Faculty of Science Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement & Outstanding Alumni Award Presentation Ceremony 2024

The Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement & Outstanding Alumni Award Presentation Ceremony 2024 was held on December 20, 2024. This event celebrated the exceptional efforts in teaching, research, scholarly activities, and knowledge transfer by our esteemed faculty members, while also recognizing the professional excellence and scholarly contributions of our accomplished alumni.   Congratulations to the awardees of the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2024! Their unwavering dedication to excellence in teaching, research, and knowledge transfer activities has been truly remarkable.   Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2024 Individual Awards   Category Awardees Teaching: Outstanding Teacher Dr LAM Kim Hung Lecturer, ABCT Research and Scholarly Activities: Outstanding Researcher Prof. YAO Zhongping Associate Head & Professor, ABCT Knowledge Transfer: Industry Dr MA Cong Associate Professor, ABCT Knowledge Transfer: Society Dr CHUA Songlin Assistant Professor, ABCT     Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Science 2024   Category Awardee Scholarly Achievement Prof. LIU Dongsheng  

Dr. So Chau-ming Receives the Asian Core Programme Lectureship Award at the 17th International Conference on Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia (ICCEOCA-17)

We are excited to announce that Dr. So Chau-ming has been honored with the Asian Core Programme Lectureship Award at the 17th International Conference on Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia (ICCEOCA-17), which took place from November 29 to December 2, 2024. This award recognizes Dr. So's exceptional contributions to the field of organic chemistry and his commitment to advancing research and collaboration in Asia. Congratulations to Dr. So Chau-ming on this well-deserved recognition! The Asian Core Program on Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia (ACP-CEOCA) was established in 2005 to unite leading scientists in organic chemistry from across the region. Supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), this program fosters the sharing of ideas through conferences, lectures, and student exchanges. Notable leaders such as Prof. Minoru Isobe (Nagoya University, Japan), Prof. Atsushi Nishida (Chiba University, Japan), Prof. Guo-Qiang Lin (Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, China), Professor Emeritus Dr. Somsak Ruchirawat (Chulabhorn Research Institute, Thailand), and Prof. Henry N. C. Wong (Chinese University of Hong Kong) have been instrumental in the program's success. ACP-CEOCA continues to connect and inspire chemists across Asia.  

