Photo was taken before the pandemic
• Our all-new Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics programme • Health@InnoHK- Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology • BBMS students win silver award at the 7th China International College Students’ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition • HKUMed scientists identify genetic risk factors for spine osteoarthritis in a milestone research
www.sbms.hku.hk
Welcome Message
I am delighted to present to you the 6th issue of our HKUMed School of Biomedical Sciences newsletter. It has been almost one year since the inauguration of this newsletter, and it is playing an important part in keeping our staff, students and friends up to date with the happenings in the School. Wrapping up the year of 2021 and looking ahead to 2022, we are excited to introduce the BSc in Bioinformatics programme, the newest undergraduate programme offered by our School. The feature stories of the innovative research at Health@InnoHK and our students’ achievements in the 7th China International College Students‘ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition will most certainly inspire everyone to be more creative and to think more about translating biomedical research. In addition, from this edition onwards, we will be going into the laboratories of our PIs to have a glimpse of their research work and what life is like to work in their research laboratories, starting with Drs. Clive Chung and Mu He’s laboratories.
Last but not least, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dr. Masayo Kotaka Member, Knowledge Exchange & Global Committee School of Biomedical Sciences
Teaching and Learning Introducing HKUMed new programme Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics Feature Story
Bioinformaticians are biomedical scientists with strong quantitative skills who can harness the power of big data and novel digital health technologies to solve biomedical problems. With the establishment of The Hong Kong Genome Project and numerous new R&D centres created by the InnoHK initiative, there is now a strong and growing demand for bioinformaticians across the healthcare and biotechnology sectors. As such, there are now ample career opportunities for well-trained bioinformaticians locally and internationally. In response to this growing trend, our School will re-launch the Bachelor Science in Bioinformatics programme (BSc[Bioinformatics]) with the first intake commencing in the 2022/23 academic year. The expected intake size is 15 students. This modernised 4-year programme mirrors the flexible curriculum structure of BBiomedSc, which enables students to pursue a wide range of disciplinary courses and elective courses, with a broad range of opportunities for overseas exchange and internships. The programme has several innovative elements. Centrally, we have three compulsory ‘anchoring’ courses that serve as the backbone to enable multidisciplinary integration of diverse courses at each year level. These courses will use a problem-based learning approach to allow students to learn how to identify computational solutions to
real-world biomedical problems. The small class size of our programme will enable learning to be tailored to individual interests. In addition, we will design two new ‘data science laboratory’ courses, which are the ‘dry-lab’ equivalence of the experimental laboratory courses in the BBiomedSc programme. The capstone 12-credit final year project will allow students to complete a research dissertation with a bioinformatics academic supervisor across the Faculties of Medicine, Science and Engineering. In addition to the Bioinformatics major, we are also launching two related minors: Biomedical Data Science, and Digital Health. These 36-credit minors are open to all HKU undergraduate students, including BSc (Bioinformatics), BBiomedSc and BEng students. The minor in Biomedical Data Science allows students to gain data science skills to analyse genomics and other omic data for biomedical applications. The minor in Digital Health is designed for students who want to develop artificial intelligence and big data technologies for healthcare applications such as mobile health, medical AI analysis, and global health informatics.
E-prospectus
Feature Story Research & Innovation
Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology, Health@InnoHK
Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology (CTSCB) is one of the six Health@InnoHK Centres wholly owned by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and is supported by Innovation and Technology Commission. With the leadership by Professor Pengtao Liu, CTSCB brings together world-leading scientists and clinicians from the HKU and a world-class Institute in the UK, who are dedicated in stem cell, genetics and genomics research. Professor Liu and his research team have established a world-leading patented technology in establishing expanded potential stem cells (EPSCs) from multiple mammalian species including mouse, human and pig.
