Project Title: Centre for Organelle Biogenesis and Function
Project Coordinator: Professor Liwen Jiang (CUHK)
Abstract
The existence of all eukaryotic cells, plant
and animal, depends upon the maintenance
of organelles within them. Organelles are
membrane-bound compartments that contain
specialized environments where crucial complex
biochemical processes occur. Organelles
are essential for cell-cell communications
and for an organism's homeostasis, growth
and development as well as for responses
to the environment. However, the underlying
mechanisms of organelle biogenesis and protein
traffic communications among them remain
elusive. Over the past ten years, our research
programs in Hong Kong have made internationally
recognized contributions towards understanding
protein trafficking, organelle dynamics
and functions in model organisms including
plants, yeast and mice. For example, in
plant cells, we first identified the multivesicular
body (MVB) as a prevacuolar compartment
(PVC), defined the trans-Golgi network (TGN)
as an early endosome, and discovered a novel
organelle termed EXPO (Exocyst-positive
Organelle) mediating an unconventional protein
secretion (UPS). Similarly, we identified
novel Golgi-retention mechanisms for glycosyltransferases
(GTases) in yeast and Arabidopsis EMPs (endomembrane
proteins), and elucidated the roles of PICK1
(Protein Interacting with C-Kinase 1) in
AMPA receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity
in mice brains. This documented scientific
expertise and leadership in multiple disciplines
provides the opportunity and rationale for
forming a team to establish the Centre
for Organelle Biogenesis and Function
that will bring together team members with
excellent track records to focus on a broad
theme of organelle biogenesis and function,
using a combination of cellular, molecular,
biochemical, physiological, genetic and
omics approaches in model organisms. The
present proposal focuses on understanding
the Biogenesis and Function of three organelles:
Golgi, TGN and EXPO. Our research
will not only address the fundamental questions
concerning organelle biogenesis and function
in important biological processes, such
as cell wall formation and stress signaling
pathways in plants, but will also have potential
applications for the biotechnology industry
in Hong Kong and China to improve the value
of plants as biofuel feedstocks and to enhance
crop productivity in high-stress environments.
Project Title: Mechanistic Basis of Synaptic Development, Signalling and Neuro-disorders
Project Coordinator: Professor Mingjie Zhang (HKUST)
Abstract
Mental illness is the leading burden
to the world among all chronic human diseases,
and yet very few effective treatments are
available. For better treatments, better
science is needed. However, the human society
is facing a huge crisis as drug companies-major
investors of mental illness research in
the past-are withdrawing from mental illness
research due to the slow commercial returns
of their investments as well as complicated
mechanistic bases of the diseases. Accordingly,
academia is thus challenged with the tasks
of conducting both deeper and broader research
activities in the field. But it also opens
up many opportunities that are otherwise
the territories of the pharmaceutical industry.
Additionally, advancements in technologies
such as high throughput genomic sequencing
and in systems biology have generated and
will continue to generate (at an even faster
pace) a very large number of candidate genes
that are associated with various human brain
disorders. Totally unmatched to the discoveries
of hundreds of disease-causing genes, the
underlying biology of why alterations of
these genes is very poorly understood. Thus,
elucidating the action mechanisms of these
genes will be one of the most important
research directions in many years to come
for understanding mental disorders as well
as for developing treatments methods for
these diseases.
In this proposed AoE project, we plan to investigate the physiological roles and action mechanisms of a set of key proteins and their complexes that are known to play fundamental roles in development and signalling of synapses in excitatory neurons. We are also particularly interested in the underlying mechanisms of human mental illnesses (such as autism, schizophrenia, depression, etc., broadly defined as neuro-disorders in this proposal) caused by the malfunctioning of the proteins that orchestrate neuronal development and synaptic signalling, and in suggesting/developing possible therapeutic approaches for these diseases. This team will address these topics through a combination of genetic, cellular, biochemistry, structural biology and chemical biology approaches. Unlike numerous other groups/consortiums in neuronal signaling and neuro-disorder research worldwide, our research program will consist of structural biology and biochemistry-based mechanistic studies at its core. These mechanistic-based studies will be supported by, and in turn drive, "upstream" functional studies that use animal model and cellular approaches on the one hand, and will function as the basis for developing peptides, peptide mimetics, and low molecular weight compounds with therapeutic potentials using chemical biology approaches on the other hand.
This proposed project is built on our 15+ years of systematic and collaborative research experience in neuronal development and signalling. We have assembled a highly competitive team with members who are leading experts in their respective areas and who have demonstrated excellent collaboration records in the past. We are poised to make important contributions to the understanding of normal brain functions and to the fight against mental illnesses resulting from synaptic functional defects. The project will also enhance Hong Kong's excellent scientific research capabilities, infrastructure, and work force, and establish a top-notch research center for neural development, signaling and neuro-disorders in the territory.
Project Title: Novel Wave Functional Materials for Manipulating Light and Sound
Project Coordinator: Professor Che-ting Chan (HKUST)
Abstract
The ubiquitous presence of electromagnetic
and acoustic waves means that their study
dates back to the antiquities. Their diverse
applications form the very pillars of our
modern existence. About two decades ago,
the incipient stage of a revolution began
in this classic field, propelled by both
theory and experiments, which demonstrate
the feasibility of realizing man-made materials
with wave manipulation functionalities beyond
the defined limits of those found in nature.
These "wave functional materials"
include photonic/phononic crystals, metamaterials
and plasmonic structures. The purpose of
this AoE proposed project, based on the
existing strengths of Hong Kong researchers
and their early and pioneering participation
in this rapidly evolving area, is to lift
our collective level one notch higher, with
an eye towards potential applications that
can support and define the next generation
of wave-related devices.
The simplest example of a wave functional material is a lens that constitutes the key component of microscopes and telescopes. Ordinary lenses are made of a single material, glass, with crafted surfaces. By employing multi-component composites in conjunction with advances in theory and fabrication technology, new degrees of freedom in controlling waves have now become available. The new materials thus fabricated can be optimized for a specific functionality. If the constituent units and the lattice period are smaller than the wavelength, the material is called a "metamaterial;" if they are close to a wavelength, the material is called a "photonic crystal;" and if the units are made of nano-scale structures resonant at optical frequencies, the material is called a "plasmonic structure." These novel materials can manipulate waves to create science-fiction type effects such as invisibility and stealth and can control elastic waves so as to make mass appear negative in certain frequency regimes and can be used to make "superlens" that are free of aberration, just to name a few unconventional phenomena not achievable before.
Researchers in Hong Kong have been at the forefront of this exciting scientific development right from the beginning. Our team members have introduced fundamentally new concepts such as photonic quasi-crystals, negative dynamic mass, acoustic metamaterials, remote cloaking, illusion optics and optical pulling force. With this AoE, we intend to collectively stay at the leading edge of this very rapidly advancing scientific front and to reap timely benefits for Hong Kong, such as prototype developments that can eventually be relevant to future technologies.