seminar by the SABPA Ppresident Zhenping Wu. The members of the teams include Vice Presidents Xiaolin Li (Communications), Hui Cai (External Relations), Hui Li (Fund Raising), Yun He (Membership and Career Development), Wei-Guo Su (Science and Technology), Xiangming Fang (China/Pacific Affairs), Lang Lin (Social Events), Secretary Holly Yin and Treasurer Xiao-Xing Liao. The current team has been actively involved in all SABPA events since September 2003.
4. Co-sponsorship to the Hong Kong Investment Luncheon
A luncheon seminar titled “Business Opportunity in Hong Kong” was organized by San Diego World Trade Center at San Diego La Jolla Marriott on Thursday, January 29,2004. SABPA has co-sponsored this event. For more information, please visit SABPA website http://www.sabpa.org/Events/SDWTCFlyer.doc
5. Golden Monkey Celebration for 2004 Chinese New Year
A special show of "Golden Monkey Celebration" was organized by San Diego Hua Xia Chinese School, Inc. (SDHXCS) to celebrate the 2004 Chinese New Year. The show was performed at Madison High School on February 13, 2004. SABPA was a co-sponsor of this event. Please visit http://www.sdhxcs.org for details of the show and future activities of SDHXCS.
6. 2004 Taiwan-US Biotechnology Forum
The 2004 Taiwan-US Biotechnology forum will be held on February 24 & 26 at Hilton Del Mar. Entrepreneurs and scholars from local biotech/pharmaceutical companies will feature this weekday forum with lectures and discussions. This event is sponsored by Tzi-Ching Foundation of Science and Technology and is co-sponsored by Dr. Chi-Cheng Wu and Taiwan-America Biotechnology Association. For more information visit http://www.sabpa.org/Events/2004%20Taiwan-US%20Biotechnology%20Forum.pdf.
7. Nature Forum 2004 “China-California connection: A Biomedical Alliance”
Nature Publishing Group, in collaboration with the UCSD Institute of Molecular Medicine, will present this one-day symposium on March 30, 2004 at the Price center Ballroom of UCSD. The forum will highlight the opportunities of forging strategic biomedical alliances between California and China in the area of molecular medicine. Keynote speakers include Leory Hood, President of Insititute for Systems Biology and Zhu Chen, Vice President of Academia Sinica. SABPA is a co-sponsor of the forum .The meeting announcement including SABPA’s cosponsorship will be published in the journal of Nature. As one of the benefits of the co-sponsors, SABPA members will enjoy a non-profit organization rate (50% discount of the corporate rate) for registration. SABPA members are also encouraged to contact the organizer at jtuttleman@ucsd.edu if any potential sponsors could be identified.
8. The Third Annual Symposium on Biopharmaceuticals
After the success of the first two conferences of the series, the Third Annual Symposium on Biopharmaceuticals- San Diego BioPharma Conference will be held in May 2004. This upcoming symposium will focus on key challenges and opportunities in technology innovation, drug discovery and entrepreneurship in today’s biotech-pharmaceutical world. SABPA is proud to be the organizer of this symposium with help from co-sponsors. The event committee is currently preparing the symposium program and is calling for volunteers. Please keep updated through SABPA website and contact info@sabpa.org to become a volunteer for this event.
9. The 8th Beijing Biotech & Pharma Industry Development Forum
As recognition of our successful co-sponsorship to the event last year, SABPA has recently received an official invitation to the 8th Beijing Forum, which will be in October 2004. Details about the forum theme, subtract submission and review, and formation of SABPA delegation will follow during next several months.
10. Biotechnology Online Course and the Scholarship
The Global Biotechnology & Biomedical Science Online Education Scholarship was established in September 2003 by Professors Y.C. Fung and Gin Gee and has been administered by SABPA. Many SABPA members have contributed either to the online course preparation or to the scholarship funds. The Scholarship supports Chinese students for taking a UCSD Extension online course “Biotechnology From a Global Perspective”. Chongqing University College of Bioengineering is the National Administrator of the Biotechnology Scholarship. To date two students have completed the course with full credit and a certificate. The course is 10-week long and each scholarship is $150. More information of the course is available at http://bioscience.ucsd.edu/GlobalBiotech.html.
SABPA will present a scholarship check to a Chongqing University Representative Prof. Yun-Peng Wu during a luncheon at 12-1 pm on March 2, 2004. The luncheon will be at the Peking Palace Restaurant (4305 La Jolla village Dr. by UTC) and the cost is $15.00 per person. Any SABPA members interested to know more about the scholarship are welcome to participate. Please contact Jennifer Tsai at sjtsai2@yahoo.com for reservation. In addition, please bring brochures to Prof. Gee for distribution in China if any life-science companies wish to promote its products or services. Please contact ggee@ext.ucsd.edu for detains of the brochure distributions brochure.
11. SABPA Delegates Attended Convention in Guangzhou - Special Report by Dr. Zhenping Wu, President of SABPA)
In December 2003, nine SABPA members including SABPA President Zhenping Wu, Honorary President Xinjun Hou and Secretary Holly Yin attended the 6th Guangzhou Convention of Overseas Chinese Scholars in Science and Technology. This convention was co-organized by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Personnel, Chinese Academy of Science, and the City of Guangzhou. It was by far the largest convention in its 6 years of history, having attracted over 1000 overseas scholars from all over the world to attend. The convention really showed that the Chinese government is firmly determined to do its best to attract overseas scholars to return to the country. Many local city governments including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Hangzhou had huge exhibiting booths at the convention to attract investments or returnees. All the governments offered one kind of incentive or another ranging from start up fund, free office space, to tax benefits to those scholars who wish to set business in their city. There were a number of mini-symposia during the convention. The topics ranged from Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical forum, to Experience of Overseas Returnees in Setting Business in China, to the Globalization of Small to Middle Sized Enterprises. The Organizers also arranged a visit for the Convention attendees to the Guangzhou Economic Development Zone in the Huangpu district and Guangzhou Overseas Scholar Business Park. In the Overseas Scholar Business Park, returnees have set up more than 140 companies so far.
During the trip, Zhenping Wu and Holly Yin also visited the 3rd Affiliated Hospital of Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University to evaluate the hospital as a potential first recipient for the SABPA SARS fund. This hospital was one of those affected most severely by SARS last year, and Dr Deng Lianxian, Associate Director of the Infectious Disease Department, was the highest ranking professional who died of SARS in China, and was praised by Chinese President Hu Jingtao for contributing to the SARS fight. A decision has been made to donate the initial SABPA SARS fund to the 3rd Affiliated Hospital which will be used to help family members of those who died of SARS.