News

Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards

Dr WEN Chunyi, Member of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), won the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Award (Hong Kong) 2022 in the biology and medicine category of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition for his project “Senolytic uPAR-CAR-T Therapy for Osteoarthritis”.The competition is organised by the National Academy of Medicine of the United States. It is a series of inducement awards and prizes to catalyse breakthrough innovations to promote people’s lifelong physical, mental, and social health and well-being. There are ten awards in the competition. Each winning project will receive a US$50,000 cash prize for a maximum period of 12 months.

BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize Health for Life Award

Prof. ZHENG Yongping, Director of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), has been awarded the inaugural BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize in the field of “Life and Health” with HKD 2 million cash prize. Prof. Zheng has obtained more than 50 patents and was ranked among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists in rankings compiled by Stanford University in 2021 and 2022. His main research area includes biomedical ultrasound instrumentation, soft tissue elasticity measurement and imaging, 3D ultrasound imaging and smart aging technologies. The research team led by Prof. Zheng has developed a 3D ultrasound imaging system, “Scolioscan”, which can bring accurate, safe and cost-efficient radiation-free scoliosis assessment. The invention has been applied to clinical assessment in many countries to facilitate early diagnosis and early treatment of scoliosis, and to control the condition using non-surgical intervention. This invention can also be used for the evaluation of ageing spine, including degenerative scoliosis. 

Hong Kong ICT Awards 2022

Dr. Daphne Cheung, member of RISA, and her team have received Hong Kong ICT Awards 2022: Smart People (Smart Ageing) Silver Award for their work on the project "Therapeutic music-with-movement programme for elderly with cognitive impairment". Congratulations!

Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit 2022

The Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit 2022 was successfully held, attracting thousands of visitors. At the four-day expo, the exhibition booth of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA) showcased the latest innovations by PolyU faculty members from the Department of Applied Social Sciences, the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the School of Nursing, and the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation, and demonstrated advanced technologies for elder care to the public. The booth was visited by prestigious guests, including Mrs Carrie Lam, former Chief Executive of the HKSAR, and Prof. Sophia Chan, former Secretary for Food and Health of the HKSAR, academic staff from different higher education institutions, and the general public who were interested in using PolyU’s aged care products. We wish this precious experience can bring new collaboration opportunities to RISA.

World’s top 2% most-cited scientists

Congratulations to Ir Prof. Zheng Yong Ping, Director of RISA, Prof. Tao Xiao Ming, Prof. Wang Shi Yuan William, and Prof. Cao Jiannong, member of RISA, who have been recognized on the list of top 2% most-cited scientists internationally,  list complied by Standford University in Oct2022.PolyU has achieved an encouraging milestone of having more than 200 scholars ranked among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists in the newly released metrics compiled by Stanford University. In addition to the most top 2% scientists globally in the fields of Building and Construction (13 scientists) and Civil Engineering (16), the University has the largest number of top 2% scholars in four other fields in Hong Kong. Overall, PolyU has the second highest number of scientists included in the list among Hong Kong institutions. The University has five and seven scientists who are ranked among the top 10 and top 20 scholars in the world respectively in their own areas of specialty, the highest number among universities in Hong Kong.

InnoStars2022

Mr Ling Kar-kan, Director of the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation and Associate Director of Research Institute for Smart Ageing, were presented the InnoStars Award 2021 organised by the Our Hong Kong Foundation in the ceremony held yesterday (29 July).   Mr Ling, who has devoted himself to social innovation, believed that the most important element for social innovation is empathy - to profoundly understand the pain and needs of those you serve.   For more details, you could visit the related video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7JFprxVTj0

President's Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Knowledge Transfer

To recognise and reward staff members’ KT endeavours which are underpinned by research and innovation and have created significant impact on industry and society, the President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Knowledge Transfer (KT) has been set up. The Awards will have two sub-categories: “President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in KT: Industry” and “President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in KT: Society”. Prof. Zheng Yong Ping, DoRISA, has been granted an individual award under the President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in KT: Industry category, for his project "Scolioscan: 3D Ultrasound Imaging System for Radiation-free Scoliosis Assessment" The “President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in KT: Industry” recognises KT impact cases which can demonstrate contributions in advancing the technological or industry standards, addressing the needs of the industry, or enhancing its competitiveness through application of PolyU’s research and innovations in the form of products, methodologies, systems and/or solutions. The details of the project can be found here , or click here for a video introduction.  

PolyU InnoTech Open Day 2022

PolyU held the PolyU InnoTech Open Day on 16 July 2022 on campus to showcase the University’s latest endeavours in education, interdisciplinary research, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship which are helping to empower the I&T development of Hong Kong, the GBA and beyond. RISA had set up a booth to showcase members' projects on ageing related topics, with live demostration of products developed by members.   

COVID PTSD study

Prof. David Shum, Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at PolyU, associate director of RISA, elaborated his team’s study results that revealed over 10% Hong Kong people exhibited post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms one year after the onset of the pandemic on the RTHK programme “Letters to Hong Kong” yesterday (25 June).   The team suggested enhancing the connection between the non-governmental organisations and the elderly to help ensure their good physical and mental health.   Click here for more details. 

TechConnect 2022 Innovation Awards

Prof. Jing Cai, member of RISA, has prestigious global Innovation Awards in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo 2022 (TechConnect), with his development in an AI-Empowered Chest X-Ray and CT Quantitative Analysis for COVID-19 Patient Management.  The AI-enhanced techniques for COVID-19 clinical applications provide accurate and low-cost imaging solutions for the diagnosis, severity stratification and prognosis of COVID-19. These applications include AI-empowered chest X-ray imaging, AI-assisted COVID-19 disease segmentation, and multi-view analysis. Their high accessibility will benefit developing countries that do not have the needed resources to accurately diagnose and monitor COVID-19. For details of the TechConnect 2022 Innovation Awardees, please visit the official website: https://www.techconnectworld.com/World2022/participate/innovation/awards.html