Donor
Lo Ka Chung Charitable Foundation Limited
Mr Lo Ka-chung is a successful businessman who has over 70 years’ experience in the jewellery business. He shows great care for the community and, in particular, for the development of education and medical care.
The Lo Ka Chung Charitable Foundation Limited was founded by him in 2002. Its major objective is to support institutional establishments and development projects in both educational and medical fields by means of financial donations.
The Lo Ka Chung Centre for Natural Anti-Cancer Drug Development at PolyU is the very first major project which the Foundation has undertaken to support. Mr Lo generously donated HK$20 million to PolyU for its research work on anti-cancer therapeutics. This donation has made feasible for the University to provide professional cancer-related education and consultancy services for the community. This has also enabled PolyU to achieve the recent breakthroughs in the development of cancer drugs through the use of advanced biotechnology.
Being an ardent supporter of PolyU, the Foundation has also made donations towards other initiatives of PolyU in support of the University’s long-term development.
Recently, the Foundation participated in the PolyU Endowed Professorship Scheme by making further donations. This helps enrich the research resources of the Lo Ka Chung Centre for Natural Anti-Cancer Drug Development and also provides a strong boost to the research team for their respectable mission in cancer research.
Appointee
Professor Thomas Y. C. Leung
Professor Thomas Y. C. Leung joined the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology in 1996 and was promoted to Professor in 2010. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Lo Ka Chung Centre for Natural Anti-Cancer Drug Development.
Professor Leung’s areas of research include biotechnology and cancer drug discovery. Focusing on translational research, Professor Leung developed pegylated recombinant human arginase (BCT-100) in collaboration with Dr Thomas Lo and Dr Paul Cheng. The research was based on his pioneering work indicating that human arginase can starve cancer cells to death whilst leaving normal cells unharmed. Phase 2 clinical trials in liver cancer patients are currently ongoing in Hong Kong. Recently, BCT-100 became Hong Kong’s first ever homegrown drug to receive Investigational New Drug approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and thus clearing the way for clinical trials in the United States. This achievement is an important milestone in the development of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in Hong Kong.
Professor Leung has received numerous awards, including the President’s Award for Excellent Performance/ Achievement in Research and Scholarly Activities (2004/2005); two Technology Transfer Awards (2005 and 2006); High Impact Achievement Award for Research Achievement (2009); Prize of the State of Geneva (2009); and the Second Class Prize in Natural Science Award of the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) from the Ministry of Education (2013).
The Endowed Professorship will enable Professor Leung to further understand the mechanisms of drug action, improve the drug effects and benefit cancer patients.
