Multi-function analytical facility with time-resolved two-photon photoemission (TR-2PPE) spectroscopy
Project Coordinator: Professor LEE Chun-Sing (CityU)
This project aims to establish a multi-function analytical facility in HK that consist of time-resolved two-photon photoemission (TR-2PPE), ultraviolet and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (UPS/ XPS) for surface studies including chemical states, charge energetics and dynamics for a wide variety of organic/ inorganic electronic materials. This analytical equipment will be connected with a thin-film processing chamber that allows in-situ studies of highly sensitive samples. By equipping the 2PPE system with a pump-probe laser with time delay in femtosecond, time-resolve experiment such as carriers dynamics and kinetics can be carried out. This technique is a powerful tool to reveal not only the electron distribution but also the charge interaction in both the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels under excited state condition. This project also provides opportunities for joint research projects and collaborations for multi-disciplines studies.
High-resolution Live-cell Imaging System for Quantifying Long-term 3D Dynamics of Large Tissue Models and Organisms
Project Coordinator: Dr. SHI Jue (HKBU)
Live-cell fluorescence microscopy has become an essential tool for all fields in life science and biomedical research to unravel dynamic mechanisms underlying complex biological processes. Although extremely powerful in revealing real-time dynamics in situ, conventional fluorescence microscopes, which are typically built on either wide-field or confocal platform, are optically limited and thus unable to provide both high spatiotemporal resolution and high signal sensitivity and low phototoxicity that are required for imaging large three-dimensional (3D) bio-samples (e.g., organoids, cancer spheroids and C. elegans embryos) over long duration of time (hours to days). In order to study model systems of large length scale and processes of long time scale that are more relevant to physiology and pathology, a new generation of live-cell imaging systems has been recently developed. By combining comprehensive algorithm for image deconvolution and new illumination technology, such as novel spinning disc or light sheet, these new imaging systems can achieve both the high spatiotemporal resolution of confocal microscope and the high signal sensitivity and low phototoxicity of wide-field microscope, thus enabling long-term 3D imaging of large live samples. This grant application proposes to acquire the very first of such cutting-edge imaging system in Hong Kong, so as to provide the critical imaging capability that is currently missing in Hong Kong for studying live 3D bio-samples over long time course. We strongly believe the establishment of this long-term 3D live-cell imaging system for shared usage will benefit a wide spectrum of local primary investigators and researchers, stimulate cross-institutional collaborations on advanced bio-imaging and bio-dynamics, and significantly enhance our international research competitiveness.
An integrated multi-functional system of in-situ transport measurements and atomic scale characterizations for two-dimensional materials
Project Coordinator: Professor LIN Nian (HKUST)
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are predicted to revolutionize future electronic and information technology because of their unique properties given by the enhances quantum effects. It is highly desirable to measure macroscopic properties and microscopic properties concurrently.
In this CRF project, we propose purchasing and installing a multi-functional system that integrates the macroscopic and microscopic properties of the same samples. We will resolve the structures of the 2D sample using scanning tunneling microscopy and measure the quantum conductance simultaneously. The complementary information thus obtained will shed light on the underlying physics of 2D materials. We expect that the successful implementation of the proposed system will allow research groups in Hong Kong to make significant breakthroughs in 2D materials research.
A modular drum centrifuge facility for research into mountain and estuary hazard mitigation and environmental protection
Project Coordinator: Professor ZHANG Li Min (HKUST)
Centrifuge modelling uses centrifugal forces to create stress and strain conditions in a reduced-scale soil model identical to those in the full–scale prototype and reproduces the prototype performance better than other modelling methods. HKUST houses a 400 g-ton beam centrifuge which can operate at up to a maximum centrifugal acceleration of 150 g. The beam centrifuge is sufficient for many geotechnical problems such as slope stability and foundation modelling. However, a range of problems of great practical interest cannot be effectively modelled using the beam centrifuge because the boundary conditions imposed by the rigid walls of model containers are unrealistic. Examples of such problems include long-distance debris flows, wave loading, hillslope or seabed erosion, and contaminant transport. Currently the beam centrifuge serves over 60 PhD and MPhil students from HKUST and other local universities. It is constantly fully booked; in fact the research students must often join a lengthy queue.