Front row from left: Dr. Stephanie Ma, Dr. Ralf Jauch, Dr. Vera Chan Back row from left: Prof. Chak-Sing Lau, Dr. Philip Hei Li, Dr. Guocheng Lan, Dr. Bo Gao, Prof. Pengtao Liu
Professor Gordon Dougan, CTSCB Deputy Director, a world authority on vaccines, genomics and epidemiology of infectious diseases, will bring in his know-how on Centre's translational research. Together with the collaborators who have unique expertise in single cell genomics, blood cell development, drug screening and different diseases, the dedicated team will further advance on the technology of EPSCs and translate the discoveries into regenerative medicine, organ transplantation and genomic medicine. Hong Kong, as a cosmopolitan city and in close proximity to other cities in mainland China and Asia, is a “meeting point” to attract talents to work and study. Seizing this opportunity of bringing renowned scientists from our overseas collaborating Institute, CTSCB has a vision of playing the key role in transforming Hong Kong into a global innovative hub on stem cell biology. The Centre aims to develop EPSC-based animal cloning technology and to explore in vitro human early cell lineage development, which will provide vital information for producing mature and functional cells for regenerative medicine. The patented technology also enables EPSCs to be used as a platform to study diseases, such as heart and liver diseases, and for drug testing and screening for cell-based therapies. Likewise, this can also be applicable to immune diseases in which the Centre will establish genetically-defined stem cell-based models of immune disease to identify multiple new disease-associated genes and to screen cellular phenotypes for drug discovery. Taken together, the discoveries and technologies will be eventually developed as commercial products for clinical applications.
CTSCB research laboratory at Hong Kong Science & Technology Park has been opened since July 2021. The laboratory is about 11,000 square feet with advanced equipment and a Pre-Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory.
With state-of-the-art research facilities, cross-disciplinary group of innovative researchers and clinicians, CTSCB strives in pursuing high quality research in the following three main programmes: 1. Development of new stem cell technologies 2. EPSCs for studying human disease and for regenerative medicine 3. EPSCs for genomics medicine of immune disease
CTSCB website
CTSCB is now opened for applications for Post-Doctoral Fellow, Research Assistant and Research Postgraduate Student.
Principal Investigators: Prof. Pengtao Liu, Prof. Hung-Fat Tse, Prof. Chak-Sing Lau, Prof. William Shu-Biu Yeung, Dr. Cherie Lau-Yin Lee, Dr. Gao Bo, Dr. Philip Hei Li, Dr. Ralf Jauch, Dr. Rio Ryohichi Sugimura, Dr. Stephanie Kwai-Yee Ma, Dr. Yuanhua Huang, Dr. Vera Chan
Upcoming Events
Jan 26, 2022 HKU Biomed Entrepreneurship Talk Series by Dr. Sloan Kulper, CEO, Lifespans Limited
Jan 7 & 21, Feb 18 & 25, Mar 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2022 RPG Seminar
Jan 26, Feb 23, Mar 9 & 30, 2022 PDF Seminar
Jan 10 & 11, 2022 Joint Research Retreat with HKUST
Feb 10, 2022 HKUMed Spring Reception 2022
Feb 10, 2022 Invited Seminar by Dr. Johnny Kim, Department of Cardiac Development and Remodelling, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Germany
Jan 13, 2022 Human Embryonic Development and Developmental Genomics Seminar by Prof.
Upcoming Events
Marianne Bronner, Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, USA
Feb 16, 2022 Research Chalk Talk by Dr. Xiucong Bao
Jan 25, 2022 T&L Chalk Talk by Mr. Guilherme Fonseca
Mar 12, 2022 Body Donation Day 2022
Knowledge Exchange & Global Feature Story
The 7th China International College Students’ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition
Regenerative medicine has shown great promises in recent decades. Nonetheless, obtaining a reliable source of human stem cells are challenging. Traditional sources of human stem cells from embryonic stem cells (ESCs), bone marrow, and umbilical cord blood are limited by practical and ethical concerns. Post-natal dental stem cells (DSCs) have mesenchymal-stem-cell (MSC)-like qualities, including self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation potency. Our idea is to enable DSCs to be a practical source of stem cells in humans for regenerative medicine. With great therapeutic and market potential, we explored the possibility of designing a business project utilizing the translational capabilities of DSCs. The idea of tooth banking came to our mind. We thus proposed a project titled ‘CRYOTeeth’ – a locally-based business idea that utilizes long-term cryopreservation of DSCs to offer patients a range of stem cell therapies later in life. We first submitted this idea to the course Contemporary Topics in Biomedical Technology (BBMS2008) as a group project to convince our teachers to invest in our business idea in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ setting. We had been taught many aspects of biomedical science and novel biotechnology, but this project trained us to consider practical aspects by placing us in the