Professor Chen-Yuan Lee, MD (1915-2001), pharmacologist: snake venom research at the Institute of Pharmacology, National Taiwan University

摘要

Professor Chen-Yuan Lee was born in Tainan, Taiwan. In 1940, he joined the staff of the Institute of Pharmacology of the university, now named National Taiwan University. Dr Lee began a study of Daboia russelli formosensis venom under the direction of Professor Tsungming Tu who, in the 1930s, initiated the pharmacological studies of Formosan snake venoms carried out at the Institute. Under Professor Lee's direction, the Institute became known internationally for its work on the isolation, composition and characterization of the pharmacological properties of neurotoxins isolated from Formosan elapid venoms. Sophisticated use of the latest techniques revealed the mode of action of postsynaptic alpha-bungarotoxin and presynaptic beta-bungarotoxin from Bungarus multicinctus venom, postsynaptic cobrotoxin, cytotoxic cardiotoxin and phospholipase A(2) from Naja naja atra venom. Through work undertaken with colleagues at the Institute and in foreign countries, Professor Lee made an important contribution to our understanding of the mode of action of snake neurotoxins, and to their use in the elucidation of neuromuscular transmission. In the past decade, C.-Y. Lee was a prominent campaigner for social and political justice in Taiwan.