News

Year-4 PT student Michael Ng won and broke Hong Kong swimming record at Hong Kong Short Course Time Trial I

Year-4 PT student Michael Ng won and broke Hong Kong swimming record at Hong Kong Short Course Time Trial I Ng Michael Yu Hin, a year-4 PT student, won and broke a Hong Kong record set by himself in the men’s 200m breaststroke event at the Hong Kong Short Course Time Trial I, held at Hong Kong Sports Institute on 11 July 2021. Michael’s new Hong Kong record now stands at two minutes and 09.14 seconds. We are proud of Michael’s achievement. His dedication to pursue his passion for physiotherapy and swimming also sets a good example for his fellow students. He would like to share below his experience of striking a balance between being a university student and a swimmer who competes internationally for Hong Kong:   “‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ This has been my motto since I entered university. When people around me knew I was going to study physiotherapy at PolyU, they started to ask whether I was about to quit swimming. But here I am, breaking my personal best again. Now, when people ask me how I manage my time and the pressure from the two aspects, I will tell them, ‘Be the best you could every day and think less, do more.’ It is always hard to accomplish something no one has done before since there will be a lot of doubts coming along. You must really trust yourself and believe the hard work you are doing every day will bring success. Constantly grinding is exhausting but is the fundamental of achieving something you badly desire. So, just hold on to your belief with confidence and perseverance, and you will reach your target soon!” Michael is currently receiving practical training at a private clinic in Central before finishing his study at PolyU. We hope he will continue to excel in swimming and his career as a physiotherapist.

Six RS faculty members succeed in obtaining allocations from RGC GRF 2021/22

Six RS faculty members succeed in obtaining allocations from RGC GRF 2021/22 Over the years, academics and researchers at RS have spared no effort in achieving excellence in research in related disciplines. To support their impactful and translational research, they have made strenuous efforts to secure internal funding at the department, faculty and university levels as well as acquire external funding support such as that from the RGC General Research Fund (GRF), the RGC Early Career Scheme (ECS), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). This year RS has done very well in the highly competitive RGC GRF 2021/22 exercise. Out of the sixteen applications we submitted, six are funded, reflecting a success rate of 37.5%. This is the highest success rate among all of the five schools/departments in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. Congratulations to the six faculty members who have made a successful GRF application this year (please refer to the table below for more details). We are also grateful to all the colleagues who have rendered assistance in the process. Let us keep up the good work and achieve even better results next year. Principal Investigator Funded Research Project Prof. Marco PANG Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to study the changes in brain activity during dual-task walking and the effects of structured cognitive-motor exercise in individuals with stroke Prof. Hector TSANG Unpacking the “mind” and “body” pathways of the antidepressant effect of qigong in older adults with chronic diseases Dr Benson LAU Light for major depression: Potential effect of photobiomodulation on neurogenesis and depression-like behavior by low-energy laser irradiation Dr Sai Kam HUI Neuroarchitectural recovery model of post-stroke patients Dr Thomson WONG The effects of attentional focus instructions on real-time conscious movement processing while walking in a challenging environment for older adults at risk of falling in Hong Kong: Implications for rehabilitation Dr Sunny CHAN Neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of mindfulness-based intervention and Tai Chi Chuan on sleep disturbance in older people

Four RS scholars have been ranked among top 2% of scientists in the world

Four RS scholars have been ranked among top 2% of scientists in the world We are excited to share the great news that five RS scholars (listed below) have been ranked among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists. They were named, along with other 158 PolyU scholars, in the “Updated science-wide author databases of standardised citation indicators”, compiled by Stanford University. To group and rank top scientists across the world, the Stanford research team used an array of standardised citation indicators including information on citations, an individual’s scientific research output, co-authorship and a composite indicator for career-long citation impact up to the end of 2019. Congratulations to these four scholars whose determined efforts to conduct high-impact research have earned them global recognition they deserve!  Name of Scholars Subject Field Professor Gabriel Ng Rehabilitation Professor Marco Pang Rehabilitation Professor Hector Tsang Psychiatry Professor Benjamin Yee Neurology and neurosurgery  

