Better Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention: Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre Vaccine Platform for Respiratory and Other Viruses: Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics Biomedical instrumentation has great potential for more accurate clinical diagnosis and treatment, earlier intervention, and disease prevention. Centre director Professor Anderson Shum of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, working in collaboration with the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, will accelerate the translation of these instruments into real-world solutions, such as developing affordable screening tests, personalised diagnostics, strategic therapeutic approaches for new treatments, and advanced medical device components. Professor Anderson Shum Department of Mechanical Engineering Centre Director New vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases will be developed by researchers under the leadership of Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, Henry Fok Professor in Infectious Diseases. A platform will be developed to generate vaccines against respiratory viruses such as influenza and COVID-19; engineer novel antibodies to prevent and treat HIV and respiratory viruses; create host-target broad-spectrum antivirals; and develop new virus-targeting antivirals. Columbia University and Imperial College London are collaborators. Baseline immune response profiles differ among healthy individuals. This centre aims to define the genetic and environmental factors underlying these differences which may in turn lead to a different response to vaccines or risk to diseases. Such understanding will help the development of ‘precision medicine’ at the population level. The centre also aims to find new solutions for public health challenges such as emerging infectious diseases. Co-led by Professor Malik Peiris, Tam Wah-Ching Professor in Medical Science, of the School of Public Health and Professor Roberto Bruzzone of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, the centre will refine understanding of immune responses in healthy Asian communities leading to an individualised ‘Immune Report Card’; develop new vaccine platforms for influenza; investigate mosquito-borne viruses; and develop platform technologies for responding to lethal respiratory virus infections. The Institut Pasteur in Paris is a collaborator. Immune Report Card and a Focus on Emerging Viruses: Centre for Immunology & Infection Professor Malik Peiris School of Public Health Professor Roberto Bruzzone HKU-Pasteur Research Pole Managing Director Co-Director Treating Cancer as a Chronic Disease: Laboratory for Synthetic Chemistry and Chemical Biology An important mission of this centre, directed by Professor Che Chi-ming, Zhou Guangzhao Professor in Natural Sciences, is to develop new anti-cancer medicines with fewer side effects so that advanced metastatic cancers can be treated as a chronic disease and the survival outcome of cancer patients can be improved. By connecting chemistry, molecular biology and clinical oncology, Professor Che and his partners will develop new drugs and biomedical diagnostics, such as targeted chemotherapeutic agents that selectively target cancer cells, and evaluate the detailed molecular mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine. Imperial College London and Peking University are collaborators. Professor Che Chi-ming Department of Chemistry Director Professor Pengtao Liu School of Biomedical Sciences Professor Yuen Kwok-yung Department of Microbiology Director Director Professor Pengtao Liu of the School of Biomedical Sciences has developed world-leading patented technology that can establish expanded potential stem cells from multiple animal species. He will focus on translating that capability into developing new technologies, intellectual properties and products for use in regenerative medicine, organ transplantation and genomic medicine. There is also potential to apply his techniques to biotechnological and agricultural uses. New Medicines and Treatments Using Stem Cells: Centre for Translational Stem Biology New Drugs and Treatments against Hard-to-Treat Cancers in Asia: Centre for Oncology and Immunology Digestive malignancies as well as liver cancer, leukaemia and lymphoma are major health burdens in Asian countries. This R&D centre, co-led by Professor Mak Tak-wah and Professor Leung Suet-yi, Y M Kan Professor in Natural Sciences, in the Department of Pathology, will apply biotechnology to develop new therapies against hard-to-treat cancers. They will also apply novel functional screens and genomic and proteomic techniques to identify new druggable targets for cancer drug development. Professor Mak Tak-wah and Professor Leung Suet-yi Department of Pathology Directors OUR HEALTH@INNOHK LABS Research and Innovation HKU ANNUAL REPORT 2021 26 | 27
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