To both address the pressing needs for teaching and research and also enhance Hong Kong’s international reputation as a centre for cutting-edge research into the physical modelling of geotechnical processes, four universities in Hong Kong (CityU, HKU, HKUST and PolyU), in collaboration with Cambridge University and South China University of Technology, propose to develop a 870 g-ton, 250 g, 2.2 m diameter drum centrifuge facility. More specifically, we aim to acquire a modular drum centrifuge and an advanced 3D robot for research into mountain and estuary hazard mitigation and environmental protection, and to develop a miniature wave generator and a model package for simulating long-distance landslides, debris flows, hillslope or coastal erosion, and wave-induced phenomena and offshore structures.
The new drum centrifuge facility will perfectly complement the existing beam centrifuge facility. Whereas the beam centrifuge is capable of simulating centralized problems such as piles, the drum centrifuge is capable of simulating distributed problems occurring over distances of up to 1726 m. Through the joint effort of four of the universities in Hong Kong, the proposed drum centrifuge facility and the existing beam centrifuge facility will form a world-leading centrifuge cluster and provide a platform for local researchers to expand their capacity in hazard prevention, offshore resource engineering, and environmental protection.
Group Research Proposals
Bio-inspired surface engineering for phase change heat transfer: From fundamental understanding to practical applications
Project Coordinator: Professor WANG Zuankai (CityU)
A growing number of industries (such as microelectronics, nuclear power plant, water desalination, aerospace, and cryogenics) are in pressing need of techniques to enhance heat transfer in various high heat flux devices. In particular, owing to its high heat transfer rates, phase change based heat transfer has received extensive attention. The thermodynamic efficiency is, however, limited by certain fundamental constraints in the thermal-fluid-surface interaction involving different time and length scales. Moreover, since phase change processes impose conflicting demands on the physical and chemical properties of solid surfaces, it remains challenging to control these phase transition processes to achieve efficient heat transfer. Learning from nature represents substantial scientific and engineering routes to develop advanced artificial materials. Thus, the aim of this project is to advance fundamental understanding of physics underpinning the complicated multiphase process as well as developing new bio-inspired materials with tailored interfacial properties for enhanced heat transfer applications.
Molecular Mechanisms of Autophagy and Autophagosome in Plants
Project Coordinator: Professor JIANG Liwen (CUHK)
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2016 has been awarded to Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi for his contribution to the discovery of autophagy. As a conserved self-digested pathway in eukaryotic cells, autophagy plays an essential role in quality control of protein and organelle, and protects the cell against pathogen infection or other unfavorable conditions. In this process, cytoplasmic materials or infected pathogens are engulfed into a double-membrane structure termed autophagosome, which subsequently deliver the cargo(s) into the lysosome/vacuole for degradation and recycling upon autophagosomelysosome/vacuole fusion. Comparing to yeast and animal cells, relatively little is known about the underlying mechanisms of autophagosome formation and crosstalk to the endomembrane system in plants.
Our recent researches on plant autophagy and autophagosome formation have made several novel and important findings that are unique to plant autophagy. These new exciting findings provoke us to propose a multi-disciplinary team study on the underlying mechanisms of autophagy and autophagosome biogenesis in plants, using the cutting-edge techniques in the combination of cellular, molecular, biochemical, structural, proteomic and chemical biology and genetic approaches. Our research will contribute significantly toward our understanding about autophagy and autophagosome formation in plant.
Diamond quantum sensing of dynamical criticality in nanomagnetism
Project Coordinator: Professor LI Quan (CUHK)
Magnetic fluctuations of nanoparticles are important to both information storage applications and nanoscale condensed matter physics. Near the paramagneticferromagnetic transition temperature, the critical dynamics of fluctuations can present a wealth of interesting physics such as critical slowdown of paramagnetic fluctuations and interplay between paramagnetic and superparamagnetic fluctuations. However, neither experimental data nor theory is available to date to provide a complete picture of the dynamical criticality in nanomagnetism. The grand challenge lies in the fact that the critical fluctuations depend sensitively on the size, shape, and chemical composition of individual magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), requiring a simultaneous magnetometry measurement and structural/chemical characterization to be carried out on single MNP. In addition, the critical fluctuations covers a large dynamic range of timescales, with a span of over ten order of magnitudes. None of the conventional methods meets these requirements.