shoes of entrepreneurs. Standing before potential investors, we were challenged with questions regarding the market competition, risk assessment, and handling emergency scenarios. This helped us consolidate the idea beyond its original conception into a plan we could confidently submit to the “Internet+” regional and national competitions – one of the largest national competitions of college students in innovation and entrepreneurship. We were grateful to have won the silver award at the 7th China International College Students’ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Our silver award in the competition can be attributed to two major reasons. DSCs are originated from the neural crest stem cells (NCSCs), which offer us a greater cellular plasticity towards ectoderm lineage (e.g., neurons, melanocytes) compared with mesoderm-originated hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow. Such distinguished differentiation capacities put us in a complementary rather than competitive relationship with HSCs, commonly collected by cord blood banking. As a local pioneer, we plan to make good use of this therapeutic tissue technique in order to meet the growing demand in personalized medicine in Hong Kong, such as tooth regeneration, organ replacement, and disease modelling. Technology foresight is critical in the area of scientific and technological innovation. Our teamwork indeed has helped us get through every challenge, which we truly appreciate. In addition, we would like to thank our teachers again for pointing out our weaknesses and providing us with guidance when we most needed it. Translating our ideas into a business in a real-case scenario requires unprecedented meticulousness. Not only did they allow us to ponder over what are the realistic difficulties and business considerations that pave the road from basic science to a business idea, and eventually to an entrepreneur, but they also prepared us for the competition where the judges were all experts in starting a business. The key to converting the project thought to a mature, practical idea was a thorough business model and risk assessment. Apart from preparing ‘plan B’ for every potential contingency, we discovered the importance of perspicacity -- to be aware of the market demands and target population before any company in Hong Kong has put the idea into reality. Being undergraduates, we would never be able to achieve this without relentless support from our advisor Dr. Joshua Ho, our teachers, and judges in the competition, who nurtured us with their invaluable experience and expertise.
See more about the competition
From left: Dr. Joshua Ho, Associate Professor at School of Biomedical Sciences, Mr. Nicolas Lau, Miss Wai Man Chick, Miss Liz Pan and Mr. Kwan Yiu Tse, BBMS year 3 students at the award presentation ceremony (HKSAR region).
Congratulations Awards & External Grants
Students Awards
MindSpore Pathology Diagnosis Challenge 2021 Dr. Junyi Chen, Postdoctoral Fellow in Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D24H), Miss Barbara Wing Yan Wong, BBMS year 3 student, Mr. Weizhong Zheng, PhD student in Dr. Joshua Ho’s lab and their team have been
Staff Awards
Election of Council Member Prof. Danny Chan has been elected as a member of the HKU Council.
awarded the Pitching Score Runner-up Award and Special Prize for Explainability in the MindSpore Pathology Diagnosis Challenge 2021.
Election of Member of The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences Prof. Kathryn Cheah has been elected as a member of The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences.
IPE International Student Challenge 2021 Miss Ji Won Seo, BBMS year 3 student, and her team won IPE International Student Challenge 2021 hosted by U21 Health Sciences Group.
Oral Presentation Winner Ms. Feng Hu, PhD student in Dr. Martin Cheung’s lab Poster Presentation Winner Mr. Man Hon Manton Leung, PhD student in Dr. Wilson Ching’s lab 26th HKUMed Research Postgraduate Symposium Congratulations to the following research postgraduate students for their fantastic presentations at the 26th HKUMed Research Postgraduate Symposium:
Food and Health Bureau - Health Research Symposium 2021 Prof. Dong-Yan Jin has been awarded the 10th Health and Medical Research Fund Anniversary Award for Breakthrough Research (Project: Roles of Epstein-Barr virus-encoded miR-BART microRNAs in viral persistence and transformation of epithelial cells), and the Best Poster Award (Project: Single-dose intranasal administration of an NSP16-deficient SARS-CoV-2 as a candidate live attenuated vaccine provide sterilizing immunity in hamsters and K18-hACE2 mice) at the Health Research Symposium 2021.
Mr. Yunong Xie, MPhil student in Dr. Man Tong's lab Ms. Huajian Yu, PhD student in Dr. Stephanie Ma’s lab
External Grants
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) / Research Grants Council (RGC) Joint Research Scheme 2021/22 A grand total of HK$2,337,093 has been awarded to Prof. Danny Chan and Dr. Cora Lai.
Top Peer Reviewers for Journal of Virology in 2021 Prof. Dong-Yan Jin has been recognized as a Top 25 peer reviewer for Journal of Virology in 2021.
Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) 2020 Congratulations to the following awardees:
Prof. Danny Chan, Dr. Wilson Ching, Dr. Stephanie Ma, Dr. Asif Javed, Dr. Cora Lai, Dr. Chi-Pang Chan, Dr. Eric Wong, Dr. Tiffany Yuen Kwan Au, Dr. Hinson Cheung, Dr. Sin-Yee Fung, Dr. Fatin Nurizzati Mohd Jaya, and Dr. Anna Yu.
All Media Coverage
In the Media School Highlights
Nov 4, 2021 - Press Release: HKUMed scientists identify genetic risk factors for spine osteoarthritis in a milestone research
Nov 25, 2021 - Media Coverage: Dr. Joshua Ho and Dr. Jason Wong were interviewed by local media to share on HKUMed new programme BSc(Bioinformatics)
Dec 6, 2021 - Media Coverage: Dr. Stephanie Ma shared her plan after being awarded the RGC Research Fellow Scheme
Dec 20, 2021 - Press Release: HKUMed research team identifies new drug combo for liver cancer via CRISPR-Cas9 screen
Recap of Events School Highlights
Oct 7, 2021 HKUMed Outreach Taster Lecture for St Paul's Convent School (Non-JUPAS Section) by Dr. Joshua Ho and Dr. Jason Wong
Nov 8, 2021 BBiomedSc Town Hall Forum 2021
Nov 11, 2021 Invited Seminar by Prof. Peng Li, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Nov 17, 2021 Research Chalk Talk by Dr. Chaogu Zheng, School of Biological Sciences, HKU Nov 18, 2021 Invited Seminar by Dr. Chaofan Li, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic, USA
Oct 11, 2021 RPG Orientation
Oct 20 & 27, Nov 10 & 24, Dec 8, 2021 PDF Seminar
Oct 21, 2021 Human Embryonic Development, Stem Cells and Developmental Genomics Seminar by Prof. Joanna Wysocka, Stanford University, U.S.A.
Oct 22 & 29, Nov 5, 12 & 19, Dec 3 & 10, 2021 RPG Seminar
Nov 20, 2021 The 205th Congregation, HKUMed
Oct 25, 2021 T&L Chalk Talk by Dr. Masayo Kotaka
Oct 27, 2021 Research Chalk Talk by Prof. Dong-Yan Jin
Nov 3, 2021 Body Donation Programme & Dissecting Lab Visit for Development Alumni Affairs Biomed Entrepreneurship Talk Series by Dr. Ricky Chiu, Founder & CEO, PHASE Scientific
Nov 23, 2021 T&L Chalk Talk by Dr. Jisun Jung, Faculty of Education, HKU
Nov 29, 2021 Invited Seminar by Dr. Lequan Yu, Department of Statistics & Actuarial Science, Faculty of Science, HKU Dec 3, 2021 Invited Seminar by Dr. Shiming Zhang, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, HKU The 205th Congregation, Faculty of Science
Dec 4, 2021 Dissecting Lab Visit for MBBS Alumni Reunion
Nov 5, 2021 Invited Seminar by Prof. Qiufu Ma, Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, USA
Dec 8, 2021 Research Chalk Talk by Prof. Barbara Chan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, HKU Dec 9, 2021 Invited Seminar by Prof. Guangdun Peng, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China SBMS Christmas Party Dec 15, 2021 Invited Seminar by Dr. Kaige Yan, School of Life Sciences, SUSTech, China Dec 16, 2021 Invited Seminar by Dr. Melania Barile, MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, UK
Nov 6, 2021 Physical Lab Demonstration for UG Admissions
T&L Chalk Talk by Dr. Joshua Ho and Dr. Jason Wong
Dec 29, 2021 HKU Christmas Taster
New Equipment School Highlights Multiplexing System (Luminex/ MAGPIX) Perform up to 50 different tests in a single reaction in 96-well plate format Location L1-05, Lab Block
Automated Western Blot System (biotechne ProteinSimple Wes) Fully automated western blotting workflow including separation by capillary electrophoresis, immunodetection and data analysis
Benchtop Vacuum Concentrator (LABCONCO/ CentriVap)
Rapid concentration of aqeuous sample in 1.5ml tube using centrifugal force, vacuum and heat
Tech-in-charge Mr. Owen Chan
Location L3-26, Lab Block Tech-in-charge Ms. Wan Ying Wong wywong@hku.hk +852-3917-9475
Location L1-41, Lab Block Tech-in-charge Ms. Carman Leung kmleung@hku.hk +852-3917-9425
owenchan@hku.hk +852-3917-9196
Real-Time PCR Instrument (Biorad/ CFX Opus 96) 96-well qPCR with WiFi for direct data transfer Location L3-30, Lab Block Tech-in-charge