Prof. Hector Tsang has obtained funding from Lee Hysan Foundation to support a project for promoting teachers’ wellness

Prof. Hector Tsang has obtained funding from Lee Hysan Foundation to support a project for promoting teachers’ wellness We are delighted to share the good news that Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS) has succeeded in acquiring funding from Lee Hysan Foundation to support a 2-year project titled “Teachers Wellness MED Program”. Heavy teaching and administrative workloads, education reforms, preparation for peer observation or external school reviews, pursuit of further education etc have imposed a great burden on teachers that could adversely affect their physical and mental health, and consequently their work performance. On the other hand, appropriate support and help from schools and the government is limited. There is an urgent need to develop a holistic health programme to help improve teachers’ physical and mental wellbeing. As a matter of fact, the challenges and stress that teachers face at different stages of life and career development are varied, resulting in various levels of physical and mental health problems. In view of this, Prof. Tsang and his team aim to use a life-span approach to provide holistic and sustainable care to teachers. The Teachers Wellness MED Program (with “MED” standing for “mental health, exercise, and diet”) will be tailor-made to meet teachers’ various needs at different life and career development stages. The programme is “holistic” in the sense that it embraces three aspects, namely psychosocial wellness, nutrition, and physical health. Because of the involvement of diet, Prof. Wong Man-sau, an expert in nutrition from the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, PolyU, has been invited to serve as a co-investigator of this project. Each of the above three aspects will involve onsite and online means, such as onsite stress management skill labs, onsite nutrition talks, onsite exercise workshops, reflective journal, nutrition knowledge booklets, exercise video clips, peer support group, online FAQ/support such as Facebook page and Instagram account, etc.

OT & PT undergraduates receive Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2020 & 2021

OT & PT undergraduates receive Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2020 & 2021   Four students from our BSc in Occupational Therapy and BSc in Physiotherapy programmes have been awarded the Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2020 & 2021. At the award presentation ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 23 June 2021, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mrs Carrie Lam, presented the certificates to them and other awardees. Prof. Timothy Tong, PolyU former President, also attended the ceremony and took photos with the PolyU awardees. The highly competitive Scholarship, jointly supported and sponsored by the Innovation and Technology Commission and HSBC, and organised by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, selects 25 local undergraduates with enthusiasm in innovation and technology (I&T) from all UGC-funded universities every year. Each of them is awarded a scholarship of up to $150,000 with a full slate of support for acquiring cross-cultural experience. The aim is to help them explore their I&T potentials for pursuing a career in the field and contributing to Hong Kong’s I&T development, thereby reinforcing the city’s status as an international I&T hub. Let us give a round of applause to the four awardees (listed below) and the Scholarship Coordinators, Dr Yvonne Han (Associate Professor) and Dr Fadi Al Zoubi (Assistant Professor)!   2020 awardees: Chow Tsz Ching, Erina (OT) Tse Lok Yung, Alison (PT) 2021 awardees: Cheung Yin Chi, Meryl (OT) Ng Chit Yui, Jeffrey (PT)

7th Online Elite Alumni Seminar

RS elite alumni shared their success stories online The 7th Elite Alumni Seminar of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS) was successfully held online on 16 June 2021, during which two elite alumni were invited to share their success stories and precious work experiences with around 100 alumni, students and faculty members of the department. The event was graced by the presence of Prof. Wong Wing-tak, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU, who delivered an opening speech to welcome all guests and attendees and affirm the significance of the Elite Alumni Seminar series held regularly by RS. Prof. Wong’s speech was followed by the presentations of two guest speakers and elite alumni, Dr Raymond So and Dr Serena Ng. Dr Raymond So is a graduate from our physiotherapy programme and is now Director of Elite Training Science and Technology of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI). Dr So has been actively involved in research on sports training and sports medicine for many years. His major responsibilities in HKSI are to provide sports science, sports medicine and sports technology supports to coaches, assist in formulating suitable training programmes for athletes, and introduce innovative ideas to the abovementioned areas so as to systematically improve the performance of Hong Kong elite athletes. In his presentation, Dr So talked on the development of sports science and sports medicine support to the training of Hong Kong elite athletes. Dr Serena Ng graduated from our occupational therapy programme and is currently Centre Head of the Community Rehab Service Support Centre of the Hospital Authority. Her work focuses on driver rehabilitation, sexual counselling and rehabilitation, and advanced assistive technology for the disabled. All along, Dr Ng has impressed her colleagues with her foresight and sense of innovation in the application of evidence-based advanced technology in her department. She shared in her presentation about the experience of building a centre for knowledge translation and technology transfer in the Hospital Authority. After their presentations, the guest speakers engaged in active interactions with the attendees during the Q&A session. At the end of the event, Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS) expressed his sincere thanks to Prof. Wong Wing-tak, Dr Raymond So and Dr Serena Ng. He believed that the two elite alumni’s sharing would help broaden the horizons of RS students, and looked forward to the next Elite Alumni Seminar in the near future.  

RS PhD student Bingbing Zhang received Eurasia-Pacific Ernst Mach Scholarship

RS PhD student Bingbing Zhang received Eurasia-Pacific Ernst Mach Scholarship   Ms Bingbing Zhang, RS PhD student under the supervision of Dr Georg Kranz (Research Assistant Professor of RS), has been recently awarded the Ernst Mach Grant, Eurasia-Pacific Uninet. The scholarship is offered by OeAD, Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation. With this scholarship of HK$68,500, Ms Zhang will be able to conduct research in Austria for six months. She will work at the Neuroimaging Labs (http://meduniwien.ac.at/neuroimaging/) at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna.

RPg student gathering in June

RPg student gathering in June This year, the research student gathering was held on 3 June via Zoom. We have all gone through a tough 2020 and early 2021. Now the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be easing off and the research students in our department finally had a chance to gather online. Over 15 research students, their supervisors and RS faculty members joined the gathering and enjoyed the food, games (including “scavenger hunt” and “guess the movie”) and highly anticipated lucky draw. It was a great way to relieve some of our stress amid the long-lasting pandemic.   Prof. Hector Tsang (Head of RS) and Prof. David Man (Associate Head of RS and Chair of the Departmental Research Committee) gave an opening speech and encouraged the research students. We are also grateful to Prof. Tsang and Prof. Man for sponsoring the prizes for our lucky draw. Congratulations to the winners of the grand lucky draw!

Asia Pacific International Rehabilitation Forum 2021

The Asia Pacific International Rehabilitation Forum 2021, hosted by The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and attended by more than twenty participating units, was successfully held from 6 to 10 May 2021. With the theme of “Healthy China 2030: A vision for health care is a national health mission for all”, the forum aimed to optimise the application of rehabilitation sciences and enhance the quality of life. The forum also encouraged collaboration of research efforts in rehabilitation and healthcare among experts around the world, including Prof. Hector Tsang from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS), Dr Antonio Stecco from New York University, and Ms Jody Anne from the WHO. A wide array of topics were discussed in the forum, including chronic pain management, autism rehabilitation, biotechnology innovation in rehabilitation medicine, and neuro-rehabilitation. The forum strived to make a social impact in the fields of rehabilitation and healthcare, and to promote good health through better prevention and treatment of diseases as well as palliative care. Prof. Tsang was one of the prominent speakers to deliver a speech in the forum, on the topic of the “Opportunities of professional training for occupational therapists and physiotherapists in Hong Kong”. Prof. Tsang introduced the historical and recent developments of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and RS, and the relevant academic programmes of RS that help to advance the knowledge of rehabilitation sciences. Besides, Prof. Tsang shared his vision of the future high-quality training for occupational therapists and physiotherapists with the establishment of the new PolyU campuses in Homantin, Hong Kong and mainland China.

Visit by the Hong Kong Housing Society, Elderly Services Team

Dr Carmen Ng (General Manager of Elderly Services, Hong Kong Housing Society) visited RS department with her team. During the visit, they had meeting with Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS), Prof. Amy Fu (Professor and Associate Head of RS) and Prof. Kenneth Fong (Professor and Programme Leader of OT). The team also joined a tour around the teaching, research and service facilities of RS. They are exploring the possibility of collaboration in the future.