Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2022

Congratulations to Dr Terence LEE Kin-wah and Dr Amber CHIOU on receiving the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2022. Dr Terence LEE was honored with the Individual Award in “Research and Scholarly Activities: Outstanding Researcher”; whist the interdisciplinary team formed by ITC colleagues and Dr Amber CHIOU has received the Team Award in “Knowledge Transfer: Industry” with their research project on the world’s first anti-virus 3D printing material.  The Faculty Award Presentation Ceremony will be held in June 2022. Our warmest congratulations again to Dr Lee and Dr Chiou for their remarkable accomplishment!

PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award 2022

Dr Franco LEUNG King-chi and Dr Benedict LO Tsz-woon, Assistant Professors of ABCT, have received the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022 with their research focus on “Photo responsive amphiphiles for supramolecular robotic system” and “Design of multinuclear solid atomic catalysts for energy and sustainability applications” respectively. The Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) aims to honor young PolyU researchers under the age of 35 who have demonstrated novelty, contributed to technology advancement, and propelled transformational innovation into solutions for addressing problems in society with a vision for a positive change to the future. The YIRA assessment panel, composed of Prof. Jin-Guang Teng (P), Prof. Wing-tak Wong (DP), Dr Miranda Lou (EVP), Prof. Christopher Chao (VPRI) and Prof. Larry Chow (DoRI), has reviewed over 59 submissions across 22 departments and selected 6 YIRA awardees this year. Each YIRA awardee will receive research funding support of HK$500,000 and personal cash prize of HK$20,000 as the encouragement for their research novelty and impact.   Details of the Gala Ceremony of Young Innovative Researcher Award will be announced by the Research and Innovation Office later. Let us congratulate Dr Franco Leung and Dr Benedict Lo for their achievements!

Prof. WONG Kwok-yin and Prof. Thomas LEUNG were interviewed by the RTHK Programme to share their research in cancer drug

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and there is no true cure currently. Cancer treatment usually includes surgery, radiotherapy and systemic therapy (e.g. chemotherapy/ targeted therapy), but the options are often limited and may not always be effective. Thus, the discovery and development of a new cancer drug with better efficacy and safety is essential. The State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery (PolyU) strives to conduct world-class research in chemical biology, and develop new molecular techniques for cancer drug discovery.  Prof. WONG Kwok-yin and Prof. Thomas LEUNG were interviewed by the RTHK Programme to share their research in cancer drug. Please visit the link here to view RTHK’s TV Programme ‘IT New Era’.

ABCT Graduate receives the International Accreditation Top Project Award 2022 of RSB

【ABCT Graduate receives the International Accreditation Top Project Award 2022 of Royal Society of Biology】 We are most delighted to announce that Mr LI Shaoyang Alvin, graduated with a First Class Honours degree in BSc (Hons) in Applied Biology with Biotechnology in 2021, has received the International Accreditation Top Project Award 2022 of Royal Society of Biology in recognition of his outstanding final-year research project and abilities as a biologist. With the guidance and support from his research supervisor, Dr CHUA Song-Lin, Alvin has built up his strengths and set a solid foundation for his future advances in the bioscience field. His award-winning project entitled “Biofilm matrix cloaks bacterial quorum sensing chemoattractants from predator detection” elucidated the restriction of bacterial communication activities to the confinements of biofilms for predator evasion. This novel mechanism plays a fundamental role in shaping the dynamics of microbial communities and predator-prey interactions, with implications in microbial diseases and ecology. His research findings were published in the The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology. The International Accreditation Top Project Award is an annual award conferred by The Royal Society of Biology (RSB). RSB is a prestigious professional association for biological sciences in the UK which support and advance the interests of biology in education, research and community. Our ABB Programme was the first international accredited undergraduate programme by RSB, and our graduates are qualified for membership of RSB. Each year, only a few selected graduates from the accredited degree of RSB is eligible to win the top project award. Let us take this opportunity to congratulate Alvin on his excellent achievement.

Dr Kevin Kwok Wing-hin was interviewed by the RTHK Programme to share his research insight

The problem of global food imbalance is imminent. Human food is mainly produced by animal husbandry and agricultural activities. There is one-third of the world's land is currently used for animal husbandry and farming. Animal husbandry not only produce carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, which increasing the greenhouse effect. But also, the agriculture activities will damage the soil structure and quality, seriously damage the ecology of the earth. Dr Kevin Kwok Wing-hin, Associate Director of Research Institute for Future Food and Assistant Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, introduced the development and trend of future food on RTHK radio programme “Climate Watcher”. Dr Kwok indicated that there are currently feasible methods of making future food, such as freezing method, mariculture and hydroponic cultivation. In addition, urbanites live a busy life and may lack nutrients such as calcium and iron in their daily diet. Therefore, Dr Kwok is studying on the research to add the nutrients into prototype foods which enables urbanites to absorb comprehensive nutrition in a single food. It is expected to develop organic and environmentally-friendly food in line with the goals of sustainable development. If you are interested, please visit the link for programme archive. https://polyu.me/3MIHJ67

Prof Wai-yeung WONG Raymond was interviewed by the RTHK Programme to share his research insight

Prof. Wai-yeung WONG Raymond, Dean of Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, ADoRISE & Chair Professor of Chemical Technology was interviewed by the RTHK Programme “太陽底下新鮮事” to share his research insight on the topic of “New Materials and Energy Light Conversion Technologies” & “Converting Light into Electricity and its Development in Hong Kong”. At present, the problem of environmental energy shortage is becoming more critical. To solve these crises and meet the goals of sustainable development, Prof. Wong’s research focuses on optoelectronics and advancing energy-conversion technologies in order to meet the world’s future energy demand. Prof. Wong discussed the use of new organic materials in the conversion of electrical energy into light, the characteristics of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and its application in wearable electronics in the interview on "New Materials and Energy Light Conversion Technologies" broadcasted on 10 April. Prof. Wong also introduced the application of organometallic polymer in organic solar cells, and how it advanced the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the interview on "Converting Light into Electricity and its Development in Hong Kong" broadcasted on 17 April. If you are interested, please visit the link for programme archive: https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio1/programme/underthesun

Media Pays Tribute to PolyU ABCT Prof. Li Pei and her Research on Antimicrobial Coating

Under the epidemic, Hong Kong people's awareness of personal and environmental hygiene has greatly increased. The public may use bleach, alcohol and hand sanitizer to clean and disinfect their homes and individuals. However, public facilities such as elevator buttons, handrails and other surfaces that are frequently touched by the public must be repeatedly disinfected to effectively kill germs. Moreover, some disinfectants may irritate the skin and damage health. Toxic chemicals may also affect ecosystems with toxins, contaminating drinking water and the environment. To solve the above problems, researchers are working to develop antibacterial methods that can be used widely. Prof. Li Pei, who is the professor of PolyU ABCT and the co-founder of Grand Rise Technology successfully developed the “InnoCoatex” with her research team and won awards in the many competitions, including International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2021. “InnoCoatex”has been used in the Government’s isolation facilities and PolyU dormitories. "InnoCoatex" is a biocompatible antibacterial coating developed with nanotechnology that made of patented chitosan-based core-shell particles with excellent film-forming ability, which can achieve contact killing and protection for up to 6 months. It only needs to be sprayed on the surface of the object, and it dries quickly and does not affect the appearance and texture of the material. It is suitable for a variety of materials, including metal, concrete, wood, glass, plastic and textiles and effectively kills up to 99% of common bacteria. (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus) viruses (e.g. H1N1 and HCOV-229E). InnoCoatex" is harmless to the human body and environmentally friendly, and it can be used for disinfection, pollution control and epidemic prevention. As one of the few researchers in the world who have mastered layered nanomaterials, Prof. Li has more than 30 years of experience in biomaterials research. Prof. Li is committed to the development of multi-layered nanomaterials technology to facilitate a wider range of applications at the biological and medical levels. With the gradual maturity of nano-synthesis technology, it is expected to benefit the those in need. Please visit here for more details.

Dr Chang Jinhui Gail of ABCT has won a silver medal at 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days

Congratulations to Dr Chang Jinhui Gail, Research Assistant Professor of ABCT and the Co-founder of Bo InnoHealth Biotechnology Company Limited (a PolyU GBA Start-up PostDoc and PolyU Academic-led startup), has won a silver medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva - Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days – Virtual Event. The Exhibition is regarded as one of the most important annual global events devoted exclusively to inventions, with over 1,000 inventions being presented this year. The award-winning project of Dr Chang Jinhui Gail is “AkkMore™: a Fungus and Plant Based Supplement Against Obesity or Prediabetes”. AkkMore™ is a nutritional supplements formula drink that aims to improve users’ body conditions by building a healthy microbiome. AkkMore™ formula precisely targets on promoting the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila (Akk) in human guts. It is designed to reduce metabolic disorders and lose body weight. The research team has recently completed animal studies as well as the phase 1 clinical trial in humans.  Let us take this opportunity to congratulate Dr Chang on receiving the honor. Please visit here for more details.

PolyU develops novel anti-virus 3D printing material that terminates over 90% of COVID-19 in 10 minutes

An interdisciplinary research team formed by the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) and the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (ABCT) at PolyU has successfully developed the world's first “anti-virus 3D printing material” that can eliminate over 90% of the COVID-19 viruses on a surface within 10 minutes, and terminate almost all viruses and bacteria in 20 minutes. The main component of the material is resin, added with anti-viral agents such as cationic compounds, to pierce the cell membrane of the virus and destroy its structure to kill the virus and bacteria. The material can be produced in different forms using 3D printing technology, and could be used extensively in public facilities to provide epidemic prevention support to the community. The research team has collaborated with different organizations such as the Home Affairs Department and the Hong Kong Wetland Park over the past year to produce recycling bin handles, toilet doorknob covers, lift buttons, braille boards and more. As the disinfection components of the material are embedded in the products rather than coated on the surface, daily cleaning with disinfectants such as bleach does not compromise its anti-virus performance. The team has applied patent of this technology and application, and will put it into commercial use in the future. For more details, please visit the PolyU website.

PolyU ABCT Flag-raising ceremony on 3 January 2022

In celebration of the 85th anniversary of PolyU, the University is hosting regular Flag-Raising Ceremony to pay tribute to our motherland and the accomplishments of our country.  ABCT is very proud to be the first academic unit to host the ceremony on 3 January 2022. Thanks to the great support and enthusiastic participation of over 120 colleagues and students on that day, the event was completed smoothly.