Shun-Wan Chan

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in much of the modern world. Most major cardiovascular events arise out of existing atherosclerotic plaques. Atherosclerosis relates to endothelial dysfunction, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, cholesterol metabolism, inflammation and lipoproteins, etc. Thus, the focus of Dr. Chan's work is to establish the functions of therapeutic agents on genes, enzymes and receptors which associate with atherosclerosis. The roles of various genes, enzymes and receptors are thus examined in relation to muscle contraction and relaxation, endothelial dysfunction, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, cholesterol metabolism, inflammation, anti-oxidation and apoptosis, using a variety of pharmacological, biochemical, histological and molecular biology techniques. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been widely used amongst Chinese communities for thousands of years. It is a good source for pharmacological agents. The focus of Dr. Chan's work in this area is to find novel bioactive compounds which can be used to treat chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetic mellitus, and investigate the pharmacology as well as pharmacokinetics of those compounds. It is also important to establish the international recognition of TCM. Therefore, developing suitable analytic and quality control methods for TCM herbs is another focus of Dr. Chan.

Biography Updated on 12 March 2013

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