News

Generous donation from The Seal of Love Charitable Foundation to promote mental health in universities

The Seal of Love Charitable Foundation, founded by Mr Lawrence CHAN, son of Mr and Mrs Chan Chak Fu, donated a total of $45 million to establish the “Seal of Love Charitable Foundation Health and Service Impact Fund” (the Fund) to advance PolyU’s research and impact in health-related disciplines.  The first project beneficiary is a five-year mental health initiative called the “Resilient Students Training Hub” (ReST Hub) under the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), which aims to promote student mental health in universities in Hong Kong and Asia.  ReST Hub is led by Dr Grace W.K. HO, MHRC Member and Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. The project’s goal is to turn university campuses across Hong Kong and Asia into mental health promotive ecosystems through services, training, and community engagement events, of which HK$ 12.9 million is to be supported by the Fund.  

Chinese New Year Greetings from MHRC

Best wishes and happiness throughout the Year of the Dragon!

Dr Bolton Chau Awarded Research Grant to Conduct Brain Research

We are thrilled to announce a significant achievement made by Dr Bolton Chau, Associate Director of MHRC, Associate Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS): he has successfully secured funding from the Research Grants Council Collaborative Research Fund for young researchers. His research project, titled “Exploring the Human Frontopolar Cortex in Decision Making: Neural Network Modeling, Aging, and Enhancement,” receives a substantial grant of HK$4,591,504. In this innovative project, Dr Chau will collaborate with scientists from esteemed institutions including the University of Oxford, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Baptist University, to focus on the investigation of the frontopolar cortex (FPC), a greatly developed region of the human brain. Despite the significance of the FPC, its role in decision-making remains largely unexplored. Using a combination of methodologies including brain imaging, brain stimulation, and artificial intelligence, the project team aims to unravel the mysteries of the FPC. Recent findings on which this research builds are outlined in a published article (see https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(23)00566-1 for details). We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr Chau on his outstanding accomplishment. In the competitive realm of Young Collaborative Research Grant, Dr Chau’s success highlights his expertise and dedication. This award is not only an honour of MHRC and RS, but also an encouraging achievement for PolyU academic community at large.  

MHRC study reveals that apelin mediates the antidepressant effects of physical exercise

Dr Sonata YAU, MHRC member and Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, presented at the annual meeting of The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2023 in Washington DC, US.The abstract entitled “Potential role of apelin in mediating the antidepressant effects of physical exercise” was selected by the Society of Neuroscience for press conference this year. Out of over 12,500 abstracts submitted to the meeting, less than 50 are being offered this prestigious opportunity of speaking directly to the media. The study revealed that apelin, a muscle-secreted peptide, is important for mediating the antidepressant effects of physical exercise. Sarcopenia, a muscle aging condition, is strongly correlated with geriatric depression, but the exact muscle-brain crosstalk isn’t well understood. Previous research has shown that apelin is linked to sarcopenia, and is also associated with hippocampal neuroplasticity and antidepressant effects. Using a mouse model of chronic unpredictable stress, Dr Yau and her research team showed that stressed mice exhibited decreased apelin expression levels in the hippocampus, which could be restored by 4-week physical running. Knockout of apelin specifically in skeletal muscle reduced the antidepressant effects of exercise, whereas overexpression of muscle apelin elicited antidepressant effects. The research deepens our understanding of the potential role of apelin in mediating the crosstalk of the muscle-brain axis, and holds important implications for understanding stress-related disorders.  

Get to know more about the Interim Director of MHRC via his feature story in PAIR Newsletter – Issue 8

Making “Happy Hong Kong” a genuine reality. One of the most widely heard slogans in the city this year has probably been “Happy Hong Kong”. The region is gradually returning to normalcy after the pandemic. In April 2023, the local government launched the “Happy Hong Kong” campaign to stimulate the city’s economy, lift people’s spirits, and bring joy to the community—with gourmet markets, carnivals, shopping festivals and many more fun events. “Happy Hong Kong” should not be just a short-term campaign for economic recovery but a long-term pursuit, requiring a forward-looking agenda for social welfare and community development. In this issue, Prof. Hector TSANG Wing-hong, Interim Director of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), shares insights into building a happier city.

