Mission and
　Objective

Research Themes

Members

Cultivating
　Independent
　Researchers and
　Future Perspective

Selected Recent
　Publictions

Mission

The mission of this research center is to develop new therapeutic strategies for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as the therapeutics-driven biomedical research.

1. Investigating new technologies for clinical diagnostics and treatments of chronic viral hepatitis.
   -- Aggressively searching for hepatitis B and C viral mutations and their corresponding diagnostic and treatment strategies, so as to contribute to the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis in Taiwan and worldwide.
2. Investigating the etiology and molecular mechanism of hepatocellular carcinoma, elevating research standard and international reputation.
   -- Establishing effective clinical platforms for the development and validation of molecular biomarkers related to the growth, metastasis and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after surgical removal of the tumors.
3. Developing new treatment strategy of hepatocellular carcinoma.
   -- Investigating new treatment strategies related to liver transplantation, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and target therapy under rigorous clinical trials.
4. Cultivating young-generation researchers for basic and clinical medical research.
   -- Educating young biomedical researchers with independent thinking plus research skills and knowledge for basic and clinical researches.
   

Objective

The objective of this research center is to investigate the etiological and molecular mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma for establishment of new treatment strategy.

1. Short-term goal (1-3 years)
   1. Searching for novel hepatitis B and C viral mutations and their diagnostic methods by means of various molecular biotechnologies, animal models and cell assays. At the same time establishing the connection between these mutations and liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
   2. Investigating diseases induced by chronic hepatitis viral infections using various liver-disease animal models.
   3. Identifying biomarkers for early detection of disease and optimum choices of therapies, by means of various molecular and cell-level technologies.
   4. Establishing clinical platforms for the validation of molecular biomarkers.
2. Long term goal (3-6 years)
   1. Building a strong clinical research team equipped with state-of-the-art technologies to search for novel therapeutic strategies in treating hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
   2. Investigating the molecular mechanism of hepatocellular carcinoma by means of effective clinical validation platform of biomarkers, with the goal of finding new drug targets.
   3. Collaborating with local or international research teams and sharing research resources and experiences
   4. Establishing the collaboration between Chang Gung Medical centers in Taiwan and mainland China.
   5. Find adequate therapy for individual patients and maximizing the treatment efficacy using various advanced molecular technology.