As a boy, Lap-chee Tsui dreamed of becoming an architect. He still paints in his spare time and draws all his own diagrams and slides.
But Tsui today is far better known as a scientist -- one who finds the root cause of diseases.
Fourteen years ago, he led a team of researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the University of Michigan to make what Science magazine called "the most refreshing scientific development of 1989." Tsui had isolated the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis.
In spring this year, only a few months after he was appointed vice-chancellor (equivalent of president) of the University of Hong Kong, Tsui led the university in the research battle against SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).
In March, the research group in the university became the first in the world to report the discovery of a new coronavirus as the causative agent of SARS.
It also developed a DNA-based test to diagnose the disease in patients more quickly. The research group is now testing on animals the effects of treatments for SARS.
Tsui, prone to shy smiles, would rather talk about science and education than himself.
World of genetics
A genetic researcher, Tsui said he "finds fun in the world of genetics."
But he didn't start work in the field until he was studying for his PhD in molecular biology at the University of Pittsburg in the United States.
In graduate studies Tsui learned "study is important but learning to apply your knowledge is even more important.
"Set a goal and try hard. There is really nothing unachievable," he said.
Tsui, who set himself the goal of learning about the human genome, trained briefly after graduation in the Biology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory of Canada, studying the biology of the RNA tumor virus.
Then he joined the Department of Genetics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to work on cystic fibrosis, a generally fatal inherited disorder that affects about 1 in 2,500 Caucasian children in the world.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common genetic disease among Caucasians, said Tsui. Half of the children who are born with the disease will die before they are 25 and few make it past 30.
It affects all the parts of the body that secrete mucus, such as the lungs, stomach, nose and mouth. The mucus of children with cystic fibrosis is so thick they cannot breathe.
It took Tsui's team about 10 years to identify the defective gene for the disease.
Thanks to their work, scientists can now easily predict whether a couple will produce a child with cystic fibrosis. Now they understand the illness better, scientists may also be able to improve treatments for children born with it.
Tsui was lauded for combining methods from molecular biology and genetics - a unique approach that still influences scientists.
Today, his team continues to research cystic fibrosis, seeking a better understanding of the disease.
However, Tsui believes identifying the genes that cause diseases in human beings is only one step towards unraveling the greatest mystery of all -- that is, "identifying and characterizing the 'conductor' in the human genetic systems."
Tsui explained that, as the genes of a monkey and a human are almost identical, varying by only about 2 percent, the great difference in the two animals has to do with the way an organism controls which genetic instructions are read from its DNA.
He likened the situation with monkeys and humans to two orchestras, each having exactly the same instruments, and the same music to play. Yet the two orchestras can sound entirely different if they have different conductors.
The "conductor," the control system, is still poorly understood.
International teamwork
As a result, Tsui always stresses the importance of international collaboration.
He believes "there should be no boundaries between countries in such cutting-edge scientific issues as genome innovations."
Based on that belief, Tsui became one of the founding members of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO), the international organization built among geneticists to promote discussion and collaboration in the field so that the human genome can be analyzed as rapidly and effectively as possible.
From 2000 to 2002, he served as HUGO's president.
Last year, under his management, the HUGO's annual convention was held in Shanghai.
"I wanted the young geneticists of China to have more opportunities in the world's collaborative movement, and I wanted the world's geneticists to know of what Chinese scientists have achieved in the field," he said.
At present, Tsui is an important co-coordinator of the international HapMap Project in China. The goal of the project is to develop a haplotype map of the human genome, called the HapMap, which will describe the common patterns of human DNA sequence variation.
The three-year project, officially launched in October 2002, is a partnership of scientists and funding agencies from Canada, China, Japan, Nigeria, Britain and the United States. It is expected to be a key resource for researchers to use to find genes affecting health and responses to drugs and environmental factors.
New president
Tsui's role in fostering international collaborations was given more play when he was appointed vice-chancellor of the 92-year-old University of Hong Kong last year. He pledged to build the university into a leading research and teaching institute, especially in biological science.
The days when university researchers were fighting to unravel the mystery of SARS are still fresh in Tsui's mind.
"It was like a battle," he recalled excitedly. "I am not an authority in microbiology, and have to digest the knowledge learned from colleagues every day. We suffered from a lack of resources, then hands, and then larger quantities of resources."
Tsui, who gave the researchers his full support, borrowed the special substances needed for chemical analysis from his friends abroad.
In the final stages of the battle against SARS, all those at the university who could breed cells were recruited to the laboratories.
Tsui told the Hong Kong Economic Times after the event that SARS had taught Hong Kong a good lesson.
"The lack of investment in research has been a big problem. Expertise is the 'root' needed for the sustainable development of Hong Kong, where there are insufficient natural resources. The knowledge economy can hardly proceed without the engine of high-level research," he noted.
Tsui, father of two boys, has now brought his family back to Hong Kong. He said the greatest challenge before him is effective communication, especially after decades abroad.
Education priority
"In laboratories we are not afraid of mistakes because science means finding a solution from experiments. But no mistakes are allowed in policy-making for a university and the implementation of policies. I have to consider things very carefully," he said.
An academic record, for example, is not the only indicator of for a student's potential, Tsui noted.
His own childhood experience bears testimony to that fact.
Born in 1950 in Shanghai, Tsui followed his family to Hong Kong as a child. The family kept moving around relatives' homes, wooden huts and villages, and Tsui studied at four primary schools.
At school the boy was believed to be "not hardworking." He argued he had actually rote-learned the texts required by teachers but "my mind just went blank when I got nervous in tests," he said.
In the college entrance examination Tsui scored only one "A" in biology, and he was admitted by the department of biology, New Asia College, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
At college he lingered in the laboratory and slept in a camp bed when he got too tired. In 1972 he graduated at "the third level," which meant he didn't meet the criteria to apply for graduate studies.
Fortunately Kai Keung Mark, a renowned biologist with the university, insisted on admitting Tsui as his graduate student. "Students graduating at 'the third level' always scored 'CCDD,' but Tsui had an 'A? in molecular biology. This meant he performed excellently in courses that interested him," Mark was quoted as saying.
Tsui still gives credit to the professor today for teaching him "how to concentrate on a single thing and be good at it."
That also laid a solid foundation for his academic successes later on. Upon his cystic fibrosis discovery, Tsiu won honors that include the titles of Distinguished Scientist of the Medical Research Council of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of London and Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation.
Today, Tsui said he is promoting "topic-oriented" studies at the university. Students express their own ideas of a topic, gather information and carry out studies with the university's support.
Tsui also stresses social work, extracurricular activities and multidisciplinary trainings.
"We have to aim at the cutting edge to improve our average level of academic research. One can only achieve poor results if one aims at the mediocre," he said.
(China Daily November 26, 2003)
