18 PolyU research projects awarded RGC Collaborative Research Fund and Research Impact Fund, highlighting leadership in impactful interdisciplinary innovations

9 Jan 2025

Achievements Research and Innovation Office

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to advancing impactful research through its robust interdisciplinary collaborations, pioneering innovative solutions that benefit the world. In the latest 2024/25 grants from the Research Grants Council (RGC), 18 PolyU projects have received approximately HK$91.76 million in funding from the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) and Research Impact Fund (RIF), the highest amount among the UGC-funded universities. PolyU also outperformed its counterparts in both the number of funded projects and total CRF funding received.

To uphold its motto “To learn and to apply, for the benefit of mankind,” PolyU researchers have transformed novel research outcomes into practical solutions that address global challenges. The funded research projects showcase PolyU’s diverse research capabilities across various fields that impact every aspect of human life, including innovative building and construction technologies, environmental sustainability, biochemistry, drug discovery, cancer treatment, sustainable aviation fuel engineering, photonics, artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering, optical technology and visual care.

Prof. Christopher CHAO, PolyU Vice President (Research and Innovation) said, “PolyU leads the way in fostering a robust culture of knowledge transfer and real-world applications, leveraging its academic expertise, dedicated researchers, state-of-the-art facilities, and interdisciplinary collaborations. These achievements not only demonstrate PolyU’s research excellence but also highlight its strong partnerships with government bureaux and industry sectors to promote translation of research outcomes into practical solutions. The successes in securing RGC funds further illustrate PolyU’s strength in basic research and its capacity to lead innovative projects with significant societal impact, delivering valuable benefits.”

PolyU has received funding for 14 projects from CRF, totaling approximately HK$71.36 million. Among these, eight projects are supported by the Collaborative Research Project Grant with a total grant value of about HK$44.4 million. Three projects under the Collaborative Research Equipment Grant have obtained a total grant value of about HK$15.62 million. Three projects from the Young Collaborative Research Grant have collectively been awarded about HK$11.34 million to support early-stage academic staff member on their research. The successful projects are listed below.

Project Title	Project Coordinator
Collaborative Research Project Grant
Unraveling the Mechanisms of Targeted Therapy Resistance as a Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma	Prof. LEE Kin-wah Terence Associate Head and Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (in collaboration with HKU)
Data Storage with Proteins	Prof. YAO Zhongping Associate Head and Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (in collaboration with CUHK and HKUST)
Integrating Machine Learning, Behavioral Analysis and Multimodal Neuroimaging Techniques to Investigate the Comorbidity of Specific Learning Disabilities in Hong Kong	Prof. SIOK Wai Ting Head and Professor, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (in collaboration with HKU and EdUHK)
Seeing like Dragonflies: Optical-fiber-based Artificial Compound Eyes for 3D Vision	Prof. ZHANG Xuming Associate Head and Professor, Department of Applied Physics (in collaboration with HKU)
Next-generation AI-XR Empowered Surgical Planning and Intraoperative Guidance System via Effective Fusion of Empirical Knowledge, Human Interaction, and Machine Inference	Prof. QIN Jing Harry Professor, School of Nursing (in collaboration with CUHK and HKU)
Optimising Spinal Curvature Corrective Outcomes in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: An Investigation into Spinal Flexibility, Biomechanical Behavior and Predictive Modeling	Prof. YIP Yiu-wan Joanne Associate Dean (Industrial Partnership) and Professor, School of Fashion and Textiles (in collaboration with CUHK and HKU)
Ultrahigh-resolution Optical Vector Analysis for Broadband Photonic Devices	Prof. YU Changyuan Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (in collaboration with CityU and CUHK)
Advancing Compound Hazard Resilience and Adaptation for Urban Building Community in a Changing Climate	Dr DONG You Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (in collaboration with CityU, HKUST and HKU)
Collaborative Research Equipment Grant
A Multifunctional Time-space-energy-helicity Resolved Transient Absorption Microscopy Imaging System for Advanced Materials and Devices Research	Dr LI Mingjie Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Physics (in collaboration with CityU, CUHK, HKUST, HKU)
State-of-the-art Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation Enhanced Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy	Prof. YUNG Ka Fu Associate Dean, Faculty of Science; and Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (in collaboration with CityU, HKBU, CUHK, HKUST, HKU and EdUHK)
Development of a Colorimetric and Photometric Characterisation Platform for Binocular VR/AR Headsets	Prof. WEI Minchen Tommy Professor, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (in collaboration with CityU and HKUST)
Young Collaborative Research Grant
Organic/two-dimensional Materials Heterostructure based Memristor Array for Flexible Retinomorphic System	Dr HAN Suting Associate Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (in collaboration with CityU and HKU)
Design of Ultrastrong, Ductile, and Thermally Stable Nanocrystalline Dual-phase Alloys via Coherent Nano-honeycomb Architectures	Dr JIAO Zengbao Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering (in collaboration with CityU and HKUST)
AI-empowered Wind Field Simulation for Sustainable Urban Microclimate Design	Dr YOU Ruoyu Assistant Professor, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (in collaboration with HKU)

In addition, four PolyU projects have secured around HK$20.4 million in funding from RIF. These impactful projects cover a wide spectrum of research areas, including sustainable aviation fuel engineering, cancer immunotherapy, modular integrated 3D-printed concrete construction (MI3DC), and optimal design in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. The projects are listed below.

Project Title	Project Coordinator	Project Details
WASTES to WINGS – Constructing a High-throughput Sustainable Aviation Fuel Research Platform to Facilitate Zero Carbon Air Travel in Hong Kong	Dr Shao-Yuan LEU Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering	In promoting net-zero-carbon air travel in the future, this project aims to establish the first and foremost platform for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) study in Asia. It focuses on the production, testing and validation of key SAF precursors from various organic waste biomass in Hong Kong. The team will collaborate with the Environmental Protection Department, Sinopec and Cathay Pacific to advance the research outcomes.
Targeting Autophagy to Potentiate Cancer Immunotherapy – a Novel Combination Strategy	Prof. ZHAO Yanxiang Associate Head and Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology	Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients face limited therapeutic options, with targeted therapeutics showing limited survival benefits. This project aims to develop antibody-autotide-conjugates that tether the patented autotides to immune checkpoint inhibitors such as the anti-PD-L1 antibody, enhancing the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy for HCC.
Development of Modular Integrated 3D-printed Concrete Construction (MI3DC)	Prof. POON Chi-sun Chair Professor and Head, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering	The construction industry is moving toward digitalisation and automation, with 3D concreate printing emerging as an innovative construction solution. This project seeks to develop MI3DC technology for structural elements, integrating a 3D-printed permanent framework with conventionally cast concrete.
Creating Delightful Experience in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Headset through Optimal Optical Design	Prof. WEI Minchen Tommy Professor, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering	To enhance the VR and AR experience for users with diverse visual conditions, this project aims to create an advanced lens design for delightful experiences. An interdisciplinary team of experts in optometry, ophthalmology, display technology and optics will develop new methods for designing prescription lens inserts tailored for VR/AR headsets.

Established by RGC, the CRF supports multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary projects to encourage research groups to engage in creative and high-quality cross-disciplinary/cross-institutional projects. Meanwhile, the RIF encourages academics to harness the potential of their research to deliver benefits to the wider community, spurring impactful and translational research projects.

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Ms Iris Lai

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