Diamond quantum sensing provides an opportunity for studying dynamical criticality of single MNPs. The transition frequencies and quantum coherence of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spins in diamond are particularly sensitive to local magnetic fields and fluctuations, even under ambient conditions. We have identified a suitable magnetic nanomaterial system, i.e., NixCu1-x MNPs, for the proposed dynamical criticality study. By developing correlation microscopy of transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/atomic force microscopy and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), we will be able to simultaneously access the magnetometry and structural/chemical information of individual MNPs. We will also develop multitimescale noise magnetometry of individual nanoparticles using ODMR.
Successful implementation of the project will reveal a series of novel phenomena in dynamical criticality. We will focus on timescale scaling near the critical temperature (beyond the mean-field theories), and interplay between paramagnetic and superparamagnetic fluctuations. This project will set a new stage for studying dynamical condensed matter physics in nanoscales and may enable novel magnetic nano-devices (such as hybrid nano-sensors).
Joint R&D of Magnesium-based Orthopaedic Implants
Project Coordinator: Professor QIN Ling (CUHK)
Trauma-, sports- and age-related musculoskeletal injuries impose huge medical and socioeconomic burdens to patients and their families, and society globally. Demand for medical devices and implants are growing exponentially, especially in our aging and rapidly developing society. Conventional orthopaedic implants are made of permanent metals, such as stainless steel and titanium, that are too rigid for fixation that and impose unfavourable effects and impair the nature healing process. Pure magnesium (Mg) and its alloys showed positive biological effects on fracture healing and regeneration of tendon/ligament-bone insertion. However, the limitation for using these biometals is that they lose their mechanical strength rapidly due to degradation after implantation in the body. In our Phase I study, we developed a polymer coating and a surface treatment to enhance the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the Mg metal. By testing in small animal models, we confirmed our innovative hybrid fixation implants incorporating Mg biometal element were biological and functional without losing its mechanical properties of the rigid implants during the repair and healing stage. We have reported our novel findings in top scientific journals including Nature, Nature Medicine and top specialist journals in addition to being awarded with invention and new utility patents internationally. Based on these achievements, in the current phase II project, we will test these implants in large animal models for evaluating efficacy of our implants and prepare for clinical trials. Our research will revolutionize the current commercially available implants for challenging bone disorders and defects with poor regeneration potentials. We are collaborating and synergizing our expertise with metallurgic engineers, biomaterial scientists, preclinical and translational researchers, and orthopaedic surgeons to accelerate the development of our implant. Ultimately, this collaborative effort will facilitate significant reduction in medical costs and relief socioeconomic burdens for our patients, families and governments.
Regulation and Mechanism of Tumor-intrinsic Oncogene Pathways in Mediating an Immune Suppressed Microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Project Coordinator: Professor WONG Nathalie (CUHK)
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major health problem in China, including Hong Kong, where it shows a dismal clinical outcome and a 5-year survival of <10%. There is therefore a pressing need for therapy(s) in patients with HCC. Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment landscape and survival prospects of patients. Checkpoint blockades have shown high reactivity across many cancer types but the therapeutic benefit is often limited to a subset of patients in each cancer entity. The presence of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells within tumor microenvironment is a strong indicator for clinical benefits in response to checkpoint inhibitions. Gene expression profiling studies have shown T cell presence is associated with tumors expressing chemokines that can mediate their recruitment into tumor site. However, the precise mechanism(s) underscoring cytokine/chemokine expressions and T cell exclusion remain incompletely understood. Recent evidence indicated a number of tumor-intrinsic oncogene pathways in T cell exclusion and consequentially immune evasion of cancers. In HCC, we have evidence to indicate that tumor-intrinsic Wnt/β-catenin and PTEN/PI3K signaling pathways control expression of chemoattractants and influence T cells, and other immune cells, migration into tumor site. In this application, we propose to conduct in-depth investigations on the mechanistic action of β-catenin gain-of-function and PTEN loss-of-function for their role in excluding anti-tumor T cell infiltrate. Information obtained should yield important insight for therapeutic development in restoring T cells engagement at tumor sites, ultimately expanding the proportion of patients that could benefit from current immunotherapies.
