Biography & Autobiography Personal Memoirs
Journey of a Thousand Miles
An Extraordinary Life
- Publisher
- University of Ottawa Press
- Initial publish date
- Nov 2017
- Category
- Personal Memoirs, Science & Technology
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780776625690
- Publish Date
- Nov 2017
- List Price
- $14.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Issu d’un milieu défavorisé dans un Taiwan sous occupation japonaise, Ruey Yu évite de justesse la famine qui déferle sur son pays pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Le destin attend de lui autre chose : il devait devenir un biochimiste primé, puis le cofondateur de ce qui allait devenir la multinationale américaine spécialisée en soins de la peau, NeoStrata.
Il survit donc non seulement à la Seconde Guerre mondiale, mais aussi à la dictature militaire qui suit la guerre, sous le règne du général Tchang Kaï-chek, avant d’obtenir une bourse d’études diplômées fort prisée offerte par l’Université d’Ottawa. Plus tard, il obtient un poste de chercheur au prestigieux Skin and Cancer Hospital (Temple University) de Philadelphie, où il collabore avec le dermatologue Eugene Van Scott, au développement de traitements permettant de soigner de graves maladies de la peau.
En 1972, ils découvrent que les acides a-hydroxylés, ou AHA, combattaient efficacement l’ichtyose, une maladie cutanée, transformant la vie de milliers de personnes atteintes de cette maladie débilitante. Des recherches plus poussées dans les propriétés des AHA leur ont permis de découvrir les propriétés anti-rides et anti-âge de ces substances naturelles – une découverte qui a été brevetée par les entreprises de soins de la peau partout dans le monde, donnant le coup d’envoi à l’industrie cosméceutique, qui rapporte des milliards de dollars.
Ce livre est publié en anglais.
About the authors
Now in his 80s, Dr. Ruey J. Yu continues to work in the lab every day, hunting for biomarkers that could be used for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other diseases. In 2016, Dr. Yu and Dr. Van Scott sold NeoStrata to Johnson & Johnson, which is expanding the company’s research labs into a centre of excellence for dermatological research.
Kate Jaimet is an author and journalist who recently began a freelance career after many years as a daily newspaper reporter for the Ottawa Citizen. Her first book in the Orca Sports series, Slam Dunk, was selected by the Junior Library Guild and the Canadian Children's Book Centre as a Best Book for Kids & Teens. Kate learned to rock climb in Germany, and now has a bouldering wall in her basement in Ottawa, Ontario. More information is available at http://www.katejaimet.com.
Scott E. Simon is a professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies at the University of Ottawa.
M.D. Dr. Yu founded the skincare company NeoStrata with Dr. Van Scott in 1988, based on their discoveries of the anti-aging properties of AHAs.
Excerpt: Journey of a Thousand Miles: An Extraordinary Life (by (author) Ruey J. Yu; with Kate Jaimet; afterword by Scott Simon; foreword by Eugene J. Scott)
I opened my mouth and spoke two words. Two words that would set me on a path to a career, a wife, a family, a new life in a new country, and to success and honors beyond those I had ever dreamed possible. Two words that changed my destiny: Chemical engineering.
Editorial Reviews
Every tube of skin cream with AHA, the wildly popular anti-wrinkle ingredient, exists because of a half-starved boy in wartime Taiwan who travelled to university in Ottawa and went on to fortune. […] Yu’s life “is the classic story of constant optimism, moving forward in the face of adversity, overcoming all odds.”
Ottawa Citizen
