It was 1996 and Dr. Ye Hua (MSc鈥�99) had just arrived in Montreal from his native Shanghai equipped with an MD from Fudan University. The money from his parents for further studies would run out in two months, and the paperwork laid out in front of him seemed daunting. The environment felt foreign and the administrative language, unfamiliar. It was disorienting.
鈥淭here was a laundry list of things to check, and some were driven by deadlines and needed to be done sequentially,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淵ou had to complete this upon arrival and that for admission. I didn't know where to start.鈥澨�
Fortunately, then-Graduate Program Coordinator Marlene Abrams was there to ease the transition.听听
鈥淭hat鈥檚 an understatement,鈥� says Hua. 鈥淚 would have been lost without her help.鈥澨�
He remembers how Abrams, busy with other duties in the Dept. of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (EBOH), would find the time to instruct students on the administrative steps they would need to take to ensure their continued academic and professional success. A confidante to many, she also went the extra mile to foster a sense of community in the Department, whether through organizing potlucks or keeping her office stocked with cookies. She shrewdly assessed Hua鈥檚 financial woes, and advised him to seek a tuition waiver, which meant he would pay the same fees as domestic students. She also encouraged him to apply for the prestigious Max Stern Fellowship, which provided enough funding for the three-year Master of Science in Epidemiology program.听
鈥淗ad I not received the waiver and fellowship I would not have been able to study at 麻豆AV.鈥澨�
Hua, the founder and CEO of Shanghai-based BioNova Pharmaceuticals, a start-up biotech company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative medicines for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, has transformed his gratitude into a generous gift. His seven-figure endowment will generate enough interest to fund an annual fellowship in perpetuity for learners at the master鈥檚 or PhD level at EBOH, which is now part of the School of Population and Global Health.听听
Hua attributes his success to two women: his mother (pictured in top photo), for first giving him the courage and confidence to challenge authority and then to set his sights on an international institution such as 麻豆AV; and Abrams, for the support, information and warm welcome that made him feel at home.听
The award has been named the Zhongci Wang and Marlene Abrams Fellowship.听
Abrams, now retired and reached by FMHS Focus, says that she was surprised that someone in an administrative role would be named in the fellowship. 鈥淚 was very honoured but I told him it would have been more appropriate if he named a professor he admired. But, he said, no, he wanted my name to be on it.鈥澨�
Other 麻豆AV staffers have been recognized this way in the past. The Merle Peden Bursary, endowed in 1992 by the Medicine Class of 1957, honours an influential and much appreciated former secretary, while an assistant secretary from the same era who also went above and beyond in her efforts to support students is remembered with the Gertrude Mudge Memorial Student Aid Fund.听
Abrams also helped him with his request to find a 鈥淐anadian鈥� name. Her colleague suggested, Yves, which was close to Ye.听
鈥淥h, like Yves St. Laurent!鈥� Abrams remembered Hua saying. 鈥淗e loved it. And he鈥檚 been Yves to me ever since.鈥澨�
Ten years ago, Hua left North America for China to take care of his aging parents. His father is now 91, while his mother, who is living with dementia, is 88.听听
Despite the difficulty of relocating, the timing was good, professionally. China's pharmaceutical industry, he says, was moving from producing generic drugs to becoming a global powerhouse of innovation. Hua had expertise in drug development that had been gained in Montreal and then in New Jersey where he had been involved in the submission process for several new medications that were subsequently approved by health authorities globally.听听
鈥淭he government of China provided lots of support, contributing research funding and facilities to get these biotech companies started. They also caught the attention of the venture capitalists,鈥� he says.听听听
The path to his current success was laid by 麻豆AV, he says. His gift acknowledges that. 鈥淚 want to repay the generosity, the love, the welcoming and the kindness that Canadians and 麻豆AV gave to me when I was here in the 鈥�90s.鈥澨�
He saves his biggest acknowledgment for the two women who 鈥渉ave been instrumental in making me who I am,鈥� and whose names will now live on at the School of Population and Global Health.听
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