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December 1, 2022JUNBO GE
Named "Doctor of the Decade" by the Institute for Scientific Information, Eric Topol is a world-class cardiologist, prominent scientist...
Professor Junbo Ge is a Chinese physician and scientist born in Wulian, China, on November 8, 1962. He has occupied several highly-regarded positions during his life, including being a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chairman of the China Cardiovascular Association. Ge grew up in Shandong and attended Qingdao Medical College, where he graduated in 1984. Afterward, he moved to Germany to continue his medical studies, obtaining a medical degree from The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 1993. He continued to work in clinical and scientific research in cardiovascular disease for more than seven years, focusing on understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of coronary heart disease.(1,2,3)
He decided to follow one year of postdoctoral training at the University Hospital of Essen, where he was named by the Department of Cardiology of the Hospital the Director of the Intravascular Ultrasound Laboratory and worked in the area for multiple years.(2,4)
Reflecting on cardiology's future
During his time in Germany, Professor Ge was the President of the Chinese Medical Society in Germany for four years. He reflected on several aspects of his work, including how to turn his research into clinical practice. He asked himself about ways to improve cardiology, focusing on Polymorphism, demographic changes, and how these factors could help predict the development of diseases.(1,4)
During his time in Germany, Professor Ge was the President of the Chinese Medical Society in Germany for four years. He reflected on several aspects of his work, including how to turn his research into clinical practice. He asked himself about ways to improve cardiology, focusing on Polymorphism, demographic changes, and how these factors could help predict the development of diseases.(1,4)
After a decade of practicing medicine and researching in Germany, Ge was called by the State Ministry of Personnel Affairs of China to move back to his country and continue his practice in China. Doctor Ge has made notable contributions to cardiology, especially in intravascular sonography and interventional cardiology. His most acclaimed discovery is his theory on myocardial bridging; this discovery is known as the “Ge Phenomenon” and shed light on diagnosing and managing this syndrome. A myocardial bridging occurs when myocardial tissue lies on top of the coronary artery, leading, in some cases, to the development of myocardial ischemia. Ge defined a specific ultrasonic index called “half-moon sign,” which helped raise this condition’s detection rate from 2,5% to 95%. This finding changed the long-established management for myocardial bridging, identifying the nature of artery atherosclerotic plaque, and soon was used as a gold standard worldwide. He also pioneered multiple cardiovascular techniques, including the “retrograde guidewire capture,” and led the first multicenter RCT in coronary interventional therapy in China, the RACTS study.(3,4,6)
After a decade of practicing medicine and researching in Germany, Ge was called by the State Ministry of Personnel Affairs of China to move back to his country and continue his practice in China. Doctor Ge has made notable contributions to cardiology, especially in intravascular sonography and interventional cardiology. His most acclaimed discovery is his theory on myocardial bridging; this discovery is known as the “Ge Phenomenon” and shed light on diagnosing and managing this syndrome. A myocardial bridging occurs when myocardial tissue lies on top of the coronary artery, leading, in some cases, to the development of myocardial ischemia.
Ge defined a specific ultrasonic index called “half-moon sign,” which helped raise this condition’s detection rate from 2,5% to 95%. This finding changed the long-established management for myocardial bridging, identifying the nature of artery atherosclerotic plaque, and soon was used as a gold standard worldwide. He also pioneered multiple cardiovascular techniques, including the “retrograde guidewire capture,” and led the first multicenter RCT in coronary interventional therapy in China, the RACTS study.(3,4,6)
A very devoted and prolific career
As a dedicated cardiologist, Professor Ge has been passionate about making changes and optimizing the diagnosis and management of one field, particularly coronary artery disease, being very prolific in his findings in the area. He has published more than 300 papers in top-tier scientific journals, including Circulation and Nature, and edited over 20 Internal Medicine books, widely used worldwide. He is also the Chief Editor of Cardiology Plus, a peer-reviewed journal, and Deputy Editor of Herz, a journal for physicians interested in cardiology. He has also made remarkable advancements in intravascular ultrasound, and his research has been focused on the management strategy for challenging CAD cases, stem cell therapy, and coronary stents.
