Ex-VP Chen Chien-jen to serve as Academia Sinica head starting June

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) The Presidential Office on Friday announced the appointment of former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) as the next Academia Sinica president, serving a five-year term from June 21, 2026 to June 20, 2031.

Chen will replace James C. Liao (廖俊智), whose term ends in June.

The announcement follows a recent meeting of the Academia Sinica Council, which selected the top three candidates and submitted their names to President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) for final selection.

A graduate of National Taiwan University's (NTU) Department of Animal Science and Technology, Chen later earned a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

He has taught at NTU's College of Public Health and held leadership roles at Academia Sinica, serving as a distinguished research fellow in the Genomics Research Center from 2006 and as vice president from 2011 to 2015.

Chen specializes in epidemiology, human genetics, public health, and preventive medicine. He is internationally recognized for research on blackfoot disease and chronic arsenic poisoning, and his work on hepatitis B and liver cancer has shaped global clinical guidelines.

Beyond academia, Chen has held several posts, including head of the National Science and Technology Council and chief of the Department of Health, which was later upgraded to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. He also served as Taiwan's vice president from 2016 to 2020 and as premier from 2023 to 2024.

Founded in 1928, Academia Sinica has earned a reputation for being Taiwan's top national academic institution. It currently has 24 institutes and nine research centers located in three research sections: the Mathematics and Physical Sciences Division, Life Sciences Division, and Division of Humanities and Social Sciences.