Tribute to a medical pioneer

It is with much sadness that we mark the passing away last week of Professor Wang Hai Yan, a member of our external Research and Development Advisory Committee (RADAC).

Professor Wang was the President of Peking University Institute of Nephrology,Vice President of the Chinese Medical Association, President of the Chinese Society of Internal Medicine, as well as President of the Chinese Society of Nephrology. She had served in various leadership capacities in the International Society of Nephrology (ISN), and was the Chair of the ISN’s East Asia Committee.

She was also the lead Chinese Principal Investigator on the NHMRC-funded TESTING study, evaluating the effects of steroids in preventing kidney events in patients with IgA nephropathy, led by Vlado Perkovic and Vivek Jha.

Professor Wang was highly regarded by academic colleagues both within China and globally and, as Professor Perkovic has noted, “was a pioneer of the sort that we just don’t see in medicine any more”.

Not only was her contribution to RADAC invaluable, she was a great supporter of the Institute. She regularly met with us to provide strategic advice on how best to navigate the political and bureaucratic challenges inherent in working in China. Her insights and her wisdom were much appreciated. She will be sorely missed.