ABCT Christmas Party: A Festive Celebration of Joy

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended and helped create a joyous atmosphere. Your presence truly made the celebration special, and we appreciate your support. A special thank you goes to the Lim Peng Suan Charitable Trust, our generous donor. Their unwavering support has been instrumental in advancing our department's development initiatives, and we are sincerely grateful for their continued contributions. We would also like to express our deep appreciation to our industrial partner for their invaluable support of the internship program. Their commitment to fostering professional growth and providing opportunities for our students has been pivotal in bridging academic knowledge with practical experiences. During the event, we took the opportunity to recognize and honor staff and students who have excelled in teaching and research. Their dedication and hard work have not gone unnoticed, and we congratulate them on their well-deserved awards. Further details about the awardees can be found below.   ABCT Excellence Award 2024 (Research Output) Awardees Discipline Research Paper Title Name of Journal Paper Dr CHUA Song Lin Biology Bacterial Iron Siderophore Drives Tumor Survival and Ferroptosis Resistance in a Biofilm-Tumor Spheroid Coculture Model Advanced Science Dr WONG Wing Leung Biology Live Cell Imaging and Real-Time Monitoring of Nucleolus Morphology and Mitophagy with a Red Fluorescent and Photostable rRNA-Specific Probe in Human Cancer Cells ACS Sensors Dr YANG Yuhe Biology Sprayable Biomimetic Double Mask with Rapid Autophasing and Hierarchical Programming for Scarless Wound Healing Science Advances Dr LEE Yoon Suk, Lawrence Chemistry Upcycling of Spent LiFePO4 Cathodes to Heterostructured Electrocatalysts for Stable Direct Seawater Splitting Angewandte Chemie International Edition Dr LEUNG King Chi, Franco Chemistry Blue Light Controlled Supramolecular Soft Robotics of Phenylazothiazole Amphiphiles for Rapid Macroscopic Actuations Advanced Science Dr SO Chau Ming Chemistry Regio- and Chemoselective Palladium-Catalyzed Additive-Free Direct C─H Functionalization of Heterocycles with Chloroaryl Triflates Using Pyrazole-Alkyl Phosphine Ligands Advanced Science   ABCT Outstanding Postgraduate Student Award 2024 (Research) Awardees Discipline BEI Ho Pan Biology LEUNG Wing Hei Biology CHAU Ming Hin Chemistry CHEN Xianhong Chemistry LI Zhen Chemistry SHI Yuqing Chemistry YUEN Pui Nam Chemistry ZHENG Boxin Chemistry   ABCT Outstanding Postgraduate Student Award 2024 (Teaching) Awardees CHAU Ming Hin BEI Ho Pan LIN Ming Kit NG Cheuk Hei WEI Wei YI Qi YUEN Ho Yin   ABCT Excellence Award 2024 (Teaching) Awardees Prof. LEE Kin Wah, Terence Dr SO Chau Ming Dr LEUNG King Chi, Franco Dr WONG Tsun Ting, Clarence Dr TAI Chi Shing, William   ABCT Excellence Award 2024 (Teaching Support) Awardees Dr YUEN On Ying, Bella Dr WONG Wai Ting   As the holiday season approaches, we wish everyone a joyous Christmas filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments with loved ones. May the spirit of this festive season bring you lasting joy and happiness throughout the coming year. We would like to once again extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who made our Christmas Party an unforgettable occasion. Your presence and support are deeply appreciated, and we eagerly look forward to future endeavours together. Happy holidays, and may the spirit of Christmas brighten your lives!

Dr. Huang Bolong Recognized Among the World’s Most Highly Cited Researchers

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Huang Bolong has been recognized in the “Highly Cited Researchers 2024” list in the field of Chemistry by Clarivate Analytics for his pioneering research and significant impact in this discipline. This annual list recognizes researchers for their substantial impact in their respective fields. Each selected researcher has authored multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for their fields and publication years in the Web of Science over the past 11 years. Once again, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Huang Bolong for this well-deserved recognition. His dedication, hard work, and passion for research continue to inspire us all. We look forward to his future contributions to the scientific community. Press release: English - https://polyu.me/3OCnpGy; Chinese - https://polyu.me/3OzPnTf   Online coverage: Dimsum Daily - https://polyu.me/4f2VFp7  

Congratulations to Prof. Thomas Leung and his Research Team for Winning Best Poster Award at Health Research Symposium 2024

We are thrilled to announce that Prof. Thomas Yun-chung LEUNG and his research team, including Alisa SW Shum (CUHK), Leo MY Lee (PolyU), Yu Huang (CUHK), Vicky MK Ho (PolyU), Paull YH So (PolyU), Alan SL Leung (PolyU), Juon-kiu Lee (CUHK), Xiuhua Zheng (CUHK), and Zhiqiang Lin (CUHK) have been awarded the Best Poster Award in Advanced Medical Research at the Health Research Symposium 2024. The Health Research Symposium, organised by the Health Bureau, was held on 26 November 2024. The Symposium attracted over 850 medical and healthcare practitioners, researchers, academics, and community and government representatives to share the research findings of projects funded by the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) as well as to exchange experiences.  With this year's theme focused on "Advancing Health through Research and Technology", the Symposium provided a networking platform for healthcare experts and relevant personnel to share knowledge and achievements in promoting excellence in health and medical research. The opening ceremony, graced by Prof. Chung-mau LO, Secretary for Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, set the tone for a day of insightful discussions and knowledge sharing. The Symposium received a total of 200 posters or abstracts and the judge panel shortlisted 80 posters for the poster presentation in the Symposium. The Judging Panel of the Health Research Symposium 2024 have finally selected 5 posters (out of the 80 posters) to receive the Best Poster Awards. Among the 5 categories—Advanced Medical Research, COVID-19 Research, Human Health and Health Services Research, Health Promotion Projects, and Infectious Diseases—Prof. Thomas Leung and his team's research on "Development of a new anti-obesity drug" shone brightly in the Advanced Medical Research category. We applaud the dedication and hard work of Prof. Thomas Leung and his team in advancing medical research and look forward to seeing their continued success in the future.  

