The Stanford University team and Elsevier have jointly released the World's Top 2% Scientists 2026 list. Prof. Shawn Qu — Director and Chief Expert of SinoUnited Health's Endocrinology, Metabolism & Thyroid Center and Head of its Weight & Metabolic Management Center — has been named to the annual-impact list, in recognition of his long-standing academic contributions to obesity, lipid metabolism and thyroid disease, which have drawn attention across the international scholarly community.
A 40-year clinician-scholar in metabolism
Prof. Qu has worked on the front lines of clinical endocrinology and metabolism for more than 40 years, with a focus on obesity, diabetes, fatty liver and complex thyroid disorders. He undertook advanced training at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Diabetes Center in the United States, and currently serves on a professional committee of the American Thyroid Association (ATA). Since joining SinoUnited, he has led the building of an industry-leading Weight & Metabolic Management Center, bringing together a multidisciplinary team spanning endocrinology, nutrition and exercise rehabilitation, and introducing internationally leading weight-management medications and a standardised management system — offering overweight, obese and metabolically abnormal patients a scientific, individualised and long-term follow-up care pathway.
Shaping China's obesity-care standards
Prof. Qu is a standing committee member of the Chinese Society of Endocrinology (CSE) and heads its Obesity Group, making him a key driver of China's obesity diagnosis-and-treatment system. He has led the drafting of several national consensuses and guidelines, including the Clinical-Based Multidisciplinary Diagnosis and Treatment Consensus for Obesity (2021) and the Guidelines for Long-Term Weight Management and Clinical Drug Application in Obesity Patients (2024 and 2026 editions). He has edited more than ten monographs — including Obesity — published 200+ papers as first or corresponding author in SCI-indexed journals, and as principal investigator received the Ministry of Education Natural Science Second Prize and the Chinese Medical Association Science and Technology Third Prize, while leading 30+ research projects including those funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
On the global stage
While continuing to advance the standardisation of obesity care in China, Prof. Qu remains active internationally. He was recently invited to the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy, where he exchanged views with global experts on diabetes and metabolism around the multi-dimensional assessment of obesity, the dynamic recognition of metabolic states and long-term management — sharing China's clinical experience on a world academic platform.
This recognition affirms both Prof. Qu's personal academic influence and SinoUnited Health's sustained investment in metabolic-disease specialty building and multidisciplinary weight management. Looking ahead, SinoUnited's Weight & Metabolic Management Center will continue along its closed loop of "precise assessment — drug intervention — nutrition and exercise — long-term follow-up," so that patients with complex obesity, refractory metabolic abnormalities and difficult thyroid disease can take fewer wrong turns.
About Prof. Shawn Qu
Prof. Qu is an endocrinology and metabolism physician, Director and Chief Expert of SinoUnited's Endocrinology, Metabolism and Thyroid Center, and a Professor, Chief Physician and Doctoral Supervisor. He spent more than four decades in front-line clinical work at renowned Chinese hospitals — including Changhai Hospital, Zhongshan Hospital and Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital — and is recognised for difficult cases of thyroid disease and metabolic disease (obesity, diabetes, fatty liver). He pioneered China's centre-based management model for both thyroid and metabolic disease, and serves as a specially appointed professor or chief expert at several institutions.
At SinoUnited he established an industry-leading Weight & Metabolic Management Center that assembles an internationally minded multidisciplinary team and introduces world-leading medical technology and drug-management systems, aiming to deliver scientific, precise diagnosis and treatment for overweight, obese and metabolically diseased patients. He studied at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh from 2003 to 2008 and now serves on an ATA professional committee. He has been re-elected repeatedly to the CSE standing committee and was elected head of its Obesity Group — marking his core leadership in China's obesity academic field — and leads multiple consensuses and clinical studies advancing the obesity-treatment system.
Prof. Qu sits on the editorial boards of the Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. He has carried 30+ research funds (including 5 NSFC grants), published 200+ SCI articles, and edited 10+ monographs including Obesity; as principal investigator he received the Ministry of Education Natural Science Second Prize and the Chinese Medical Association Third Prize, among five awards. He has been honoured as a "Shanghai Leading Talent," a "Medical Leading Talent" and a "Pujiang Talent."
About the Endocrinology, Metabolism & Thyroid Center
Led by renowned professors and staffed by outstanding physicians from top-tier hospital endocrinology departments, the center upholds a patient-centred philosophy and a rigorous, scientific spirit. It is committed to disease prevention, early diagnosis and early treatment in this field, offers internationally informed metabolic check-ups and complication screening, actively promotes health education, and provides convenient online services — delivering individualised, professional, end-to-end care. Equipped with internationally standard medical devices and set in a comfortable, warm environment that emphasises humane care, the center provides high-quality, attentive medical service.