A well-functioning medical infrastructure relies not only on doctors but professionals from other healthcare-related fields as well, and that's why we've invited Prof. Chen Wei Jien, Dean at the NTU College of Public Health, to give us a better understanding of how public health systems, being the foremost barrier against disease outbreaks, is intimately interconnected to and plays an equally, if not more, pivotal role with medicine!
Prof. Chen, an M.D. turn epidemiologist with over 30 years of experience as a field researcher, has been a strong advocate for tougher food safety regulations following the 2014 gutter oil scandal, a sound voice against environmental pollution by multinational petrochemical companies, and a leading figure in teenager drug abuse prevention. His career is an important reminder for medical students that society and people, not cells and tissues, should be our primary focus!
Keynote II
Erin Kross, MD
University of Washington
Professor Erin K. Kross of the University of Washington School of Medicine will share with us her experiences as a long-time researcher and on-scene physician in Intensive Care Units, focusing not just on patients’ physical health but also the quality of life and psychological outcomes of themselves as well as their families. Supported by an NIH-funded K23 career development award, Prof. Kross , with her dual career as a psychologist and a doctor, has dedicated herself to raising awareness for palliative care interventions, communication skills, and advance care planning among medical practitioners. Her works are published on JAMA, Journal of Critical Care, Chest and various other journals.
Keynote III
Tsai Jin-Wu, MD, PhD
National Yang-Ming University
Ever been fascinated by how scientists track real-time changes in brain activities? Ever wondered how two seemingly irrelevant fields of physics and biomedicine could come together and revolutionize clinical research? At APMSS 2017, Keynote Speaker Prof.Tsai Jin-Wu of National Yang-Ming University will guide us through an eye-opening introduction on state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques and neural developmental biology! A rising star in the neurology community, his works involving dendritic spines and rural stem cells have been published in Nature, JCB and various other heavyweight journals. Prof.Tsai, with his double major B.S. as well as years of research experience in both the academia and biotech industry is truly an inspiration for us to think outside the box and look beyond the ward!
Keynote IV
Chen Yuan-Tsong, MD, PhD
Academician, Academia Sinica
This year at APMSS, Dr. Chen Yuan Tsong, former director of the Biomedical Sciences Institute at Academia Sinica and former chair professor of the Medical Genetics Division at Duke University Medical Center, will be sharing with us his outstanding career as a pioneering researcher in translational medicine and pharmacogenetics. His remarkable work on glycogen storage disorders and subsequent invention of the Pompe disease drug Myozyme is a decade-long “from bench to bed” endeavour that has transformed the lives of millions across the globe and was even adapted into a Hollywood movie!
Apart from his M.D. training and PhD in genetics, Dr. Chen is also a public health advocate as well as a philanthropist, instrumental in establishing US nationwide Newborn Genetic Screening and in funding the Human Genome Organisation Chen Award. Join us now and get inspired on how you too can make a difference someday!
Reality Game
For centuries, the medical community has been safeguarding mankind on the frontline against disease outbreaks. In the reality game “Epidemistery”, you and your team of brilliant researchers will race with time to stop an epidemic. The future of the entire human race is in your hands!
Faced with case reports of mysterious diseases, you’ll have to diagnose them correctly, trace its roots back to Day 0, figure out possible routes of infection, and eventually develop effective treatments before it’s too late. Factual knowledge alone isn’t enough, only a comprehensive strategy and critical decision making can lead you to victory.
Are you ready? Then let’s go and save the world!
Interactive Panel Discussion
Don’t miss out on this awesome occasion to interact directly with invited speakers, outstanding physicians, accomplished scientists as they share their invaluable professional and life experiences with us! Whether it’s about a successful medical career, an eye-opening lab research, or a delicate work-life balance, you’ll definitely bring loads of inspiration home and envision a clearer picture of yourself in the future.
Hospital Environment Designing Workshop
How do healthcare providers design “smart” hospitals that truly cater to the needs of patients and medical personnel? What are the underlying rationales to a successful user-oriented medical environment? In this workshop, brought to you by APMSS and YongLin Health Foundation, you get to design your future workplace and brainstorm solutions for a care-delivering, patient-friendly architectural setting.
Working Group Discussion
Working group discussions emphasize primarily on Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a student-centred pedagogy frequently employed in modern medical education. Participants are divided into small groups to engage in lively discussions with peers, instructors, advising professors from all kinds of background; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to present and absorb ideas, to broaden one’s vision and take your communication skills up to another level!
Hospital Tour
On this guided visit to NTUH and NTUCH, we hope to show you how palliative care works and how interdisciplinary teamwork can truly deliver the goals of P4 medicine.
At the NTUH Hospice & Palliative Care Unit (6A Ward), you’ll see how care is provided for both advanced-cancer patients and their families. The goal of this unit is not curing, but to improve quality of life for patients and relieve them of pain during the last part of their journey so that they can embrace death with dignity and peace; emphasis on family-physician communication, grief-counselling, and respect for patient’s autonomy are all essential to providing such spiritual and physical support.
The NTU Children’s Hospital, meanwhile, is exclusively designed for children from the top down. Themed playground, joyful interior design and colorful art installations are all aimed at minimizing children’s’ discomfort and facilitating medical care.
Poster Design
New thoughts come up in your mind after listening to our inspiring keynote speeches? Now this is the chance to transform your ideas into a creative poster! There will be an afternoon dedicated for you and your group members to brainstorm, outline and finally draw your poster with tools provided. Are you ready to seize the opportunity?
Day Trip
Aside from indoor activities, we’ve also arranged a day tour for participants to take a glimpse of Taiwan’s vibrant culture and spectacular nature! This year, we’re going to Jiufen! Built by miners back in the 1890s, this Gold Rush era mountain town is now an iconic tourist destination. Strolling through alleys lined with teahouses serving authentic Taiwanese cuisine and gift shops offering local specialties, this is a perfect chance for you to experience Taiwan at its best.
Cultural Night
In addition to academic sessions, sharing your country’s culture with friends is also a must! APMSS isn’t just about Taiwan, and on Culture Night we’d like to invite you to present where you’re from with foods, books, traditional art, or even performances! Show us EVERYTHING you’ve got and get to know other cultures as well!
