Liu Wei's painting of a rare butterfly is on the cover of a book on 121 rare diseases. [Photo/China Daily]

She thanks her husband and parents for supporting her work, which occupies most of her time.

After graduating from Tianjin Medical University in 1995, Liu worked as a physician and department head at Tianjin Children's Hospital from 1995 to 2010 and was then promoted to be a department head at the Tianjin Health Commission from 2010 to 2018.

She became the director of Tianjin Children's Hospital in 2018.

Besides her achievements in research, she has published three novels－The Last 24 hours, Children's Wards and Wind and Dust on the Medical Road－as well as a number of short stories and poems, some of which have won city-level and national awards.

Liu said she has a profound love for literature and painting.

"I followed my parents' wishes to become a doctor. Since then, I've found that my childhood hobbies, such as writing, painting and music, can benefit me professionally and have become part of my life and career."

Liu often reminds freshmen at medical universities that off-duty interests and hobbies are key to releasing tension and to enhancing emotional intelligence.

Her current focus of research is rare pediatric diseases. The hospital became a key member of Tianjin's rare disease treatment organization in 2019 and took the lead in researching Lysosomal storage disorders in 2020.

Last year, a database on rare diseases was set up in the country, and this year, an encyclopedia-style book on 121 rare diseases has been published. Liu's painting of a rare butterfly was used on the book's cover.

She said she chose the image to demonstrate that physicians need top-notch skills to cure rare diseases.