In 2015, he developed the country’s first biodegradable, drug-coated coronary stent, making the incidence of fatal in-stent thrombosis decrease from 1.2%-1.9% to 0.34%, also reducing the dual antiplatelet therapy duration after stent implantation to 6 months, and proving a noteworthy model of applying scientific research findings into clinical practice in his country.(4,6,7)
As a dedicated cardiologist, Professor Ge has been passionate about making changes and optimizing the diagnosis and management of one field, particularly coronary artery disease, being very prolific in his findings in the area. He has published more than 300 papers in top-tier scientific journals, including Circulation and Nature, and edited over 20 Internal Medicine books, widely used worldwide.
He is also the Chief Editor of Cardiology Plus, a peer-reviewed journal, and Deputy Editor of Herz, a journal for physicians interested in cardiology. He has also made remarkable advancements in intravascular ultrasound, and his research has been focused on the management strategy for challenging CAD cases, stem cell therapy, and coronary stents. In 2015, he developed the country’s first biodegradable, drug-coated coronary stent, making the incidence of fatal in-stent thrombosis decrease from 1.2%-1.9% to 0.34%, also reducing the dual antiplatelet therapy duration after stent implantation to 6 months, and proving a noteworthy model of applying scientific research findings into clinical practice in his country.(4,6,7)
A worthy innovator with his sights on deep learning
Along with his numerous discoveries that changed how we manage cardiovascular cases, Dr. Ge nowadays is Co-Chairman of the Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Co-Director of the Department of Cardiology, and Director of Interventional Cardiology at Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. He has also been expanding his experiences beyond inpatient cardiology and is open about the advantages of integrating technology in healthcare. During the 12th Oriental Cardiology Conference’s opening ceremony in 2018, to which Ge was the Chairman, he discussed options to enhance cardiovascular disease prevention and control. One of the pathways mentioned was relying on artificial intelligence to transform medicine, with a vast improvement in the efficiency and accuracy of tests and a reduction in physicians’ burden.
Dr. Ge also shares his insight and understanding of the Chinese healthcare system as a Medical Advisor with Analytics 4 Life, a deep learning company that seeks to create cloud-based diagnostic imaging in countries with limited resources and rural areas. He believes that using deep learning will result in several advantages and expressed that “the diagnosis and treatment model of AI plus human experts will surpass our current traditional model.”(1,2,4,9,10,11)
Along with his numerous discoveries that changed how we manage cardiovascular cases, Dr. Ge nowadays is Co-Chairman of the Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Co-Director of the Department of Cardiology, and Director of Interventional Cardiology at Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. He has also been expanding his experiences beyond inpatient cardiology and is open about the advantages of integrating technology in healthcare.
During the 12th Oriental Cardiology Conference’s opening ceremony in 2018, to which Ge was the Chairman, he discussed options to enhance cardiovascular disease prevention and control. One of the pathways mentioned was relying on artificial intelligence to transform medicine, with a vast improvement in the efficiency and accuracy of tests and a reduction in physicians’ burden.Dr. Ge also shares his insight and understanding of the Chinese healthcare system as a Medical Advisor with Analytics 4 Life, a deep learning company that seeks to create cloud-based diagnostic imaging in countries with limited resources and rural areas. He believes that using deep learning will result in several advantages and expressed that “the diagnosis and treatment model of AI plus human experts will surpass our current traditional model.”(1,2,4,9,10,11)
Awarded efforts.
Professor Ge’s accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. He has received more than 14 awards for his discoveries and his career in medicine, including some of the most important awards in China, the first prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award presented by the Ministry of Education, and the first prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award, the second prize of National Award for Science and Technology Progress, the second prize of National Award for Technological Invention and the National Labour Medal.(6,7)
Continues to shed light on cardiology
Apart from being a prominent physician committed to serving patients, Ge enjoys sharing his experiences with the world. He has been invited to more than 18 international conferences, where he has participated as a speaker and is currently involved in more than 20 scientific projects in the field of interventional cardiology.(6,8)