Croucher Foundation presents research awards to six distinguished scholars (Issued on behalf of the Croucher Foundation)

The Croucher Foundation held the presentation ceremony of the Innovation and Senior Research Fellowship Awards today (December 8), honouring six distinguished scholars from three universities including The University of Hong Kong (HKU), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) for their excellent scientific research achievements. The Honourable Mr Nicholas Yang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, was the Guest of Honour at the ceremony.

This year, three awardees were presented with the Croucher Innovation Awards, two with the Croucher Senior Research Fellowships and one with the Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowship.

The list of awardees is as follows:

Croucher Innovation Awards 2017
Dr Danny Chi-Yeu LEUNG (HKUST)
Assistant Professor, Department of Life Science, School of Science
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Dr Kathy Oi-Lan LUI (CUHK)
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Dr Carmen Chak-Lui WONG (HKU)
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong

Croucher Senior Research Fellowships 2017
Professor Xiaodong CUI (HKU)
Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science
The University of Hong Kong

Professor Leo Lit Man POON (HKU)
Professor, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong

Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowship 2017
Professor Anskar Yu Hung LEUNG (HKU)
Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation Professor in Haematology, Clinical Professor of Department of Medicine, Associate Dean (Human Capital)
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong

Croucher Innovation Awards 2017 recipients:

Professor Danny Chi Yeu Leung (HKUST), Assistant Professor, Department of Life Science, School of Science’s area of research focuses on understanding the epigenetic control of non-coding DNA sequences in cancer. Using melanoma cells as a model system, his team employs next-generation sequencing based technologies to study cancer specific mechanisms of regulating non-coding parts of the human genome. Furthermore, a platform is being developed to screen for molecules that can be affected by such mechanisms. The results will shed light on molecular changes that occur in melanoma and provide novel avenues of cancer therapy. (Please click here for Dr Danny Leung Chi Yeu’s biography)

Professor Kathy Oi-lan LUI, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK specializes in cardiovascular diseases and regeneration. She has demonstrated strategies to model cardiovascular development using human pluripotent stem cells and uncover signals essential for cardiovascular regeneration. She has further demonstrated that such signals regenerate a damaged heart by virtue of the modified mRNA technology. The results of these studies formed a solid foundation for a recently filed clinical trial with the hope of treating patients with human heart diseases. With the Croucher Innovation Award, Professor Lui hopes to extend knowledge about modelling and treating human cardiovascular diseases in diabetes. (Please click here for Professor Kathy Lui Oi-lan’s biography)

Dr Carmen Chak-Lui WONG, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU receives the award for her work in “Identifying the Metabolic Vulnerabilities of Liver Cancer”. Her current research focus is to understand the molecular changes that confer cancer cells metabolic advantages.  She is interested in discovering the unique metabolic characteristic of liver cancer cells and to identify the metabolic signatures for individual patients for precision medicine. Recently, she has published a number of ground-breaking papers on the liver cancer’s metabolic reliance on anti-oxidants. She will continue to comprehensively map the interconnected metabolic networks of liver cancer cells. Her findings will provide novel insights into the molecular biology and biochemistry of liver cancer and will be applicable to other cancer types. (Please click here for Dr Carmen Wong Chak-Lui’s biography)

Croucher Senior Research Fellowships 2017 recipients:

Professor Xiaodong CUI, Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, HKU has research interests and experiences covering various subjects including molecular electronics, carbon nanotubes; and spin and valley physics in semiconductors. His team has been actively exploring the physics properties of emerging two-dimensional semiconductors, particularly optical properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Their work has contributed to the building of “Future Electronics”. Professor Cui pioneers in the research on Valleytronics. While Conventional semiconductor electronics use the flow of electric charge, Valleytronics involves utilizing "valleys", a new degree of freedom of electrons (as information carriers) in a controlled way. (Please click here for Professor Cui Xiaodong’s biography)

Professor Leo Lit Man POON, Professor, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU is a world-renowned molecular virologist. He has a passion for studying influenza viruses and other emerging animal viruses of zoonotic potential. He played a leading role in several major outbreaks in the past. He is one of the firsts who decoded the first Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus sequence in the SARS outbreak. He identified the first reassortant virus of pandemic H1N1 and swine influenza viruses in pigs.  He has recently used cutting-edge technologies to study influenza sequence variations in successive transmissions. Professor Poon is also heavily involved in the development of novel influenza vaccines. Overall, his work has major implications to our understanding of emerging infections and, more importantly, the control of these infectious agents.  (Please click here for Professor Leo Poon Lit-man’s biography)

Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowship 2017 recipient:

Professor Anskar Yu Hung LEUNG, Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation Professor in Haematology; Clinical Professor of Department of Medicine, Associate Dean (Human Capital), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU focuses on the research of pathogenesis and treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), one of the most lethal cancers worldwide. His team has developed zebrafish as a model organism for AML that has not only shed lights to the pathogenesis of AML but provided platform for screening therapeutic agents for AML treatment. These efforts have been extended to primary AML samples from patients, resulting in identification of novel therapeutic regimen for specific AML subtypes that was shown to improve the outcome of these patients. These observations have set a new paradigm for the personalised treatment of blood cancers. (Please click here for Professor Anskar Leung Yu-hung’s biography)

Croucher Innovation Awards
Established in 2012, the Croucher Innovation Awards aim to identify a small number of exceptionally talented scientists working at an internationally competitive level and to offer substantial support to these “rising stars” at a formative stage in their careers. The scheme is designed to enable recipients to pursue their own scientific, intellectual and professional inclinations, to advance their expertise, to engage in bold new work, and to contribute to the development of education and research in Hong Kong. Each award carries a value of up to HK$5 million over 5 years.

Croucher Senior Research Fellowships/ Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowships
The Croucher Senior Research Fellowships scheme was first introduced in 1997. It is awarded to local academics who have excelled in scientific research work as judged by leading international scientists invited to provide confidential reviews of candidates nominated in a competitive exercise. Funds are awarded to the universities of the fellowship recipients, enabling the university to recruit replacement teachers to take over the award winner’s duties for the period of the fellowship. This enables the awardees to devote more time and effort to research work.

The value of each award includes a HK$2 million research grant and the cost of a replacement teacher/clinical medical staff for a twelve-month period, currently stands at a maximum of HK$938,400 for the Senior Research Fellowships and HK$2,288,400 for the Senior Medical Research Fellowships.

Media enquiries:
The University of Hong Kong
Melanie Wan, Senior Manager (Media)
Tel: (852) 2859 2600,  Email: melwkwan@hku.hk

The University of Hong Kong, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
Florence Cheng, Assistant Manager (External Relations)
Tel: (852) 3917 9995, Email: florenc@hku.hk

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Anita Lam, Head of PR and Media
Tel: (852) 2358 6316, Email: anitalam@ust.hk

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clare Chan, Manager (PR & Media)
Tel: (852) 2358 6306, Email: clarechan@ust.hk

The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Communications and Public Relations Office
Fiona Ng, Senior Communications and Public Relations Manager
Tel: 3943-8896, Email: fiona-ng@cuhk.edu.hk
Nancy Kuo, Public Relations Executive
Tel: 3943-8501, Email: nancykuo@cuhk.edu.hk