Dr Rainbow Leung Wing Hei and Dr Martina Lei Mang Leng from Department of ABCT has won the Grand Prize and First Prize at The 12th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

We are delighted to announce that ABCT PhD students Dr Rainbow Leung Wing Hei and Dr. Martina Lei Mang Leng from our department has won the Grand Prize and First Prize at The 12th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.   Under the supervision of Prof. Terence Lee Kin-wah and Prof. Clarence Wong Tsun-ting, their project — "Therapeutic efficacy of peptide-linked chimeric antigen receptor macrophages (pCAR-M) in solid tumors" — developed a peptide-linked CAR-Macrophage platform addressing 92% of all cancers.   Out of 753 projects and 2,116 participants, this marks the first time a PolyU team has received an award in the Life Science category. The team has also launched a biotech startup, @Phagocytex Limited, supported by the PolyU KTEO MicroFund 2025–2026.   This achievement comes as our department transitions into the Division of Life Sciences this July. It also aligns with the National 15th Five-Year Plan supporting Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub.   Congratulations to the entire team for bringing honour to our department and PolyU. We look forward to this new chapter and remain committed to advancing life science research and education — contributing to scientific discovery, innovation, and the training of future leaders in the field.   The 12th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Award Ceremony Highlights: https://iec.newgen.org.hk/act-album/%e7%ac%ac12%e5%b1%86%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%a4%a7%e5%ad%b8%e7%94%9f%e5%89%b5%e6%96%b0%e5%8f%8a%e5%89%b5%e6%a5%ad%e5%a4%a7%e8%b3%bd-%e9%a0%92%e7%8d%8e%e5%85%b8%e7%a6%ae%e8%8a%b1%e7%b5%ae/   Awarding List: https://www.hkchallengeplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/%E7%AC%AC12%E5%B1%86%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%B8%E7%94%9F%E5%89%B5%E6%96%B0%E5%8F%8A%E5%89%B5%E6%A5%AD%E5%A4%A7%E8%B3%BD-%E5%BE%97%E7%8D%8E%E5%90%8D%E5%96%AE2026.pdf

Big congratulations to Prof. Larry Chow and Prof. Ben Ko! They have both been awarded PolyU’s inaugural "Top 10 Research & Innovation Stories of the Year”!

Big congratulations to our Department Head, Prof. Larry Chow, and Associate Professor, Prof. Ben Ko!   They have both been awarded PolyU’s inaugural "Top 10 Research & Innovation Stories of the Year”! This recognition celebrates impactful research that drives progress in Hong Kong and beyond.   Prof. Larry Chow is leading a groundbreaking Advanced Therapy Product (ATP) Laboratory – a state-of-the-art, PIC/S GMP-compliant facility dedicated to cell therapy, gene therapy, and regenerative medicine. The team is now focusing on manufacturing cell therapy products for spinal cord injury patients using HLA-matched umbilical cord blood. What makes this truly unique is PolyU's one-stop approach: the ATP Lab provides cutting-edge precision medicine, while the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences offers post-surgery rehabilitation training. This integrated model brings new hope to paralysis patients, addressing a medical need that currently has no effective cure. Prof. Chow’s work also supports Hong Kong’s vision to become an international health and medical innovation hub.   Prof. Ben Ko has uncovered, for the first time, the target and mechanism of tetrandrine (a compound from traditional Chinese medicine). His team discovered it works by blocking sphingosine transport and inhibiting calcium channels – opening exciting new avenues for treating viral infections (like Ebola and COVID-19) and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as certain metastatic cancers. This research modernizes natural products for therapeutic use.   We are immensely proud of their dedication to advancing science and improving lives. Please join us in celebrating their well-deserved success!