Reading, writing, and mathematics: Behavioral genetics, molecular genetics, and neuro markers of early academic achievement in Hong Kong Chinese children
Project Coordinator: Professor Catherine MCBRIDE (CUHK)
The current study is an extension of a project begun in 2014 on how Hong Kong Chinese primary school twins learn to read in both their native Chinese and in English. In the first project, we tested which brain, behavioral, and genetic variables are most strongly related to word reading in Chinese and English. We did this by looking not only at children’s behavioral, language, and cognitive skills but also by linking these to millisecond processing via electrical signals in the brain (using event-related potentials – ERP) and to specific genes from DNA obtained from children’s saliva samples. We are testing children’s cognitive skills and word reading three times, across three years, to understand how these develop. By looking at brain, behavior, and genes, we have an integrated understanding of bilingual word reading skills in primary school children. In the current project, we will extend our research focus from Chinese/English word reading to include bilingual word writing, reading comprehension, and mathematics. We will test which combinations of genes are associated with the development of word reading/writing and reading comprehension in both Chinese and in English, and also in mathematics, at the behavioral and ERP levels. We will follow 300 pairs of twins across three years. This study is unique in the breadth and depth of information gathered from the twins. With our broad focus, we will be able to look at how many aspects of the twins’ environments (e.g., family background, extra tutoring, eating, attention, and sleep habits) and genetic similarities are associated with learning to read and to write words, to learn text, and to carry out mathematical calculations, as well as patterns of brain responses vis-à-vis academic skills, over time. The project will also test both for genetic anomalies in twin pairs, in which one has much more difficulty with reading or mathematics than the other, and for overlaps in variability, including specific learning difficulties, between reading and mathematics. Our inclusion of literacy skills in both Chinese and in English is especially crucial because researchers know relatively little about whether and how genetic and environmental influences on the development of learning in these diverse languages differ. Results will be important theoretically, for understanding how literacy in both a first and foreign language and mathematics skills develop, and also practically, for suggesting some potential causal mechanisms in the environment, in brain responses, or in gene combinations, for academic difficulties.
Development of infrared-mediated single cell-labeling and study of non-HSC-derived T cells in zebrafish
Project Coordinator: Professor WEN Zilong (HKUST)
The immune system is a network of molecules, cells, tissues and organs that protects the body against invasion by pathogenic agents and foreign substances. The formation and biological functions of immune cells are tightly regulated and the dysregulation of their development and function can lead to the occurrence of various human disorders such as cancer, immunodeficiency, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. T lymphocytes or T cells are the key cellular components of the adaptive immune system and play an important role in immunity and tissue regeneration. In mammals, there are multiple subclasses of T cells, and each subclass acquires unique characteristics during development and manifests distinct biological functions. Although immune cells are known to be generated from multiple sources during development, it is generally believed that all T cells are generated exclusively via the differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are born in the aorta-gonads-mesonephros (AGM). Using time-lapse imaging and temporal-spatial resolved fate mapping, we found that the aorta endothelium in the zebrafish AGM and posterior blood island (PBI), a hematopoietic tissue previously shown to generate myeloid cells, produces a transient wave of T cells that are present in the larval but not the juvenile and adult stages in a HSC-independent manner. These findings demonstrate for the first time that a HSC-independent T lymphopoiesis indeed exists in vertebrates and reveal that the AGM endothelium produces not only HSCs but also another hematopoietic precursors capable of generating a transient wave of T cells. In this proposed study, we aim to define the nature and molecular signature of non-HSC-derived T cells and their temporal-spatial distributions and physiological functions. We also aim to develop an infrared-mediated single cell labeling technology and apply this technique to determine the hematopoietic lineages and their relationships generated from the aorta endothelium. Finally, we will elucidate the molecular basis underlying the conversion of the aorta endothelium into distinct hematopoietic lineages. The outcome of this proposed study will enhance our understanding of the establishment and function of non-HSC-derived T cells and the molecular mechanism governing the endothelial-hematopoietic transition.
