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On the evening of Oct. 13th, Aaron Ciechanover, Vice Chancellor of GTIIT and 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, gave an inspiring lecture to GTIIT faculties and students which themed?The Revolution of Personalized Medicine ¨C Are we Going to Cure all Diseases and at What Price?

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Prof. Ciechanover initiated his story by asking an ultimate question for all human being: everybody pursuits the elixir, yet how long exactly can we live?

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In the early 20th century, the lifespan was around 50-55, while things have greatly changed for now. In China, the present average lifespan for female is 85 while 81 for male. In Japan, the number would be even higher. Therefore, Prof. Ciechanover asserted that the average lifespan for human being is more likely to increase by 30 years in the next century!

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However, there isn't such thing as free lunch. We have paid a price for live longer. On the other hand, nowadays, people are facing unprecedented diseases such as heart attack, cancer, and Alzheimer. It is estimated that 80%-90% health expenses are paid in the last stage of life. Apparently, no one wants to live for another 30 years full of pain.

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Now, we are exiting the era where the treatment of diseases is "one size fits all", and where? treatment is tailored according to patient' s unique DNA.

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This era will be characterized initially by the development of technologies to sequence individual genomes, proteomes and metabolomes, followed by identification and characterization of new disease-specific molecular markers and drug targets. With designs for mechanism-based drugs, this era will be also accompanied by ethical problems, where genetic information of large population will become available, and protection of privacy will become an important concern. Yet one thing for sure is that the role of doctor will change and patients will louder voices for their medical treatments, said Prof. Ciechanover.

Text: Chancellor Office

Photo: News ans Public Affairs Department