Data explosion in AI era: PolyU leads breakthroughs in protein-based data storage, delivering high storage capacity, strong stability and encryption capabilities

Facing the massive volumes of data generated by AI training and smart devices, Prof. Zhongping YAO, Associate Head and Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Dr Cheuk-chi NG, Research Assistant Professor of the same department, and Prof. Chung-Ming Francis LAU, Associate Dean (Global Engagement) of the Faculty of Engineering and Professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, have achieved a world-first breakthrough: using engineered proteins to store digital data, and completing the full process from data storage to retrieval in de novo designed unnatural proteins.   Previously, the team used peptides (short amino acid chains) as data carriers, but they had limited storage efficiency and high production costs. Now, they have innovatively turned to proteins. Proteins feature much longer amino acid sequences, delivering higher storage efficiency and capacity. They can also be mass‑produced via bacteria at low cost, and preserved stably in powder or solution form – outperforming DNA in stability.   Two major challenges they overcame: Data‑bearing proteins tend to be unstable and difficult to express. The full amino acid sequence must be accurately reconstructed to retrieve the encoded data.   Their innovative solution: Inspired by natural collagen, they designed a protein “backbone” template. By embedding data‑encoded amino acid sequences into this stable template, they successfully expressed the target proteins in E. coli, and retrieved the data using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‑MS/MS) combined with custom algorithms.   Impressive results: 30 times higher storage density than the peptide‑based method Only 10% of the production cost Enabled random access and cryptographic protection capabilities   The research findings have been published in Nature Communications, marking a major step toward sustainable, high‑capacity and highly stable data storage for the AI era.   Source: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/media/media-releases/2026/0514_polyu-leads-breakthroughs-in-protein-based-data-storage/  

ABCT Final-Year Students Receive Outstanding Student Awards

We are proud to announce that Miss Jenny He Jingyun, a final-year ABB student in the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (ABCT) in the Faculty of Science, has been honored with the Most Outstanding Student Award 2025/26 at the Outstanding Student Award and Presidential Student Leadership Award Ceremony 2025/26. This prestigious award is presented to only one recipient each year. In addition, Mr. Kerry Ke Shengyi, a Year 4 CT student, received the Presidential Student Leadership Award.   These awards recognize their excellence in academic performance and leadership during the 2025/26 academic year. Please join us in congratulating Jenny and Kerry on their outstanding achievements!   Media Coverage: Dot Dot News: https://polyu.me/4rGJ7KA Hong Kong Economic Journal: https://polyu.me/40IjNc5 (Subscription required) HK01: https://polyu.me/40GP7rS Master Insight: https://polyu.me/41n2uxn Sing Tao Daily: https://polyu.me/4sUss7h (Subscription required) Sing Tao Headline: https://polyu.me/4bUoYMo

Prof. Terence Lee of PolyU ABCT Leads Novel Antibody Development Targeting Metabolism-Related Liver Cancer

Warm congratulations to Prof. Terence Lee and his research team on this remarkable research breakthrough!   As Associate Head and Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (ABCT) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), he has led a groundbreaking study on the treatment of metabolism-related liver cancer, with its findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Liver cancer is one of the three deadliest cancers worldwide, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, commonly known as fatty liver disease) is an important risk factor for the disease. Current treatment options for MASLD-induced liver cancer remain limited, with the efficacy of existing immunotherapies being suboptimal.   Prof. Lee’s team identified adipocyte-secreted FABP4 (fatty acid-binding protein 4) as a key driver of tumour growth, with MASLD-induced liver cancer patients exhibiting markedly elevated FABP4 levels in their serum. They successfully developed a monoclonal antibody that neutralises FABP4, inhibiting the proliferation of FABP4-driven cancer stem cells and boosting the anti-tumour capacity of immune cells. Funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government, PolyU has filed a non-provisional patent for the antibody and is further optimising its binding affinity to facilitate future clinical applications. This novel antibody provides a complementary strategy to current immunotherapies, bringing new hope to patients with metabolism-related liver cancer.   Source: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/rio/news/2026/20260203---polyu-develops-novel-antibody-targeting-fat-cell-protein/?sc_lang=en