Reconstitution of Postsynaptic Densities of Excitatory Synapses
Project Coordinator: Professor ZHANG Mingjie (HKUST)
An adult human brain central nervous system contains ~1011 neurons forming ~1015 synapses, among which ~80% are excitatory in nature (i.e. using glutamate as the transmitter). Glutamate released from a presynaptic terminal button in an excitatory synapse is received and interpreted by glutamate receptors clustered on one face of a highly dense, protein-enriched cellular apparatus known as postsynaptic density (PSD). Proper formation and function of PSDs are central for physiological functions of human brains. Accordingly, understanding how PSD signaling complex operation and dynamic regulation has been a central research theme in molecular neuroscience ever since the discovery of PSD ~60 years ago. Human genetics and genomic studies in the past have also revealed that many human brain disorders are resulted from mutations of genes encoding major PSD proteins. However, our understanding of the mechanistic basis governing PSD formation and neuronal activity-dependent regulations are rather rudimentary largely due to inhomogeneous and gel-like structures of PSD observed in the past. We recently discovered that PSD may form via a multivalent and multi-protein interaction-mediated liquid-liquid phase separation mechanism. In this collaborative project, we plan to systematically test the phase separation-mediated PSD formation mechanism by in vitro biochemical reconstitutions of PSD using purified synaptic scaffold proteins; to investigate unique biochemical and biophysical properties of the condense PSD assemblies formed via phase separation; to uncover regulations of the condense PSD assembly formation and dispersion by neuronal activities; and to study the functional significances of the phase separation-mediated formation of PSD in living neurons. In addition to providing a new platform and paradigm for studying excitatory PSD formation and regulation, successful execution of our study may also generate new insights into how PSDs in inhibitory synapses and postsynaptic signaling machineries of neuromuscular junctions might form and be regulated. In a broader sense, our study will also improve the general understanding of how condensed membraneless subcellular compartments can function as cellular signaling and organization hubs that are distinct from well-known membrane-separated compartments.
Quantum State Manipulation of Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices
Project Coordinator: Professor Du Shengwang (HKUST)
Atoms are the building blocks of our material world. Manipulating the quantum states of atoms in a controllable way is not only important for understanding fundamental quantum physics, but also crucial for discovering next-generation functional materials and quantum technologies. A dilute gas of ultracold (below 0.000001 Kelvin) atoms is an ideal platform for quantum manipulation because of the unprecedented flexibility provided by its versatile and highly precise interactions with electromagnetic waves, as compared to electrons in conventional materials. In this collaborative project, we, three experimental groups (S. Du and G.B. Jo at HKUST, and D. Wang at CUHK) and two theoretical groups (Z. Wang and S. Zhang at HKU), will work together to manipulate exotic quantum states of ultracold atoms in optical lattices. Loading bosonic atoms, fermionic atoms, and their mixtures into a tunable and programmable optical lattice potential, we will create and study new matters with unconventional band structures beyond the conventional solid-state materials with fermionic electrons. The findings of our research will deepen our understandings of many-body quantum physics and aid the design of new quantum materials. Our research will have important applications in quantum simulation, quantum computation, and quantum metrology. This collaborative research project will also provide an opportunity to strengthen existing cold-atom research in Hong Kong and advance this young local community on the international stage.
Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE): Development of New AIE Systems and Exploration of Their Biomedical Applications
Project Coordinator: Professor TANG Benzhong (HKUST)
The development of new luminescent materials is of fundamental importance and has far-reaching applications, as reflected by the Nobel Prize awarded to the discovery of green fluorescent proteins and the development of super-resolved fluorescent microscopy. Many luminophores have been prepared but all suffer from drawbacks. One of the most severe problems is that their bright emissions in solutions are often weakened or anninilated when they are dispersed in aqueous media or aggregated in living cells. Such aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) has limited their biological applications. Luminogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics show little to no fluorescence in solution but emit efficiently when aggregated. Thus, they are exact opposite of ACQ. In this project, we will bring AIE into a vigorous area of research. New systems will be designed and synthesized and their working principles will be deciphered. AIE luminogens have been found to exhibit brighter emission, lower background signal, higher photostability, lower cytotoxicity and higher cellular retention than traditional luminophores. Therefore, they represent promising fluorescent bioprobes for bio-imaging and therapy. Such possibilities will be further explored in this proposed project. It is anticipated that the new theory, materials, processes and techniques generated in this project will take molecular design to the next level and deepen our understanding of photo-physical processes in the aggregate state as well as enhancing the competitiveness of local analytical and biotechnology-based industries.
A Study of Self-Restraining Mechanisms of DNA Damage Surveillance and Repair
Project Coordinator: Dr. M.S.Y. HUEN (HKU)
Our DNA is susceptible to damage. Damaged DNA, if left unrepaired, can perturb cell proliferation and cell division. Protecting its integrity is therefore fundamental to animal development and survival. Indeed, it has become evident that cells have evolved robust and elegant strategies to launch DNA repair in response to genotoxic stress. Failing to launch DNA repair compromise genome stability, and is causally associated with a cohort of human diseases, including cancer.
