Media

Pandemic research project awarded HK$76 million by UGC

04 Sep 2007

 

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is delighted to learn that a research project titled 'Control of Pandemic and Inter-pandemic Influenza', to be led by researchers in HKU, has been awarded HK$76 million in funding by the University Grants Committee (UGC) in the fourth round of its Areas of Excellence (AoE) scheme.

This funding will allow HKU researchers, in partnership with peers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Baptist University and the relevant government organizations, to identify novel and pioneering options of controlling influenza .

"The SARS outbreak in 2003 taught us how quickly infectious diseases could spread around the world, and the importance of surveillance, rapid identification, diagnosis and containment," said Vice Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui.

"HKU values the partnership of the four universities in this project and is excited about its role. We are confident that the project will make valuable contributions to Hong Kong's competitiveness in biomedical research and development," he continued.

The HK$76 million project, to be conducted in two phases over eight years, is the largest in terms of funding ever awarded by the UGC under the AoE scheme since its inception in 1998.  Projects awarded previously were for five-year durations.

The project will also be supported by additional funding of HK$ 60 million from other sources, bringing the total funding to HK$136 million.

External reviewers involved in the AoE scheme remarked that the project would provide Hong Kong with an international reputation and lead to a major contribution in the biomedical world.  The project is considered competitive at the highest international level.

The UGC selected two projects out of a total of 37 submissions in the fourth round of the AoE scheme.  In addition to the project, HKU will also take part in the "Centre for Research into Circulating Fetal Nucleic Acids" which secured a funding of HK$29.9 million.

Of the ten projects awarded in the four rounds of the AoE Scheme, HKU has participated in nine, taking the role of the coordinating institution in four of them.

The AoE scheme was set up by the UGC to facilitate and support the UGC-funded institutions to build on their specific areas of strengths which would be recognised internationally as of equal status to their peers in the same subject areas, and justify the additional investment in state-of-the-art facilities and activities which would maintain them among the world leaders.

Having such world-class institutions with distinct areas of excellence would enable Hong Kong to retain its leading economic position in the development of China and the Asia Pacific region.

Capitalising on the niche advantage and international excellence achieved in influenza, the research aims to develop a synergistic programme with broad scope and global impact which will address questions about the emergence, transmission and pathogenesis of pandemic and seasonal influenza.  Its objective is to identify viruses of pandemic risk, viral and host determinants of pathogenesis, antiviral immunity and interspecies transmission, options for control of influenza and new options for diagnosis, vaccines and interventions.

"The record high $76 million granted is a recognition of the international excellence already achieved in our influenza research. Through the integration of basic, clinical and epidemiological research, the research will help enhance global influenza pandemic preparedness and develop strategies for controlling influenza pandemic," said Professor Raymond Liang, Acting Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.

"The team has played a significant role in global influenza pandemic preparedness and contributed to the strategies that have successfully kept Hong Kong free of avian flu H5N1 in recent years. We shall continue our work in maximizing knowledge transfer and community benefit," said Professor Malik Peiris, Chair Professor of the Department of Microbiology, also AoE Coordinator of the research project. 

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Winnie Lam (Tel: 2809 5102 / 9107 1676) or Mr Terence Poon (Tel: 2819 9305 / 9316 6267) of The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.