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The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is playing a leading role in InnoHK, a major initiative of the Hong Kong Government to develop Hong Kong as a hub for global research.

Nine research laboratories, the most among local universities, are established at HKU with a funding of over $3 billion over five years.  

Top-notch researchers from the LKS Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculties of Science and Engineering join forces with their peers from world-class universities all over the world, to deliver cutting-edge research with an impact to the well-being of mankind. Partner institutions include Imperial College London, Peking University, Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Institut Pasteur, Columbia University, California Institute of Technology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University College London, the University of Sydney, and Tohoku University.

Six centres are established under the Health@InnoHK cluster focussing on healthcare-related technologies, while three centres are set up under the AIR@InnoHK which focuses on the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics technologies for applications in a wide variety of areas. They are located at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks and occupy a total floor area of more than 100,000 square feet.

Professor Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU, congratulated the Centres and wish them all great success. He said: “With opportunities brought about by the Greater Bay Area development, Hong Kong is set to further capitalize in Research and Development capabilities. The InnoHK initiative brings together top-notch researchers from all over the world to conduct world-class and impactful collaborative research. HKU hopes to fully leverage the strengths of each Centre to bring about revolutionary scientific breakthroughs and contribute to the development of Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub.”

“From dramatically rethinking the way clothes are produced to using AI and robotics to widen the use of renewable energy, from battling persistent diseases in individual to democratising global health for all – these are just a few of the many research areas in which our teams will be collaborating with other academics, policy makers and industry leaders alike,” said Professor Max Shen, Vice-President (Research) of HKU.

For details about the nine research laboratories, please visit the InnoHK@HKU designated website: https://www.hkuinno.com.hk/

About the nine HKU research laboratories:

Health@InnoHK

1. Laboratory for Synthetic Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Directed by Professor Che Chi-ming, Head of the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science, the Laboratory has the key mission to make advanced cancer a treatable chronic disease, by developing innovative, leading-edge interdisciplinary research that connects Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Clinical Oncology.
Collaborating institutions: Imperial College London and Peking University

2. Centre for Oncology and Immunology
Co-directed by Professor Mak Tak-wah and Professor Leung Suet-yi, of the Department of Pathology at HKUMed, the Centre will prime the establishment of biotechnology and commercialisation expertise in Hong Kong, with the hope to launch drugs that benefit patients globally and establish Hong Kong as a leading centre in streamlined, highly-collaborative drug development. 

3. Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology
Directed by Professor Pengtao Liu of the School of Biomedical Sciences at HKUMed, the Centre will develop novel stem cell technologies, intellectual properties, and products which will have broad applications in regenerative medicine, organ transplantation and genomic medicine. The research outcomes will provide enormous economic and commercial benefits and contribute to transforming Hong Kong into a global innovative hub.

4. Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre
Directed by Professor Anderson Shum of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, the Centre has the key mission to accelerate progress in translating advanced biomedical instrumentation from research and development into real-world healthcare solutions that benefit people in Hong Kong and around the world.
Collaborating institution: Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

5. Centre for Immunology & Infection
Co-directed by Professor Malik Peiris of the HKUMed and Professor Roberto Bruzzone of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, the Centre has the key mission to accelerate research into personalised medicine and into developing new effective vaccines and drug candidates, to improve health, and to enhance responsiveness to challenges posed by pandemics, pollution and an aging population.
Collaborating institution: Institut Pasteur 

6. Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics
Directed by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung of the Department of Microbiology at HKUMed, the Centre shares an overarching goal is to develop novel treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, influenza and HIV, which affect millions of patients worldwide and are associated with serious public health and socioeconomic consequences.
Collaborating institutions: Columbia University (Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center) and Imperial College London

Air@InnoHK

1. Hong Kong Quantum AI Lab
Directed by Professor Chen Guanhua of the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science, the Centre will focus on using artificial intelligence to widen the use of renewable energy and create new-generation materials for organic light emitting diodes (OLED).
Collaborating institution: California Institute of Technology

2. Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health
Directed by the Dean of Medicine Professor Gabriel M. Leung, the Centre has the key mission to advance artificial intelligence (AI) applications to make it an instrumental and transformative catalyst for realising precision medicine and global health democratization.
Collaborating institutions: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University College London, The University of Sydney

3. Centre for Transformative Garment Production
Directed by Professor Norman C. Tien, Chair Professor of Microsystems Technology at the Faculty of Engineering, the Centre aims to contribute to technological advancement for garment production, by providing an excellent platform for intellectual and cultural exchanges between the industry, universities and society, and facilitates impactful research which will eventually be transformed into pioneering and unique technologies for the industry.
Collaborating institution: Tohoku University

Media enquiries:
Communication and Public Affairs Office:
Ms Melanie Wan (Tel: 2859 2600 / Email: melwkwan@hku.hk)
Ms Rashida Suffiad (Tel: 2857 8555 / Email: rsuffiad@hku.hk)