The late Dr. Tu Tsung-ming, widely recognized as the "Father of Taiwanese Medical Research," was also an expert on snake venom. And his son, Anthony Tu, followed his steps to become a world renowned toxicologist. The younger Dr. Tu recently came back to Taiwan for an academic conference, and he took time to reminisce about his father and their relationship.

Back in the 1920's, an anti-opium campaign was launched by Taiwan's intellectuals to pressure the Japanese rulers into eradicating this widespread drug problem.

And one young doctor, Tu Tsung-ming, played an especially important role in the war against opium. Tu, who graduated from Japan's Kyoto Imperial University, was the first Taiwanese to earn an MD degree.

With his passion and medical expertise, Tu helped nearly 100,000 of his fellowmen to get rid of opium addiction. But that is not the only reason for which Tu is remembered by later generations.

Tu's another major achievement lies in his medical training programs for aboriginal communities. Thanks to the doctor's vision and efforts, medical services were finally available to every single town and village of this island.

Tu's son, Anthony, is also an accomplished scholar. A world-renowned chemist and toxicologist, the younger Dr. Tu has taught in a U.S. university for more than 30 years.

He recently came back to Taiwan for an academic conference, and he revealed that his passion for toxicology was actually inspired by his versatile father, who was also an expert on snake venom.

The 80-year-old professor admitted that the deeper he digs into the world of toxicology, the more he understands what fascinated his father. The lifelong love for research may just be the greatest legacy his father left for him.