Subject Area: Biology and Medicine
Project Title: Centre for Plant Vacuole Biology and Biotechnology
Project Coordinator: Prof Liwen Jiang (CUHK)
Abstract
Plant vacuoles play essential roles in cellular recycling and homeostasis. Vacuoles dynamically alter their size and shape during plant growth and development, responding adaptively to environmental stresses such as heat, salt, and drought, as well as pathogen attacks. Understanding vacuole formation, regulation, and interaction with other organelles under stresses remains largely elusive yet critical for advancing agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
Our inter-institutional and inter/multidisciplinary research team, specializing in cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced imaging techniques, aims to illustrate these fundamental processes of vacuole biology and biotechnology. By leveraging cutting-edge electron microscopy and biotechnology approaches, we aim to establish the Centre for Plant Vacuole Biology and Biotechnology (CPVBB) as an international hub for innovative research and biotechnology advancement. CPVBB will foster global collaborations, develop new technologies to enhance crop resilience and productivity, as well as provide comprehensive training programs for young scientists. This initiative will position Hong Kong as a leader in plant organelle biology research, contributing significantly to scientific knowledge, sustainable agriculture practices, food security, and economic growth in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and beyond.
Subject Area: Physical Sciences
Project Title: The Study of Topological and Strongly Correlated Quantum Materials
Project Coordinator: Prof Kam Tuen Law (HKUST)
Abstract
Technological breakthroughs are often driven by advances in our understanding and discovery of new classes of materials. For instance, our comprehension of quantum effects in semiconductors facilitated the miniaturisation of transistors, ultimately ushering us into the digital age. This Area of Excellence (AoE) project is dedicated to the study of quantum materials to propel technological advancement.
Understanding quantum materials is crucial, as we now recognise that the properties of electrons can be significantly modified within different materials. For example, while electrons in free space have mass, in certain crystalline structures, they can behave as if they were massless. Additionally, although electrons typically exhibit kinetic energy, we can engineer materials in which electrons have effectively lost all the kinetic energy, leading to enhanced interactions that give rise to novel phenomena such as new forms of superconductivity and magnetism. Furthermore, the interactions between electrons and light will also be profoundly altered in quantum materials. The modification of electron properties then enables innovative designs for electronic, magnetic, optical, and quantum information devices.
In this AoE project, we aim to theoretically predict the novel properties of electrons in various materials. We will also synthesise these materials in laboratories in Hong Kong. The team is fully equipped to characterise novel materials and fabricate nanoscale devices capable of measuring unique physical properties at temperatures approaching absolute zero.
This AoE initiative will significantly enhance Hong Kong's capabilities in quantum research. The outcomes of this project are expected to lead to the development of new functional electronic devices and potentially catalyse technological breakthroughs in the region. Moreover, this AoE project will contribute to the training of a substantial number of young individuals, cultivating a new generation of experts in quantum research.
Subject Area: Humanities and Social Sciences
Project Title: Optimizing Early Childhood Development of Children from Low-Resource Settings by Leveraging Technology and Biological Data
Project Coordinator: Prof Patrick Chun Man Wong (CUHK)
Abstract
Children growing up in low-resource settings (rural areas and lower income urban households) are at an elevated likelihood of developmental delay across domains of language, cognition and socio-emotion, with measurable structural and functional differences in the brain. As early-life developmental challenges persist well beyond childhood, these children are not ready for higher-learning to adapt to the modern economy that relies heavily on technology and services over manual manufacturing. Economists argue that enhancing early childhood development (ECD) is to create the human capital necessary for households to escape from the middle-income trap. However, the best ECD solutions available to date are teacher-intensive and very costly to implement at scale.
The mission of our AoE project is therefore to develop and implement cost-effective ECD intervention strategies. This project qualifies as an AoE because of our distinguished research and service records, interdisciplinary expertise rooted in the humanities and developmental science, community-based research experience that encompasses numerous non-profit organisations in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and most importantly the enormous economic impact that the success of this project would bring to the nation.
In this early-phase exploratory project, we will partner with social organisations across the Mainland and Hong Kong to enroll children from low-resource settings. We will a) develop and evaluate ECD intervention solutions of different costs, b) collect and employ biological data to assist with the eventual identification of children who require the most costly intervention solution, which will enable prescription of such a solution only to children who actually need it, and c) evaluate hypotheses about neuroplastic mechanisms of intervention effectiveness, a basic science goal that can be addressed comprehensively by the large dataset created in this project.
This transdisciplinary endeavor can only be accomplished with expertise as diverse as linguistics, education, neuroscience, bioinformatics, and pediatrics. Our team of young and seasoned researchers is recognised globally as leaders of research in language and human development that bridges the humanities and sciences. To realise the goals of this project, we will apply our extensive experience working with community partners throughout the Mainland as well as the many lessons learned in conducting large-scale projects funded by the Research Grant Council and other agencies that address the multi-faceted nature of human development and early intervention. This AoE represents a disruptive force in ECD and signifies Hong Kong’s unique position in the Mainland’s development.