ABB Student He Jingyun Receives HKLSS Hong Kong Life Sciences Scholarship Awards 2024/25

At the HKLSS Hong Kong Life Sciences Scholarship Awards 2024/25 Presentation Ceremony, held on 12 October 2024, He Jingyun, a student who is major in Applied Biology with Biotechnology (ABB), was one of the nine deserving awardees from different universities. Jingyun made history by becoming the first PolyU student to receive the scholarship.   Each awardee, including Jingyun, was presented with a scholarship of HKD 50,000 and granted exclusive access to the HKLSS Society's Mentorship Scheme, as well as priority enrollment in the Society's Summer Internship Program in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, or Shanghai. The award presenter on the ceremony was Mr. Vincent Cheung, the Founder and Board Chair of HKLSS and CEO of Nan Fung Group.   The HKLSS scholarship is renowned for its competitiveness, requiring the awardees to exhibit not only outstanding academic performance but also all-rounded skills and excellence during the interview.   Congratulations to He Jingyun for her remarkable achievement and dedication to advancing the realms of life sciences.

ABCT PhD student LEUNG Wing Hei awarded the Best Presentation Award and Travel Award at local and international conferences

Miss Wing Hei LEUNG, a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Terence LEE, has been recognized with the Best Presentation Award at the 2nd PolyU Research Student Conference (PRSC 2024). Her presentation entitled "Therapeutic efficacy of Glypican-3 peptide-link Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-Macrophage in HCC," introduces an innovative cell therapy approach for treating HCC. Previously, in June of this year, she received a Travel Award at The Liver Week 2024 in Korea for the presentation of the same project. This research is part of the Research Impact Fund (RIF) awarded to Prof. Terence LEE, focusing on "A novel approach to target cancer stemness using peptidic chimeric antigen receptor (pCAR) macrophages." Join us to congratulate Miss LEUNG and her supervisor on this great achievement.  

Dr Ma Cong’s RPg Student Zhang Zeqi Wins Gold Medal in Kaggle's AI Competition

We are thrilled to announce that Dr Ma Cong’s RPg student Zhang Zeqi won a gold medal in the international Kaggle's AI competition. This achievement highlights the exceptional talent and dedication of our students in leveraging AI to solve cutting-edge drug discovery-related challenges.   The competition is part of the Competition Track jointly organized by Kaggle, the world's largest data science competition platform, and NeurIPS 2023, a top computational science conference. It is open to AI developers from all over the world. With over 1000 teams participating, winning this award shows that Dr Ma Cong’s laboratory has a strong capacity in using AI to solve cutting-edge drug discovery-related problems.   This competition, held as part of the Competition Track jointly organized by Kaggle and NeurIPS 2023, focused on predicting the impact of small molecules on gene expression across diverse cell types. It tasked AI developers worldwide with devising innovative methods to forecast cellular responses to small molecule drug perturbations, a critical area with immense implications for drug discovery and fundamental biological research.   Zhang Zeqi's success stands as a testament to his dedication and expertise in the realm of AI and drug discovery. His innovative approach, under the guidance of Dr. Ma Cong, involved developing a cutting-edge neural network-based model that incorporated advanced feature extraction techniques.   In his reflections, Zhang Zeqi expressed profound gratitude to his mentors, acknowledging the pivotal role played by Dr. Ma Cong and Dr. Xu Min from UTS SEDE. Their guidance, support, and provision of resources were instrumental in his journey towards victory.   Zhang Zeqi's success underscores the invaluable role of mentorship and collaboration in pushing the boundaries of research and innovation. His experience in the competition not only honed his AI skills but also enriched his ongoing research endeavors in AI-based drug discovery.   As we celebrate Zhang Zeqi's remarkable accomplishment, we extend our warm congratulations and look forward to witnessing his continued contributions to the field.