While DNA repair machineries underlie genome integrity protection, their activities must be tightly controlled. Hyperactive DNA repair, as one might expect, can lead to undesired genetic alterations, and has been associated with human cancer syndromes. However, exactly how DNA repair processes are tightly regulated remains an important but outstanding question.
In this project we have set out to understand how cells dynamically regulate DNA repair activities. Our goal is to delineate the molecular bases that equip cells with the ability to launch DNA repair in the right place at the right time, and to define the deleterious consequences that may result when this goes awry. As such, our work will uncover novel targets for the management of genome instability-associated human syndromes.
Two-dimensional Transition-metal Dichalcogenides and Beyond - from Materials, Physics to Devices
Project Coordinator: Professor M.H. XIE (HKU)
Single atomic layer thin materials are referred to as two-dimensional (2D) materials that have attracted intensive research attention in late years. They exhibit many their attractive physical properties and hold great application potentials for nano-electronics and the new concept spin and valley electronics. In a completed CRF project on 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), the team has made internationally recognized achievements and produced many impactful results, such as experimental observation of spin and valley polarization, demonstration of record high electrical carrier mobility and anomalous quantum transport phenomena. In this renewal project, we will build upon our strength and past achievements in the TMD research and embark on studies of other 2D materials like single-layer phosphorus, (Ga,In)Se, and magnetic 2D films as well as their heterostructures. We will combine theory and experiments to achieve high quality samples, to characterize their electronic, magnetic and optical properties as well as new physics, and to explore application potentials of the 2D materials in devices. The team will continue to make impactful research outputs, contributing to the advancement of 2D research in both fundamental science and application.
Conversion of White into Brown Adipocytes as a Therapeutic Strategy for Obesity-related Metabolic and Vascular Complications
Project Coordinator: Professor A. XU (HKU)
Adipose tissue is a highly heterogeneous organ critical for metabolic and vascular health. While white adipocytes store excess energy as triglycerides, brown adipocytes dissipate energy into heat and are a major site for adaptive thermogenesis due to the unique expression of mitochondrial uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1). Besides classical brown adipocytes, brown-like adipocytes (beige adipocytes) can be induced by thermogenic stimuli within white adipose tissue (WAT), a process known as browning of WAT. Activation of brown/beige adipocytes represents a promising therapeutic strategy for obesity-related cardiometabolic complications. Although beige and classical brown adipocytes are functionally and morphologically similar, they stem from different progenitors and are activated by distinct mechanisms. With the support of our ongoing grant, we have discovered several novel players involved in regulating brown/beige adipogenesis. Furthermore, we unmasked an unexpected role of UCP1 (a hallmark of brown/beige adipocytes) in protecting against vascular diseases through its anti-oxidant actions in perivascular adipose tissue, independently of thermogenesis. In this project, we will also interrogate the physiological roles and molecular mechanisms whereby several adipose-derived immunological factors in regulating brown and beige adipocytes. Furthermore, we will use a unique genetically-modified porcine model (a humanoid model for cardiovascular diseases) to investigate whether browning of WAT alone is sufficient for counteracting dietary fat-induced vascular dysfunction and atherosclerosis. The results will shed new light on the regulatory network for adaptive thermogenesis, thereby uncovering new therapeutic targets for obesity. The proof-of-concept study in pigs will validate whether brown/beige adipocytes have additional vascular protective benefits beyond thermogenesis.
Energy-efficient and Environmentally-friendly Smart Seawater Desalination System
Project Coordinator: Dr. C. TANG (HKU)
Seawater desalination can play an important role to address the water scarcity in Hong Kong. However, desalination by conventional reverse osmosis technology is energy intensive. Concerns have also been growing over the discharge of desalination brine into the ocean due to the potential environmental and ecological impacts. The multidisciplinary research team led by the University of Hong Kong aims to develop a more environmentally-friendly desalination process with lower energy consumption. The key technology is reverse electrodialysis that allows the team to harvest energy from waste brine and minimizes its environmental impact at the same time. The hybrid operation of reverse electrodialysis and reverse osmosis can potentially reduce the overall energy consumption of seawater desalination by more than 50%. The novel technology will make seawater desalination more sustainable.