Group photo of all the participating faculty members of the College of Public Health and distinguished guests taken after the lecture, with Prof. Amagai and Dr. Ko-Ron Chen (on the screen). The distinguished guests in the first row, left to right: Prof. Tung-Liang Chiang, Prof. Yueh-Guey (Laura) Huang, Academician Chien-Jen Chen, Mr. Conrad K. Chen, Dean Shou-Hsia Cheng, Dean Yen-Hsuan Ni and Prof. Chia-Yu Chu).
The NTU College of Public Health and the Dr. KP Chen Foundation for Preventive Medicine held the “2022 KP Chen Memorial Lecture” last November. The guest speaker, Prof. Masayuki Amagai, Vice President of Keio University, delivered a lecture titled “In memory of Dr. KP Chen: Connecting the past with the future of his alma mater, Keio University.”
Vice President of Keio University, Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology, Prof. Amagai has also served as the Dean of the School of Medicine. He was invited to describe Keio University’s influence on Prof. KP Chen as well as its current educational philosophy and prospects. He took the opportunity to demonstrate the solid friendship between Taiwan and Japan, between NTU and Keio University in particular.
Prof. KP Chen (1917-1978) has been praised as the founding father of Taiwan’s public health education. His dedication and enthusiasm is widely recognized and still inspires new generations of researchers. In this lecture, Prof. Amagai described how Prof. Chen spent his time at Keio University by showing many historically significant photos and shared the core philosophy of this university that Prof. Chen so admired. After Prof. Amagai’s lecture, Academician of Academia Sinica, Prof. Chien-Jen Chen, reviewed Prof. KP Chen’s contribution to the field of public health in Taiwan, most notably ending the Blackfoot disease and preventing groundwater from being polluted by arsenic.
Dr. Ko-Ron Chen, the second son of Prof. KP Chen, was among the invited guests. He also received his medical education at Keio University and is currently the Director of Tokyo Meguro Chen Dermatology Clinic. Dr. Chen talked about his father’s dedicated teaching and research in public health from the perspective of his family. He also mentioned his mother’s tireless support for his father, allowing him to devote himself fully to his work.
The lecture was followed by an in-depth exchange of opinions among the speakers and panelists on the educational philosophy of the Keio University School of Medicine, the significance of Prof. KP Chen’s contributions, and the future development of public health.
Dean Shou-Hsia Cheng (left) awarding a plaque to Prof. Masayuki Amagai (right).
Left to Right: Dean Cheng, Dr. Ko-Ron Chen, Prof. Amagai, and Academician Chien-Jen Chen.
