HKU Bulletin April 2006 (Vol. 7 No. 2)

32 33 Dr Yuen Man Fung Associate Professor, Department of Medicine D r Yuen’s primary research interest is chronic hepatitis B, a global disease affecting 400 million people in the world. He has been working in the team headed by the Professor Sir David Todd Chair in Medicine Professor Lai Ching Lung, who received an Outstanding Researcher Award in 2004, for more than ten years. His studies have focused on the natural history and molecular virology of hepatitis B, including virus genotypes, core promoter and precore mutations and treatment-induced viral mutations. He has also been researchig the long-term efficacy of primary vaccination for hepatitis B, and treatment of the devastating complication of hepatitis B, the liver cancer. He has published more than 130 articles, and serves as an editorial member and reviewer of several important international journals including the leading publications on astroenterology. He is a member for two Asian hepatitis B advisory boards, vice-president of the Hong Kong Association for the Study of Liver Disease, and honorary consul tant for several pharmaceutical companies on the development of drugs for hepatitis B infection. Dr Yuen says that research on chronic hepatitis B has made the University an internationally-recognized research centre. He always conducts research in the hope of alleviating disease complications and patient suffering. Finally, following the example of his admired mentor, Professor Lai, Dr Yuen hopes to continue his pursuit in medical research at higher levels and to become a good supervisor for future researchers at the University. mfyuen@hkucc.hku.hk Dr Sun Hongzhe Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry D r Sun’s research interests lie in the chemistry of metals in biology and medicine. He has discovered an unusual polymeric structure of bismuth antiulcer drug which helps to explain how this drug produces its effects. By using chemical biology approaches, he has characterized several important metallo- transport and storage proteins in microorganisms which provide a basis for mechanism-based drug design. In his recent work he has sought to elucidate the structural biology of metallo-proteins by NMR spectroscopy. He has lectured at the prestigious Gordon Conferences and the International Conference on Biological Inorganic Chemistry, and has published over 50 papers in the leading chemical and biochemical journals. His work has also featured in cover illustrations in several important scientific journals. Dr Sun believes in teamwork in modern science. His research group has very close ties with research groups both within and outside the University and also with the pharmaceutical industry. He appreciates the unfailing support which his colleagues, students and family have given him, and would therefore like to dedicate this award to them. hsun@hku.hk http://chem.hku.hk/~chemhome/staff/hzsun/hzsun.htm Outstanding Young Researcher Award