Professor Tu Youyou was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for her groundbreaking work in the discovery of artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from malaria.
Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which incorporate artemisinin and other antimalarial drugs, are now the standard treatment for malaria recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Tu Youyou's work has had a profound impact on global health, particularly in regions where malaria is endemic.
In 2009, after years of studying the research of Artemisinin conducted by Professor Tu Youyou’s group, Dr. Shu-Kun Lin, the founder of MDPI, published a Special Issue in the MDPI journal Molecules for celebrating Professor Tu Youyou’s 80th birthday. In this Special Issue, Professor Fulong Liao from the China Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences published an Editorial and introduced the works of discoveries of Artemisinin by Professor Tu Youyou and her team.
Professor Tu Youyou's contributions to medicine have been widely recognized. In addition to the Nobel Prize, she has received numerous accolades, including the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award and the Medal of the Republic, China's highest state honor.
To honor Professor Tu Youyou's remarkable contributions to human health and to continue with her achievements, MDPI established the "Tu Youyou Award" in 2016. This award aims to acknowledge exceptional scholars committed to the research fields of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry.
Prof. Dr. Xiaoguang Lei
Prof. Dr. Xiaoguang Lei is currently the Boya Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Peking University. His laboratory at Peking University conducts research on the interface between chemistry and biology. He focuses on the function-oriented synthesis of structurally complex and bioactive natural products and systematically uses bioactive small molecules (ether natural products or unnatural compounds) to study their biological functions, elucidate molecular mechanisms of the essential biological pathways, and develop novel therapeutic agents for currently intractable human diseases, such as cancers and infectious diseases. In addition, he has been exploring the biosynthesis of plant-derived bioactive natural products and developing efficient chemoenzymatic approaches to access these complex molecules. During his career to date, Prof. Dr. Lei has distinguished himself with numerous high-quality contributions in diverse areas of natural product synthesis, chemical biology, and drug discovery. His investigations into the molecular details and mechanism at the interface between chemistry and biology have led to novel discoveries with potentially significant consequences for molecular medicine.
Peking University, China Details
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University of L'Aquila, Italy Details
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The University of Oxford, UK Details
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National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA Details
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