Nai-Wen Chi, Endocrinologist and Researcher, Passes Away at 60
It is with saddened hearts that we report the passing of a valued friend and colleague Dr. Nai-Wen Chi, MD, Ph.D. Nai-Wen was an Associate Professor of Medicine at UCSD School of Medicine and a board-certified Endocrinologist at UC San Diego Health and the VA San Diego Healthcare System. He passed away on August 10th, 2021 after a three-year struggle with metastatic cancer.
Nai-Wen was the epitome of the physician-scientist-teacher, with active roles in both the clinic and classroom, and also as a scientist. Nai-Wen was exemplary in his clinical activities providing excellent clinical care guided by his outstanding knowledge of the medical literature. His range of clinical activities included the full spectrum of endocrine and metabolic diseases with a strong focus on diabetes. He based his clinical approaches on the underlying biology and mechanisms of disease and focused on how best to remedy or prevent disease. He excelled at clinical teaching of fellows and residents and devoted a significant effort to this activity, serving as Endocrinology Fellowship Program Director from 2005-2019 and Division Co-Chief from 2014-2019.
Nai-Wen's researched focused on how insulin stimulates the uptake of glucose into heart and fat cells and detailed the critical, unusual, and unknown roles of enzymes called tankyrases, which are multifunctional poly ADP-ribose polymerases. Interestingly, drugs that inhibit tankyrases are now being investigated as potential therapies for some types of cancers. His published work was elegantly performed, innovative, and of significant impact. Nai-Wen authored or co-authored dozens of published scholarly papers, books, book chapters, and case reports, including the pioneering reports on tankyrase and its cloning. Nai-Wen was very collegial as a researcher and contributed to the research of many other Division faculty members. On a personal level, Nai-Wen was quick to see the humor in difficult situations and failed experiments, and his positive outlook endeared him to many people.
Nai-Wen was born and raised in Taiwan, and graduated summa cum laude from National Taiwan University Medical School in 1986. After serving two years in the Taiwan army, he married his medical school classmate Lily and immigrated to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (1994) from Harvard Medical School under the tutelage of Richard Kolodner, Ph.D., now Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. From 1994 through 1999, Nai-Wen served his Residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was then recruited to join the faculty in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at UC San Diego in 2000. Apart from his clinical and research interests, Nai-Wen was also an active educator in the School of Medicine and ran the Endocrinology Fellowship Program, which grew substantially in both size and acclaim. Nai-Wen was greatly appreciated as a friend, colleague, teacher, and scientist. In addition, he was an accomplished classical pianist.
His efforts earned him recognition and acclaim throughout his career, including awards from the National Institutes of Health, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Sidney Kimmel Foundation, March of Dimes Foundation, Eli Lily and faculty excellence nominations at UC San Diego.
He is survived by his wife Lily, and sons Dillon and Tyler. Per his wishes, no funeral or memorial service is planned. Dr. Chi will be greatly missed as a colleague and friend to many, and for his many contributions to the Division of Endocrinology, the Department of Medicine and UC San Diego.
Sincerely,
Zea Borok, MD
Helen M. Ranney Professor and Chair
Wolfgang H. Dillmann
Professor Emeritus
Nicholas J.G. Webster, PhD
Kristen Kulasa, MD
Co-Chiefs, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism