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Professor Xu Aimin, Chair Professor at the Department of Medicine of School of Clinical Medicine, and Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy of Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been honoured with the State Natural Science Award (Second Class Prize).

The National Science and Technology Award Conference took place in Beijing on June 24, where the State Science and Technology Awards winners were announced.

Professor Xu is recognised for his contributions to the project "New Functions and Mechanisms of Growth Factors FGFs in Regulating Glucose and Lipid Metabolism".  

Professor Xu's research focuses on obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular complications, spanning from basic to clinical and translational studies. He discovered the bioactive form of the anti-diabetic hormone adiponectin and revealed its potential in protecting against obesity-related fatty liver and vascular diseases. Over the past decade, his team has identified and characterised several fat-derived factors involved in the pathogenesis of obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic syndrome. They have also developed innovative assays for novel biomarkers to predict risk, diagnose, and monitor the aforementioned chronic diseases.

Organised by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, the State Science and Technology Awards are prestigious honours in Mainland China's science and technology fields. They recognise individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to scientific and technological progress. This year, 250 projects were selected, including 49 for the State Natural Science Award (one First-Class Award and 48 Second-Class Awards).

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Ms Melanie Wan (Tel: 2859 2600 / Email: melwkwan@hku.hk)
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Mr Kenneth Choi (Tel: 3917 2607 / Email: khkchoi@hku.hk)