Tag: Taiwan

During his time studying in Taiwan, Guatemalan medical student José Roberto Rodriguez Mazariegos has learned more than a new language and culture. “It opened my mind about medical research and what was possible,” he says. “Back home in Guatemala, we do not have the resources or trained people to undertake a lot of research.”

While Mazariegos focused on clinical medicine in Guatemala, he embarked on a new direction at Taipei Medical University (TMU) through its international graduate programme in medicine.

“It’s a whole different world in which you are not just prescribing medicine, but we can start from the beginning to develop new things,” he says. “It has helped me to understand that being a good clinical doctor and doing research go hand-in-hand.”

Mazariegos recently completed his master’s at TMU as part of the MOFA Taiwan Scholarship, receiving the academic achievement award for outstanding performance in the programme.

The MOFA Taiwan Scholarship, funded by the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to encourage outstanding international students to study in Taiwan. It offers scholarships to bachelor’s, master’s and PhD candidates from countries with diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The programme includes an additional compulsory year in which scholars learn Mandarin.

“The scholarship has something different compared to other scholarships because they don’t just train you in what you want to study,” says Mazariegos. “They also give you the language.” He says that learning Mandarin in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, extended beyond words and phrases. “It helped me, not just with the language, but also with the culture.”

Mazariegos’ research focuses on the relationship between gut microbiome and precocious puberty, which is when a child’s body starts to develop into an adult body at an unusually early age. He will also pursue his doctoral studies at TMU.

He recognises support from the MOFA programme and TMU in helping him adjust to living and studying in another country. “I came with a group of people who shared the same scholarship as me, even though they were in different fields and at different levels of study,” Mazariegos says. This created a ready-made support network, he says.

TMU offers many activities to help students immerse themselves in the culture, such as workshops and mentoring programmes. He also points to the Office of Global Engagement, which is “always open for you for any questions you have”.

The MOFA Taiwan Scholarship allows students to attend Taiwanese institutions. Mazariegos chose TMU in part because he was impressed with the application process, which invited him to an interview with the head of the course. Application interviews are not just for institutions to determine whether to take on a candidate. “It’s also for the people that are applying to get to know the university and the people there,” he says.

The deciding factor was that TMU offers many of its courses in English. “If your programme is in English, then everything is in English, including correspondence with the university,” he says. While Mazariegos can now communicate in Mandarin, he doubts he would be able to understand his medical speciality in the language. “Luckily, in Taiwan, there are many options that are available in English.”

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Original Article: https://oge.tmu.edu.tw/taiwan-scholarship-programme-broadens-student-horizons/

“Innovation requires more than just specialised engineering or design talents,” says Thera Chiu, an associate professor in the Center for General Education at Taipei Medical University. The knowledge economy and ever-changing digital technologies have impacted traditional production and business models, and education needs to adapt to the changing era.

This is why Taiwan’s Ministry of Education places design thinking at the heart of its Miaopu programme. Design thinking “focuses on human needs, with processes including empathy, define, ideate, prototype and test”, she says. The programme, known as Miaopu, which means sapling, in Chinese, aims to foster interdisciplinary talent through design thinking, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit.

“It emphasises a human-centric approach to problem-solving, encouraging collaboration across different fields and seeking to bridge the gap between higher education and industrial transformation,” Chiu says.

Taipei Medical University (TMU) has been involved with the programme since its inception eight years ago, participating in all five phases of the Sapling Project. TMU is a leading private university in Taiwan, renowned for its strong focus on medicine, health sciences and biomedical innovation. Since its founding in 1960, TMU has grown into a comprehensive university with 11 colleges and more than 6,000 students from more than 40 countries.

Since the university became involved in the Miao Pu programme, it has guided “more than 4,000 first-year students in designing their own university learning journeys and provided design-thinking workshop experiences to more than 3,000 students,” Chiu says. More than 10 of its faculty members have been certified by the Ministry of Education as official coaches.

The benefits of the programme extend beyond the university. “The Sapling Project has now evolved into a methodology that supports other Ministry of Education initiatives, making it a truly unique programme,” Chiu says.

Teacher development is a starting point, she says: “It begins with cross-disciplinary teaching collaboration among faculty members, which then extends to cross-disciplinary learning among students.”

Cross-disciplinary collaboration is vital because it directly responds to the demands of a rapidly evolving world. “A core objective is to cultivate individuals who can collaborate effectively across different fields,” she says. “This is seen as crucial for developing innovative solutions and addressing the complexities of future society.”

Chiu’s own research focuses on identifying the factors that contribute to success in interdisciplinary education. She says that there are two critical factors: students’ self-understanding and their ability to collaborate in teams. While there is a great deal of research highlighting the importance of collaboration, there’s a lack of concrete steps for educators to follow. “Our team has developed a structured and effective set of guidance strategies for fostering team collaboration, which has proven to be successful and is supported by empirical research,” she says.

As the only university that has contributed to all of the programme’s phases, TMU will continue to adopt design thinking as a guiding methodology. “It will help students to design their life paths, root medical education in empathy and promote team collaboration,” Chiu says. “Our next vision for this project is to empower students to identify and solve real-world problems through teamwork and empathy, ultimately becoming the kind of future-ready talent needed by society.”

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Original Article: https://oge.tmu.edu.tw/design-thinking-creates-future-ready-graduates/

Dr. Ya-Tin Lin, Assistant Professor at the Graduate Institute of Metabolism and Obesity Sciences, College of Nutrition, Taipei Medical University (TMU), has been awarded the 2024 Early-Stage Faculty Prize by the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS).