Real-Time PCR Instrument (Biorad/ CFX Opus 384) 384-well qPCR with WiFi for direct data transfer
Location L4-06, Lab Block Tech-in-charge Ms. Molly Wong pfwong@hku.hk +852-3917-2832
Ms. Maggie Cheung maggiesh@hku.hk +852-3917-6811
Karyotyping microscope (Zeiss/ Axioscope) Fluorescent inverted microscope with AI-based karyotyping software Ikaros Location L4-06, Lab Block Tech-in-charge
FPLC (Cytiva/ AKTA pure) Chromatography system for customized protein purification Location L4-25, Lab Block Tech-in-charge Miss Samantha Wong
Ms. Connie Wong wmwonga@hku.hk +852-3917-9181
wongwwt@hku.hk +852-3917-9230
*Corresponding Authors | # Co-first Authors | ^Current RPG Students Publications Highlights
1. Poon CH^ , Tan SZ^* , Sheng V, Wang S, Aquili L, Lim LW* . A brief comparative look at experimental memory editing techniques for cognitive dysfunction. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2021 Dec 8. 2. Chong PS^# , Poon CH^# , Roy J^ , Tsui KC^ , Lew SY, Phang MW, Tan RJ, Cheng PG, Fung ML , Wong KH* , Lim LW* . Neurogenesis-dependent antidepressant-like activity of hericium erinaceus in an animal model of depression. Chin Med. 2021 Dec 7;16(1):132. 3. Qiao C , Huang Y* . Representation learning of RNA velocity reveals robust cell transitions. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021 Dec 7;118(49):e2105859118. 4. Lo Y^ , Cheung YW , Wang L^ , Lee M , Figueroa-Miranda G, Liang S, Mayer D, Tanner JA* . An electrochemical aptamer-based biosensor targeting plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein II for malaria diagnosis. Biosens Bioelectron. 2021 Nov 15;192:113472. 5. Wu MY#, Wong AY#, Leung JK, Kam C, Wu KL , Chan YS , Liu K, Ip NY, Chen S*. A near-infrared AIE fluorescent probe for myelin imaging: From sciatic nerve to the optically cleared brain tissue in 3D. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021 Nov 9;118(45):e2106143118. 6. Fang H^ , Zhu X^ , Yang H^ , Oh J , Barbour JA , Wong JW* . Deficiency of replication-independent DNA mismatch repair drives a 5-methylcytosine deamination mutational signature in cancer. Sci Adv. 2021 Nov 5;7(45):eabg4398. 7. Pan Y# , Shea YF*#, Ismail Z, Mak HK, Chiu PK, Chu LW, Song YQ . Prevalence of mild behavioural impairment domains: A meta-analysis. Psychogeriatrics. 2021 Nov 2. 8. Loh JJ^ , Ma S* . The role of cancer-associated fibroblast as a dynamic player in mediating cancer stemness in the tumor microenvironment. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Oct 25;9:727640. 9. Vinel C, Rosser G#, Guglielmi L#, Constantinou M#, Pomella N, Zhang X, Boot JR, Jones TA, Millner TO, Dumas AA, Rakyan V, Rees J, Thompson JL, Vuononvirta J, Nadkarni S, El Assan T, Aley N, Lin YY, Liu P , Nelander S, Sheer D, Merry CL, Marelli-Berg F, Brandner S, Marino S*. Comparative epigenetic analysis of tumour initiating cells and syngeneic EPSC-derived neural stem cells in glioblastoma. Nat Commun. 2021 Oct 21;12(1):6130. 10. Thoms JA, Truong P, Subramanian S, Knezevic K, Harvey G, Huang Y, Seneviratne JA, Carter DR, Joshi S, Skhinas J, Chacon D, Shah A, de Jong I, Beck D, Göttgens B, Larsson J, Wong JW , Zanini F, Pimanda JE. Disruption of a GATA2-TAL1-ERG regulatory circuit promotes erythroid transition in healthy and leukemic stem cells. Blood. 2021 Oct 21;138(16):1441-1455. 11. Xu F^# , Tong M# , Tong CS , Chan BK^ , Chu HY , Wong TL , Fong JH^ , Cheung MS , Mak KH , Pardeshi L, Huang Y , Wong KH, Choi GC , Ma S* , Wong AS* . A combinatorial CRISPR-Cas9 screen identifies ifenprodil as an adjunct to sorafenib for liver cancer treatment. Cancer Res. 2021 Oct 19:canres.1017.2021. 12. Lin J, Bao X* , Li XD*. Chemoproteomic approach for mapping binding sites of post-translational-modification-mediated protein-protein interactions. Trends Biochem Sci. 2021 Oct 9:S0968-0004(21)00207-3. 13. Yeung SF^ , Zhou Y , Zou W , Chan WL , Ching YP* . TEC kinase stabilizes PLK4 to promote liver cancer metastasis. Cancer Lett. 2021 Oct 9:S0304-3835(21)00435-3.