MHRC holds Nobel Laureate Lecture

MHRC and the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences jointly organised a Nobel Laureate Lecture on 13 December 2023. Delivered by Prof. Thomas C. SÜDHOF, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2013), the lecture titled “The Molecular Architecture of Synapse Formation” attracted over 1,000 online attendees from 17 countries and regions, including China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Bhutan, United Kingdom, U.S.A. and Canada, etc. The event was also broadcasted live on multiple platforms, including YouTube, Bilibili, Weibo, WeChat and CSTCloud, drawing an impressive audience of over 15,000 in total. In the lecture, Prof. Südhof described the recent progress in understanding how selected trans-synaptic interactions guide and shape the formation of synapses and thereby control the molecular logic of neural circuits. A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Hector TSANG, Interim Director of MHRC, Chair Professor and Head, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Dr Sonata YAU, Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, was followed. The audience and Prof. Südhof had a thought-provoking and fruitful discussion, exchanging views and knowledge in the field of neuroscience. Online review: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/mhrc/news-and-events/video-gallery/  

4 MHRC Scholars Ranked World's Top 2% Scientists (2023)

Four MHRC members have been listed among the top 2% of scientists in a global list released by the prestigious Stanford University. The ranking identifies the top scholars in their own areas of specialty and whose publications are most frequently cited by other authors around the globe. The report was released by a team of experts led by Prof. John Ioannidis of Stanford University, and the latest version was published on 4 October 2023. Scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields. The publicly available database of over 100,000 top scientists provides standardised information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions, and a composite indicator. The report can be downloaded from Elsevier: https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/6 Congratulations to our colleagues on the high ranking and impact in the world! This recognition demonstrates MHRC’s influence in multi disciplines and signifies our dedication in conducting world-class research in mental health. MHRC's Top 2% Scientists in the Global List Name (by alphabetical order of surname) Subject Field (Rank within field) Prof. NG Sheung-mei, Shamay Associate Head and Professor of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Rehabilitation (580) Prof. SHUM Ho Keung, David Yeung Tsang Wing Yee and Tsang Wing Hing Professor in Neuropsychology, Chair Professor of Neuropsychology and Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences Rehabilitation (531) Prof. TSANG Wing Hong, Hector Interim Director of MHRC Head and Chair Professor of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Psychiatry (1,272) Prof. YEE Kay Yan, Benjamin Associate Director of MHRC Professor of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Neurology & Neurosurgery (6,125)

PolyU interdisciplinary team collaborates to promote mental health in schools

Prof. Hector TSANG Wing-hong, Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS), penned an article in Ming Pao, advocating the need for a teacher-student-home-school joint model in promoting student mental health. In the article, Prof. Tsang shared that RS researchers have been working on school-based projects since 2009 that aim at enhancing mental health in schools cost-effectively. The team has received three grants from  Quality Education Fund (QEF) to conduct teacher physical and mental wellness programmes at 129 primary schools and 82 secondary schools. The integrated project provides information about physical and mental health, and brings together professionals from various fields, including occupational therapists, physical therapists and nutritionists, in caring for the psychosocial, physical and nutritional health of teachers. The project records over 2,500 teacher participants, with more than 600 direct beneficiaries. He also mentioned that the PolyU team has accumulated rich experience from school mental health promotion projects for the past consecutive years, and deeply understands that the joint participation from schools and families, teachers and parents is indispensable. Based on the successful experience, the team proposed a school-based, teacher-student-home-school joint model for promoting student mental health. Read more: Ming Pao - https://polyu.me/3H0e2fU (Chinese only)

MHRC Interim Director pens articles on enhancing mental health support for carers

Prof. Hector TSANG, MHRC Interim Director, Chair Professor and Head of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, penned an article for Ming Pao on enhancing mental health support for carers. The article was published on 10 November. In his articles, Prof. Tsang discussed the ways to optimise mental health support for carers and suggested that the government should work with stakeholders including NGOs and education institutions to make full use of existing social resources, human resources and research outputs. Read more: Article on optimising support for carers: https://polyu.me/47blXT9 (subscription required)

MHRC members join healthtech project to improve mental health care

A healthtech project joined by three members of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), titled “Integrated innovative artificial intelligence, and genomic and biomedical technologies in healthcare: Objective diagnosis, personalised therapy and determination the etiology of major mental disorders”, was awarded HK$37 million funding from the Strategic Topics Grant 2023/24 of the Research Grants Council (RGC).   The five-year project is led by Prof. ZHANG Weixiong, Chair Professor in Bioinformatics & Integrative Genomics in the Department of Health Technology and Informatics and the Department of Computing. The research team is joined by three MHRC members from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences: Associate Professor Dr Sonata YAU is the Co-Principal Investigator, while Assistant Professors Dr Georg KRANZ and Dr Jessie LIN are the Co-Investigators. The project aims to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI),  genomic, biomedical and neuroimaging technologies to provide an innovative and integrated strategy for the diagnosis, treatment planning and understanding of major mental disorders. The AI-based, data-driven solution to be developed from the project will help improve the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment planning in mental health care.