She is the first scholar from an Asian academic institution to receive this honor, which is a significant recognition of Taiwan’s growing influence in global physiological research.

The IUPS, representing physiological societies from over 60 countries, is the world’s most recognized academic organization in physiology. It is dedicated to promoting the advancement of physiological research and teaching, while fostering platforms for international exchange. The IUPS International Early-Stage Faculty Prize recognizes up to four promising young scholars each year, selected for the quality of their research contributions, dedication to teaching, and engagement in academic development.

Dr. Lin’s research focuses on neuronal regulation of metabolism, particularly in the context of metabolic diseases. Her research team has conducted extensive studies on neuropeptide FF (NPFF), investigating its physiological roles in energy homeostasis, pain transmission, and stress responses. A key discovery revealed that NPFF receptor type 2 (NPFFR2) is co-expressed with insulin receptors in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, and its activation impaired the hypothalamic insulin downstream signaling. Notably, modulating NPFFR2 significantly impacts obesity- and diabetes-related metabolic dysfunctions, offering new directions for clinical treatment strategies. Parts of the findings were published in Clinical Nutrition, entitled “Hypothalamic NPFFR2 attenuates central insulin signaling and its knockout diminishes metabolic dysfunction in mouse models of diabetes mellitus”.

In addition to research relating to metabolic disorders, Dr. Lin also conducted pioneering research on the use of focused ultrasound for pain management. Her research demonstrated that low-intensity focused ultrasound can activate gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the dorsal root ganglion, which further reduces the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) cascade, and relieve chronic and neuropathic pain. Her study, titled “Stimulation of dorsal root ganglion with low-intensity focused ultrasound ameliorates pain responses through the GABA inhibitory pathway”, was published in Life Sciences and showcases significant clinical translation potential.

Beyond her research achievements, Dr. Lin serves as the Secretary-General of the Chinese Physiological Society, where she contributes significantly to the society’s efforts to foster Taiwan’s international links in physiology, strengthen physiology education, and advance research in the field. As a recipient of the 2024 IUPS International Early-Stage Faculty Prize, Dr. Lin is recognized not only for her innovative contributions to science but also for marking a significant milestone for TMU in the global academic community. This recognition further strengthens Taiwan’s international academic presence and fosters deeper collaboration in translational studies.

Summary

Researchers from Taipei Medical University (TMU) and collaborating institutions conducted a large-scale study of over 500,000 adults, revealing that cardiovascular–kidney–metabolic (CKM) syndrome significantly increases the risk of early death, cardiovascular deaths, kidney failure, and reduced life expectancy—highlighting the urgent need for integrated chronic disease care.

A study involving over half a million adults has confirmed that the combination of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic conditions substantially increases the risk of early death and serious illness. The findings highlight the urgent need for integrated care that treats these conditions together rather than in isolation.

Why Chronic Disease Care Needs a Unified, Global Approach

As chronic diseases continue to rise globally, this research offers timely evidence for healthcare providers, policymakers, and the public. The study shows that CKM syndrome, newly defined by the American Heart Association in 2023, is not just a medical concept but a real-world predictor of life expectancy and health outcomes. The findings support a shift toward cross-speciality collaboration in medicine, with particular relevance for aging populations, health insurers, and those shaping chronic disease policy.

Every Added Condition Matters: New Patterns Reveal Deadly Toll of CKM Syndrome

The study uncovered several significant patterns that clarify how CKM syndrome and its components influence long-term health risks:

• Widespread Impact: Over 70% of the study’s participants met the criteria for CKM syndrome. Among adults aged 55 and older, nearly 90% were affected.
• Increased Risk of Death: People with CKM syndrome had a 33% higher risk of death from any cause and were nearly three times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
• Kidney Disease Link: Those with CKM syndrome were over ten times more likely to develop end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), requiring dialysis or transplantation.
• Each Added Condition Matters: Every additional CKM component (such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome, or high triglyceride) increased the risk of all-cause death by 22% and cardiovascular death by 37%.
• Shorter Life Expectancy: Each additional component reduced life expectancy by approximately 2.5 years for men and 3 years for women. Those with all five components could lose up to 13–16 years of life.

Massive 25-Year Study Confirms CKM’s Deadly Impact in Over Half a Million Adults

Researchers from Taipei Medical University and collaborating institutions analyzed medical data from over 515,000 adults in Taiwan, collected between 1996 and 2017. Participants underwent physical exams, laboratory tests, and completed lifestyle questionnaires. The study tracked deaths and disease progression over 25 years, using statistical models to assess the impact of CKM components on mortality. The team used standardized definitions aligned with American Heart Association guidelines, which were adjusted for use in Asian populations.

“Our findings show that cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic conditions are not isolated challenges—they are profoundly interconnected. We need a healthcare model that reflects the reality of how these diseases cluster and amplify risk, especially as populations age,” said Prof. Mai-Szu Wu and Prof. Mei-Yi Wu, the corresponding authors of the study.

First Large-Scale Asian Study Urges Shift to Integrated Chronic Disease Care

This study, published in PLOS Medicine in June 2025, is among the first large-scale evaluations of CKM syndrome in an Asian population, reinforcing the need for coordinated, multidisciplinary care. Treating high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney disease in isolation may miss the broader picture—where the intersection of these conditions drives worse health outcomes. Early intervention and integrated disease management could help millions live longer and healthier lives.

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Original Article: Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: A retrospective cohort study