Biography
Prof. Limin Chen
Prof. Limin Chen
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China
Title: Research progress in SARS-CoV-2 infection and its potential threat to blood safety
Abstract: 
Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Chengdu, 610052 China

SARS-CoV-2 not only infects human lung but also affects many other organs, including heart, liver and central nerve system. Tremendous progress has been made in pathogen identification, pathogenesis, diagnostics, vaccine research and treatment. Viral RNA detected in the blood of some patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) brings alarm to the potential threat to the transfusion safety. Recent progress and potential threat to the blood safety will be discussed in this presentation.
Biography: 
Dr. Limin Chen, a professor with Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS)/Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) and also an affiliate scientist with the University of Toronto, now is the director and chief scientific officer of the center for transfusion transmitted infectious diseases, Institute of Blood Transfusion (IBT), CAMS/PUMC, Member of the American Association for Studies of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and Canadian Association for Studies of Liver (CASL). He got his MD, MSc in biochemistry and molecular biology in China, PhD in molecular genetics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Chen obtained his postdoctoral training both at Merck Research Laboratories (West Point, PA) and at the Harvard Medical School (MGH) . Currently Dr. Chen’s research focuses on the virus-host interaction of the transfusion-transmitted viruses, especially on HCV and HBV. He pioneered the work on identification of the response signature and proposed a novel mechanism on how HCV exploits host innate immune response to benefit its persistent infection and resistance to interferon-based therapy.