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Professor Danny Chi Yeu Leung (HKUST)

Professor Danny Chi Yeu Leung (HKUST), Assistant Professor, Department of Life Science, School of Science’s area of research focuses on understanding the epigenetic control of non-coding DNA sequences in cancer. Using melanoma cells as a model system, his team employs next-generation sequencing based technologies to study cancer specific mechanisms of regulating non-coding parts of the human genome. Furthermore, a platform is being developed to screen for molecules that can be affected by such mechanisms. The results will shed light on molecular changes that occur in melanoma and provide novel avenues of cancer therapy. (Please click here for Dr Danny Leung Chi Yeu’s biography)

Professor Kathy Oi-lan LUI (CUHK)

Professor Kathy Oi-lan LUI, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK specializes in cardiovascular diseases and regeneration. She has demonstrated strategies to model cardiovascular development using human pluripotent stem cells and uncover signals essential for cardiovascular regeneration. She has further demonstrated that such signals regenerate a damaged heart by virtue of the modified mRNA technology. The results of these studies formed a solid foundation for a recently filed clinical trial with the hope of treating patients with human heart diseases. With the Croucher Innovation Award, Professor Lui hopes to extend knowledge about modelling and treating human cardiovascular diseases in diabetes. (Please click here for Professor Kathy Lui Oi-lan’s biography)

Dr Carmen Chak-Lui WONG (HKU)

Dr Carmen Chak-Lui WONG, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU receives the award for her work in “Identifying the Metabolic Vulnerabilities of Liver Cancer”. Her current research focus is to understand the molecular changes that confer cancer cells metabolic advantages.  She is interested in discovering the unique metabolic characteristic of liver cancer cells and to identify the metabolic signatures for individual patients for precision medicine. Recently, she has published a number of ground-breaking papers on the liver cancer’s metabolic reliance on anti-oxidants. She will continue to comprehensively map the interconnected metabolic networks of liver cancer cells. Her findings will provide novel insights into the molecular biology and biochemistry of liver cancer and will be applicable to other cancer types. (Please click here for Dr Carmen Wong Chak-Lui’s biography)

Professor Xiaodong CUI (HKU)

Professor Xiaodong CUI, Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, HKU has research interests and experiences covering various subjects including molecular electronics, carbon nanotubes; and spin and valley physics in semiconductors. His team has been actively exploring the physics properties of emerging two-dimensional semiconductors, particularly optical properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Their work has contributed to the building of “Future Electronics”. Professor Cui pioneers in the research on Valleytronics. While Conventional semiconductor electronics use the flow of electric charge, Valleytronics involves utilizing "valleys", a new degree of freedom of electrons (as information carriers) in a controlled way. (Please click here for Professor Cui Xiaodong’s biography)

Professor Leo Lit Man POON (HKU)

Professor Leo Lit Man POON, Professor, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU is a world-renowned molecular virologist. He has a passion for studying influenza viruses and other emerging animal viruses of zoonotic potential. He played a leading role in several major outbreaks in the past. He is one of the firsts who decoded the first Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus sequence in the SARS outbreak. He identified the first reassortant virus of pandemic H1N1 and swine influenza viruses in pigs.  He has recently used cutting-edge technologies to study influenza sequence variations in successive transmissions. Professor Poon is also heavily involved in the development of novel influenza vaccines. Overall, his work has major implications to our understanding of emerging infections and, more importantly, the control of these infectious agents.  (Please click here for Professor Leo Poon Lit-man’s biography)

Professor Anskar Yu Hung LEUNG

Professor Anskar Yu Hung LEUNG, Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation Professor in Haematology; Clinical Professor of Department of Medicine, Associate Dean (Human Capital), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU focuses on the research of pathogenesis and treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), one of the most lethal cancers worldwide. His team has developed zebrafish as a model organism for AML that has not only shed lights to the pathogenesis of AML but provided platform for screening therapeutic agents for AML treatment. These efforts have been extended to primary AML samples from patients, resulting in identification of novel therapeutic regimen for specific AML subtypes that was shown to improve the outcome of these patients. These observations have set a new paradigm for the personalised treatment of blood cancers. (Please click here for Professor Anskar Leung Yu-hung’s biography)