Skip to main content

Photos from my PhD Thesis Defense at the Jinan University School of Medicine, in Guangzhou

After a long three years of research and traveling around the country to meet key experts. And after many  hours of handling rare documents and forgotten manuscripts. And after many sleepless nights trying to make sense about how disease traveled during the three major pandemics of the ancient times. And after countless seminars and communications with specialists on ancient epidemiology, and Silk Road / Belt and Road Studies. And while simultaneously working on at least 3 official textbooks and several research committees, I finally completed my PhD in Medicine. 

I wrote my research diatribe at the Medical School of the Jinan University in Guangzhou. My thesis supervisor was Prof. Chen Li-guo, a famous exponent of Chinese Integrative Medicine (alongside the now retired Chen Keji). Prof. Chen Li-guo is also an important figure in the TCM world, being one of the top specialists in Huang Di Nei Jing and Jing Fang studies.

 

My research thesis picks up from my previous work on tongue diagnosis in historical epidemics, and explores the transmission of Chinese clinical information to Europe through the Jesuit fathers of Macau and Guangzhou. Two SCI articles from the contents of my thesis have already been accepted in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, and a third one is prepared for the Journal of Integrative Medicine. Hopefully they will all become available through PubMed soon. 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Historical traumatology and making wooden splints at the hospital

I t was back in 2018, and I was still working at the Sports Trauma Hospital in Guangzhou, China. That day, a young gentleman comes to the clinic with a martial arts injury. Physical examination/palpation of the limb and also an x-ray revealed a fractured ulna. Typically, in these types of situations, the standard of care at the hospital, required that the patient moves to the inpatient department for further evaluation, processing and to await surgery. During the surgery, the specialist would open a small incision, realign the bone and then secure it in place with pins or metal implants. However, this approach is not always necessary. In the not-so-distant past, for a simple fracture of the ulna with less than 50% displacement and less than 10% angulation, a simple cast and plenty of rest would be sufficient.  In any case, the patient outright refused surgery and casting. He simply asked that we use traditional bone-setting to realign the bone, and then secure it in place with wooden s

Historical photos from the Annual Conferences of the Translation Specialty Committee of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies

I just received the news that this year, the annual WFCMS Conference for the Translation Specialty Committee will be held in person, after 4 years of hybrid meetings. Today, I am looking back at some photos from previous - in person - meetings, from times when I delivered key note speeches. Wuhan meeting in 2014: Nanchang Meeting in 2015: Guangzhou meeting in 2017:  Shanghai meeting in 2018:  Shanghai 2018, with Prof. Nigel Wiseman Guangzhou 2017, with Dr. Shan Bao-zhi, the current President of the Committee, and two of my former classmates: Changsha 2016:  Shanghai 2018 with Professor Fang Ting-yu and Prof. Wang Kui Shanghai 2018 with Prof. Nigel Wiseman, Prof. Zhu Jian-ping, Dr. Shan Bao-zhi and Prof. Wang Kui:  With Prof. Nigel Wiseman and my old classmate from BUCM, Dr. Rao Hong-mei: With Prof. Wang Kui, Prof. Nigel Wiseman, Prof. Zhu Jian-ping and Prof.Hong Mei:  With Prof. Nigel Wiseman and Prof. Li Xiao-li:  Changsha 2016 with Prof. Ma Boying: Changsha 2016 with Prof. Greta Yang

The new "Zhongxing Sports Trauma Hospital" Poster

Last Friday, I discovered that my old job in China, the  “Zhongxing Sport Trauma Hospital”  in Guangzhou, created a new poster for the Hospital Introduction, which features one of my photos. I was very surprised, because it has been more than 4 years since I left. Over the weekend, they reached out to request for my face to be used as part of their history and professional identity. To that, I kindly agreed.  (Side note: The photo with the skeleton was also taken by me, in late 2017)