Research Highlights Come Learn about our School's Research
Doing chemistry on proteins to unravel complex redox biology and develop new drug modalities – Dr. Clive Chung
While it seems unusual to put “chemistry” and “protein” together in a sentence, in every second there are thousands of chemical reactions occurring on proteins in living systems. Certainly these are not explosive chemical reactions as you will see when you put a piece of sodium metal in acid. Instead, living systems are very smart and can initiate, regulate or terminate chemical reactions on proteins in highly controllable manners. An example is phosphorylation on protein, a post-translational modification where a phosphoryl group is attached to nucleophilic amino acids such as serine, threonine or tyrosine. Phosphorylation can significantly change the protein functions and activities, thus resulting in signaling cascades to control other chemical reactions to regulate important biological processes such as growth and development.
Unlike protein phosphorylation which can be detected readily by western blotting, another type of chemistry on proteins: oxidation and reduction, i.e. redox biology, is much less
explored. This is not because this redox biology is not important in living systems as it has long been hypothesized for its close associations with disease development and progression such as cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. Yet, studying redox chemistry on proteins is very challenging because this chemistry (oxidation or reduction) is highly dynamic and unstable, and cannot be detected by most of the conventional experiments. Dr. Clive Chung’s lab is trying to tackle this problem by turning the unstable redox chemistry on protein into a permanent modification using their specific chemical probes. With this permanent modification, his lab can then identify proteins involved in redox biology by confocal fluorescence microscopy, gel-based experiments and advance LC-MS/MS. Some of these proteins are found to be important targets for cancer development, thus uncovering the missing link between redox biology and cancers down to molecular level.
Dr. Clive Chung's webpage
Dr. Clive Chung’s lab is also developing new chemistry on proteins for expanding the pool of proteins that can be bound and drugged, aiming at developing new drug modalities for more effective cancer therapy and overcome drug resistance found in current cancer therapy by drugging new protein targets. To know more, please come to L1-05 and have a chat with Dr. Clive Chung’s team!
The highly conserved respiratory system of air breathing animals represents a major interface between internal organs and the environment. In the course of a typical human lifespan, approximately 200 to 400 million liters of air are conducted via the respiratory system. While the pulmonary function has been adapted for organismal physiology and aging, it is also vulnerable to diseases including COVID-19, asthma, COPD, fibrosis, and cancer. Morphogenesis of the respiratory system takes place during embryogenesis and generates diverse cell types with distinct physiological functions. After birth, when mammals are transitioned from the amniotic fluid to air breathing, the airway forms a protective mucosal barrier, clears inhaled pathogens, and generates innate and adaptive immune responses to harmful signals. Surprisingly, how this vital barrier forms and functions at the molecular level, and how dysfunction leads to diseases, are poorly characterized. Building the airway using human organoids: from form to function - Dr. Mu He
In the He lab at the SBMS at Faculty of Medicine, we are leveraging the power of stem cell biology, live imaging, human organoids, and single-cell technologies to understand how the respiratory system develops, repairs, and regenerates. Our lab focuses on the respiratory epithelial cells as the entry point to address fundamental questions pertaining to human airway development and physiology, including: 1) how is the airway mucosal barrier differentiated before the first breath, 2) how do airways balance mucus secretion and clearance, and 3) how do mucosal commensal microbiome and pathogen shape airway regeneration and function? Given the species-specific differences in airway biology between mice and humans, new approaches are needed, and we are using new model systems and performing comparative studies to reveal unifying principles of regeneration. Through proactive collaboration between research and medicine, our ultimate goal is to translate basic biomedical discovery into effective therapies for patients affected by respiratory diseases.
Dr. Mu He's webpage
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