Wu Dechang

Wu Dechang (; 22 October 1927 – 10 May 2018) was a Chinese physician and toxicologist. He established China's first laboratory for radiation toxicology, and is considered a founder of radiation toxicology and radiation protection studies in the country. He was a professor and president of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and served as president of the China Toxicology Society, deputy representative of China to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, and as a committee member of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. He was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1995.

Life and career Wu was born in Beijing, Republic of China on 22 October 1927, with his ancestral home in Wujin, Jiangsu. After graduating from Peking University in 1949 with a degree in chemistry, he taught as an assistant professor and later lecturer at Peking Union Medical College. In the 1980s, he oversaw a systematic study of the emergency medical response to the accident, which won the Special Prize of the State Science and Technology Progress Award. He was later involved in designing radiation protection measures at the Qinshan and Daya Bay nuclear power plants.

From the 1990s, Wu studied the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis by alpha particle radiation. He published more than 210 scientific papers and 7 books.

Honours and recognition Wu was conferred the State Science and Technology Progress Award three times (Special Prize in 1985, and Second Prizes in 1993 and 1995), the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize in Medical Sciences (2003), and many military or ministerial awards. He was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1995.