PolyU students win gold medal in iGEM Competition 2024 with novel dual-targeting nanobody to overcome drug resistance in pancreatic cancer cells

A team of students from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has won a gold medal and been listed among the top 10 undergraduate teams at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) 2024 Grand Jamboree held in Paris. They also received dual nominations for Best Oncology Project and Best New Composite Part. Centred on the development of a novel dual-targeting nanobody to address gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer patients, the winning project demonstrated exceptional potential for advancing innovation in cancer treatment and research, as well as broader application in synthetic biology. Pancreatic cancer has a higher mortality rate than many other major cancers and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Hong Kong. Traditional treatments face challenges such as lack of targeted therapies and the low efficiency of chemotherapy and radiotherapy due to drug resistance, particularly to gemcitabine, a standard chemo-therapeutic agent. This is indicative of a concerning trend of decreasing sensitivity to first-line treatments for early-stage pancreatic cancer. The PolyU team has developed a novel strategy to overcome this treatment challenge. Through bioinformatic analysis, they identified two crucial cell surface receptors, namely EGFR and HER2, which significantly correlate with tumour growth and resistance to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer. Based on these findings, the team designed “Panobody”, a dual-targeting nanobody that can specifically block EGFR and HER2 and their signalling pathways. Subsequent experiments on Panobody, both used alone and in combination with gemcitabine, verified its effectiveness in inhibiting pancreatic cancer cell growth and even increasing their responsiveness to gemcitabine therapy. Competing with 195 undergraduate teams from around the world, the interdisciplinary team of 11 students from the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology and the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering spent eight months in rigorous laboratory work and comprehensive project development, while also consulting prominent clinical experts with extensive experience in pancreatic cancer treatment. Additionally, they conducted various innovative public engagement initiatives to promote awareness about pancreatic cancer, including creating an interactive educational game, setting up community booths and collaborating with the Hong Kong Cancer Fund for charity donation. The team was under the guidance of Prof. Terence LEE, Associate Head and Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology and other experts at PolyU. Prof. Lee applauded the team’s dedication to both scientific excellence and public engagement, and remarked, “This outstanding result not only recognises the high quality, impact and ingenuity of their work, but also highlights PolyU’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of biotechnology leaders.” The iGEM Competition, established by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2004, is an annual, worldwide synthetic biology event aimed at undergraduate university students, as well as high school and graduate students. The Competition challenges participants to address real-world problems by designing, building, testing and measuring a system of their own design using interchangeable biological parts and standard molecular biology techniques. For more details about the winning project, please visit: https://2024.igem.wiki/hkpolyu/   香港理工大學（理大）學生團隊早前於在巴黎舉行的2024年國際遺傳工程機器設計競賽（iGEM）勇奪金獎，更被評選為本科生組別的十強隊伍，同時獲得「Best Oncology Project」及「Best New Composite Part」兩項大獎的提名。得獎項目聚焦研發一種新型雙靶向納米抗體，助應對胰臟癌病人對治療藥物產生抗藥性的問題，具潛力推動創新的癌症治療和相關研究，並廣泛應用於合成生物學領域。 胰臟癌死亡率高於許多常見癌症，更是香港致命癌症的第四位。然而，傳統治療方案面對不少挑戰，例如標靶藥物不足以及病人對藥物產生抗藥性導致治療效果不佳。這些問題尤其常見於標準化療藥物「吉西他濱（gemcitabine）」上，令早期胰臟癌病人對第一線治療的敏感度往往會逐漸下降。 理大學生團隊嘗試研發創新的解決方案，應對這些治療困難。他們利用生物資訊分析，找出兩種與胰臟癌腫瘤生長和產生抗藥性的情況有重要關聯的細胞表面受體EGFR和HER2，然後設計出一種雙靶向納米抗體「Panobody」，能同時阻斷EGFR和HER2及其訊號傳遞路徑。團隊並通過隨後的實驗發現，無論是單獨使用「Panobody」或同時取用「Panobody」和「吉西他濱」，均有效抑制胰臟癌細胞生長，甚至提高癌細胞對「吉西他濱」治療的反應。 這支跨學科學生團隊由11名分別來自應用生物及化學科技學系及電機及電子工程學系的學生組成，在來自全球的195支本科生隊伍中突圍而出。參賽的八個月間，團隊除了在實驗室進行嚴謹的研究工作，亦諮詢了擁有豐富臨床胰臟癌治療經驗的專家。此外，他們更設計一系列公眾參與活動，包括製作互動教育遊戲、於社區設置攤位等，並支持了香港癌症基金會的籌款活動，冀提高社會對胰臟癌的關注。 學生團隊獲理大應用生物及化學科技學系副系主任及教授李建華教授及其他專家提供指導。李建華教授讚揚學生在參賽過程中努力追求科學卓越及提高公眾關注，並表示：「這次的優秀成績不但肯定了他們高質素、具影響力和創新的研究工作，亦突顯了理大致力培養新一代生物科技人才。」 國際遺傳工程機器設計競賽由麻省理工大學於2004年創辦，是全球合成生物學界的年度盛事，吸引來自世界各地的高中生、大專生及研究生參與。競賽旨在鼓勵參加者利用可交替的生物元件及分子生物技術設計並建立一套系統，解決社會實際面對的難題。 有關理大學生團隊的得獎項目，可瀏覽：https://2024.igem.wiki/hkpolyu/。  

Dr Ma Cong's RPg Students Shine at 2nd PolyU Research Student Conference (PRSC 2024)

We are delighted to share the remarkable news that two of Dr Ma Cong’s RPg students have respectively received the Best Presentation Award and the Best Presentation Runner-up at the 2nd PolyU Research Student Conference (PRSC 2024).   Aiming at promoting innovative and high-quality research, PRSC is the flagship research student conference, providing Research Postgraduate (RPg) students and the students of College of Undergraduate Researchers and Innovators (CURI) in PolyU with the opportunity to present their research work and findings. PRSC also provides an excellent opportunity for students from different disciplines to network with peers, and establishes a collaborative and supportive research community at PolyU.   Award Winners: Jiang Liu - Best Presentation Award Project: Discovery of antimicrobials targeting RNA polymerase-sigma factor interaction Their research group focuses on the development of novel antibiotics, which is a complex task necessitating the collaboration among colleagues in computer science, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and medicinal chemistry. His work mainly lies in the design and structural modifications of antimicrobial agents. In the preliminary studies, they have identified a class of antimicrobial agents that can inhibit bacterial transcription. By targeting the interaction between bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) and Sigma factors, these compounds exhibited potent inhibitory effects against various drug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA and VRSA. Currently, they have synthesized nearly 400 potential antibacterial compounds and are exploring their conjugation with peptides using different linkers to address various types of infections.   Sin-Yu Ke - Best Presentation Runner-up Project: Development of bacterial transcription antitermination inhibitors as novel antimicrobial agents Their research team aims to develop novel antibacterial agents that target the bacterial transcription process. Her project focuses on developing bacterial transcription antitermination inhibitors that would interrupt the protein-protein interaction between the N-utilization substance proteins B and E (Nus B and E) complex. MC4 was identified as the hit compound from preliminary studies, and her task is to design and synthesize a series of MC4 derivatives to discover a potential drug candidate.   Congratulations to Dr Ma Cong and his exceptional RPg students for their remarkable achievements at the 2nd PolyU Research Student Conference! Their dedication to advancing research excellence is truly commendable and serves as an inspiration to the entire Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology.