Project No.: R1020-18
Project Title: Development of an integrated microfluidics system for multi-level high content screening of anti-tumor drugs
Project Coordinator: Prof Mengsu YANG (CityU)
Abstract
Drug development is a time consuming and expensive process, which generally requires 10-15 years and a total cost of USD1.5 billion to develop a new drug. Drug screening is the first step in the process where identification of lead compounds and elimination of false candidates from thousands to millions of compounds are critical to the subsequent steps. Thus, it is very important for pharmaceutical companies to develop and adopt efficient and cost-effective screening technologies. High-throughput screening (HTS) allows screening of millions of chemicals for their biological or pharmacological activities to identify active compounds, and serve as a starting point for further drug design and development. High-content screening (HCS) is a complementary technology to HTS, allows for the evaluation of biochemical and morphological parameters in intact cell-based biological systems. However, HTS is expensive and requires large consumption of reagents, and HCS suffers from low throughput, slow speed, and a lack of microenvironments to accurately reflect the effects of a compound on cellular behavior. Therefore, there is a great demand for new high-throughput and high-content platforms that would reduce reagent consumption and mimic the in vivo environment to which cells are exposed, for efficient screening of potential drug candidates.
In this project, we propose to develop an integrated microfluidics system that combines HTS with HCS in an integrated platform that mimics the physiological and pathological microenvironments for cell-based assays. The technology will provide a microenvironment to simulate the in vivo conditions of cell growth, communication, and migration, for high-throughput and high-content screening of drugs targeting/affecting cell-cell interactions. We will use the microfluidic device to screen for drugs/drug combinations that may alter/interfere with the cell-cell interactions occurring during tumor metastasis. The technology and products, once developed, will offer a novel tool for efficient drug screening with reduced drug development time and cost, and be beneficial to pharmaceutical companies as well as patients and the society.
Project No.: R2010-18
Project Title: Promoting healthy ageing through light volleyball (LVB) promotion in Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland
Project Coordinator: Dr Ka Man LEUNG (HKBU)
Abstract
There is a continuous ageing trend in the population of Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland. Promoting physical activity (PA) among older adults has become an important health promotion strategy for both Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland.
Among different types of PA, Light Volleyball (LVB), which is modified from traditional volleyball, is safer and easier to play than the traditional volleyball. Compared to traditional volleyball, LVB uses a lighter weight (LVB 120-140g vs. traditional volleyball 250g) and bigger sized (LVB 70-75cm in circumference vs. traditional volleyball 65-67cm) ball. The LVB ball thus travels in the air at a slower velocity and for a longer time, which increases the playability and rally time among players during the games. It thus makes LVB game more accessible to those with age-associated degradation (i.e., slower movements and reaction time, etc.). Our previous LVB pilot study (Leung, Chung, & Hagger, 2018) revealed significant improvements in agility, cardiovascular endurance, upper and lower extremity muscle strength, and physical activity enjoyment among the elderly participants in the LVB group compared to those in the control group.
In response to the promising results of the LVB pilot study and the priority of allocating resources to the prevention of age-related fitness degradation in both Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland, the present study aims to extend the aforementioned work, which is to investigate the effectiveness of a LVB intervention on physical and psychological health attributes among older adults in Hong Kong by using both quantitative and qualitative methods with a larger sample. We will adopt a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to further evaluate the effectiveness of a LVB intervention on health outcomes against a comparison group, Tai Chi (TC), and a control group. With the consolidated evidence from the research work, we will promote LVB in Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland by organizing i) train-the-trainer workshops, ii) LVB classes (in Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland) and iii) LVB competitions in Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland (Shenzhen and Fuzhou). LVB teaching aids and a webpage will also be developed for promoting the activities.
Project No.: R2018-18
Project Title: Development and evaluation of the effectiveness of an online cognitive behavioral intervention program for Hong Kong people with social anxiety disorder
Project Coordinator: Dr Jiayan PAN (HKBU)
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is one of the most common mental disorders worldwide. In Hong Kong, the 12-month prevalence of SAD is 3.2% (Lee, Lee & Kwok, 2005) with more than 230,000 sufferers. However, only 8.7% of SAD sufferers have sought medical treatment in Hong Kong (Lee et al., 2005), which means that most of the sufferers are undiagnosed and untreated. One of the most effective treatments for SAD is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and internet-based CBT has shown promise in reducing general and social anxieties, as well as improving the quality of life of those clients with SAD (e.g. Carlbring et al., 2007; Tillfors et al., 2011). While widely utilized in North America and North Europe, internet intervention is underdeveloped in Hong Kong.
The objectives of this proposed project are therefore to develop an online CBT program (including both an online platform and mobile application) for Hong Kong people with SAD, as well as evaluate its effectiveness in reducing anxiety symptoms and psychological distress, and improving quality of life at post-treatment and 3- and 6-month follow-ups. The program will be developed based on an online platform developed in Sweden and adapted to accommodate the context of Hong Kong. A blended mode of service delivery will be adopted, which will include 9 online modules, two face-to-face sessions and two telephone follow-ups. Virtual reality exposure will also be developed and implemented in one of the face-to-face sessions. Participants will be openly recruited and referred by local social service organizations, and screened by an online questionnaire and an intake interview. A total of 600 qualified participants will be invited to take part in the program. This project will adopt a waitlist control group design to conduct a 3-Arm randomized controlled trial (RCT). Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to two experimental groups (who will use either the computer-based (PC) or smartphone-based (App) online CBT program) and a waitlist control (WLC) group (who will be given the App-based treatment). All three groups, with 200 participants in each group, will complete the same online questionnaire at the pre-test, post-test, 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments. Certified cognitive behavioral therapists will deliver the service to the participants. Repeated measures MANOVA will be performed to test the clinical effectiveness of the online CBT program.
At the theoretical level, this project will contribute to the development and evaluation of internet psychological intervention in Hong Kong. At the practical level, this project will fill a large service gap between the overwhelming service demand by mental health clients and the insufficient mental health professionals in Hong Kong.
Project No.: R4005-18
Project Title: Plant Bioreactor for Pharmaceutical Proteins
Project Coordinator: Prof Liwen JIANG (CUHK)
Abstract
Using bioreactor for production of recombinant therapeutic molecules has become an important trend in medicine, research, and biotechnology. Compared with other protein production systems (e.g. E. coli, yeast, and mammalian cell cultures), plant bioreactors have distinct advantages and show great promise in producing recombinant pharmaceuticals. In this project, using our knowledge and technologies of protein trafficking and organelle biogenesis in plant cells, we will test and develop various plant bioreactor systems for the production of selected pharmaceutical proteins. We will also work closely with the plant biotech companies to promote and use the newly developed platforms for future application and commercialization of selected plant-derived pharmaceutical proteins.
Project No.: R4012-18
Project Title: Multi-omic Discoveries to Transform Diabetes Care and Reduce Diabetic Complications
Project Coordinator: Prof MA Ronald Ching-wan (CUHK)
Abstract
Diabetes is a major global public health problem, and affects more than 0.7 million people in Hong Kong, and more than 100 million people in China alone. Much of the burden associated with management of diabetes is due to treatment of expensive complications including congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, and diabetic kidney disease. Some of the challenges in current management of diabetes include the limited therapeutic options in the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications, difficulty to identify those at high risk of complications, and challenges to motivate patients to adhere to treatment and to empower clinicians to reduce clinical inertia and provide individualized treatment.
Through our recent collaborative work, supported by the Theme-based Research Scheme, we have undertaken detailed multi-omic studies to identify a panel of genetic markers and epigenetic markers including miRNAs associated with cardiovascular and renal complications in diabetes, as well as other phenotypes. We have also built a multi-centre prospective cohort- the Hong Kong Diabetes Biobank. In this project, we aim to leverage on these discoveries and characterize the biological function of newly identified candidate genes for diabetes complications to explore their potential for development of novel treatment strategies. Furthermore, we aim to conduct large-scale data-mining of the extensive genotype-phenotype data generated in order to empower precision diabetes care. We will examine and compare the utility of novel genetic and other biomarkers for predicting diabetes complications and disease progression using the Hong Kong Diabetes Biobank with prospective follow-up in order to identify the most useful prediction algorithms. Finally, we plan to evaluate the utility of incorporating genetic markers into clinical management of diabetes through conducting a large multi-centre randomised clinical trial incorporating our repertoire of polygenic risk scores into clinical diabetes management.
Our proposed work builds on the foundation laid by our recent Theme-based Research Scheme, and involves key members of the project team, who have a track record of many years of experience as close collaborators and productive partnerships. The project will examine how the genomic information could be incorporated back into clinical practice to improve diabetes care. In addition, we have solicited support from potential users of the project outcomes, ranging from biotechnology companies involved in genotyping arrays, manufacturers of point-of-care testing kits for biomarkers, as well as pharmaceutical companies focused on cardiometabolic diseases for exploration of genomic datasets for precision medicine in diabetes and further drug development.
In summary, our proposed work would take our novel multi-omic discoveries from patients to the bench for potential drug discovery and back to the bedside for clinical translation and precision diabetes care. The translation of our genomic discoveries to clinical care will consolidate Hong Kong as a centre for innovative biomedical research and chronic care excellence.
Project No.: R4017-18
Project Title: Patient-Derived Preclinical Models for Translational Cancer Research: a Hong Kong-based Biotechnology Centre for Genomic Medicine
Project Coordinator: Prof Nathalie WONG (CUHK)
Abstract
Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide. It is projected that cancer will remain at the forefront of all diseases in terms of incidences and mortalities in forthcoming years. Cancer is also a disease of the genome, often associated with a large number of gene mutations, abnormal gene expressions and epigenetic changes. Despite immense progress over the past decades in developing new drugs targeting genetic alterations, effective treatments remain hindered by a shortage of reliable human models in which the efficacy of candidate therapeutic agents can be assessed with high reliability. The ability to establish ex-vivo cancer models that closely recapitulate patients’ tumors should hence provide foundation for research into identifying indicators to predict treatments response, biomarkers for therapies and new targets for drug discoveries. In the field of oncology, patient-tumor derived cells (PDCs), especially 3D organoids, and patient-derived xenografts have thrived to become dependable models that show drug responses similar to their patient counterparts. Directly derived from patient tissue, these ex-vivo models faithfully recapitulate the histological, genomic and transcriptomic landscapes of their parental tumor, and are amenable as a platform for preclinical drug screening. In this Project, we propose to establish a Cancer Bioresource Centre delivering an innovative ex-vivo screening platform for drug discoveries, which is applicable to many cancer types. High content screening selection of drug candidates directly on genetically-annotated PDCs, together with novel imaging readouts, should allow far greater accuracy in predicting “the right drug for the right patient”. Equipped with a set of cutting-edge tools, this project will build on existing strengths of team members. In addition to translating new treatment strategies, the outcome of this project will also impact on fundamental cancer research through integrated science. Besides establishing a biobank of various cancer types, we shall focus efforts on Gastro-Intestinal cancers that prevail in Asia, particularly liver cancer. Our goal is to create customized treatment plans based on the genetic makeup and ex-vivo response of patient’s tumor.
Project No.: R4022-18
Project Title: A Wearable for Post-stroke Rehabilitative Multi-muscle Stimulation Inspired by the Natural Organization of Neuromuscular Control
Project Coordinator: Prof CHEUNG Chi-kwan, Vincent (CUHK)
Abstract
This interdisciplinary proposal addresses an urgent public health problem – that of effectively rehabilitating gait of chronic stroke survivors – by developing a customizable and commercializable wearable that provides electrical stimulations to multiple muscles in their naturally coordinated patterns.
Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term adult disability worldwide. The impaired ability to walk post-stroke severely limits mobility and quality of life. Many recently-developed assistive technologies for gait rehabilitation are at present only marginally better at best than traditional therapies in their efficacies. There is an urgent need of novel, clinically viable, and effective gait rehabilitative strategies that can provide even better functional outcome for stroke survivors with diverse presentations.
Among the many new post-stroke interventions, functional electrical stimulation (FES) of muscles remains attractive. FES is a neural-rehabilitative technology that communicates control signals from an external device to the neuromuscular system. There is increasing recognition that rehabilitation paradigms should promote restitution of the patient’s muscle coordination towards the normal pattern during training, and FES can achieve this goal when stimulations are applied to the set of muscles whose natural coordination is impaired. Existing FES paradigms, however, have yielded ambiguous results in previous clinical trials, especially those for chronic survivors, likely because either stimulations were applied only to single or a few muscles, or the stimulation pattern did not mimic the natural muscle coordination pattern during gait. A multi-muscle FES, when applied to a larger functional set of muscles and driven by their natural coordination pattern, can guide muscle activations towards the normal pattern through neuroplasticity, thus restore impairment at the level of muscle-activation deficit.
Here, as a Hong Kong-Shanghai team of 4 co-PIs and 1 partner with expertise in motor neuroscience, rehabilitation science, gait biomechanics, electronic and biomedical engineering, we seek to explore novel ways to unleash the full therapeutic potential of FES for gait rehabilitation. We will first devise a customizable and commercializable FES wearable for delivering multi-muscle FES to leg muscles. We will then attempt to rehabilitate the gait of chronic stroke survivors by delivering stimulations to multiple muscles, in their natural coordination pattern, using our wearable. If our multi-muscle FES strategy is indeed efficacious, it will help many disabled chronic stroke survivors to regain mobility, thus living with a much higher quality of life in the decades to come. The clinical and societal impact of our research will be huge.
Project No.: R4032-18
Project Title: Providing Security for IoT Systems: Memory-Safe Device Driver Kernels, Dynamic Taint Analysis Toolkits and Algebraic-topology Theory
Project Coordinator: Prof LUI John C. S. (CUHK)
Abstract
The aims of this research project are to address the security issues for Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems. In particular, we plan to develop both the theoretical foundations as well as software systems to detect and defend against IoT viruses and privacy leakage problem. This proposal aimed to develop technologies for the security of the Internet of Things (IoT), including a new technology to analyze malicious behaviors of existing IoT apps, a new technology to harden the security of device driver kernel, and new mathematical theory to prevent information leakage. This research will not only provide new technologies on IoT services and systems, but will also provide a new foundation on how to develop new embedded software with security and privacy protection in mind.
Project No.: R4046-18
Project Title: Increasing the Resilience to the Health Impacts of Extreme Weather on Elderly People under Future Climate Change
Project Coordinator: Prof NG Yan-yung, Edward (CUHK)
Abstract
Extreme hot weather is expected to be more frequent and intense in Hong Kong under future climate change. The impacts will be exacerbated due to the presence of urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon in our high-density city. In particular, elderly people are more vulnerable to the impacts of extreme hot weather because of their decline in physiological functions and their behaviour and response. As such, plans for “mitigation” and “adaptation” actions are urgently needed.
Numerous studies have proved that excess mortality and morbidity are associated with extreme hot weather. It is important for different sectors of the society to take necessary actions. However, there are three issues to be addressed for successful responses.
(1) There is a lack of data for understanding the extreme hot weather in our city. Hong Kong is a high-density city with a complex urban environment. There are large variations in the intra-urban temperature so high-resolution spatial and temporal data are required for the assessment of exposure and vulnerability of extreme hot weather.
(2) There is a lack of evidence-based mitigation action plan. Building and neighbourhood design are important to both the livelihood of citizens and the mitigation to climate change. There is an urgent need for better understanding of the impacts of extreme hot weather on the living environment.
(3) There is a lack of evidence-based adaptation response plan. Timely responses during extreme hot weather are important to safeguarding the health and well-being of elderly citizens. It requires a comprehensive understanding of the health impacts due to extreme hot weather so that effective adaptation plans can be developed.
This study aims to contribute by: (1) downscaling global climate data to the urban scale for weather information services and health impact assessment; (2) developing a mitigation action plan with better urban planning and building design under extreme weather; and (3) developing an adaptation response plan for supporting services to increase the resilience of elderly people to extreme weather. This study will provide a methodological framework for incorporating the scientific knowledge of extreme weather and its associated impacts on the elderly health and well-being into a comprehensive plan for response actions.
The impact of this study will include:
(1) The findings of the study will help the Hong Kong Observatory transform the current simple weather information system into a more comprehensive one that is capable of reflecting timely conditions of different districts.
(2) Guidance will be developed for urban planners, architects, developers and other professionals in the field to help the industry fully unleash its potential in building towards a sustainable and healthy city under the vision of Hong Kong 2030+. They will fill the current knowledge and awareness gap in the industry.
(3) Current services will be improved by incorporating information provided by the new weather warning system. Housing protocols will be developed to better cater to the elderly’s need under extreme weather. Social workers and volunteers will be trained to take better care of the elderly under such conditions.
Project No.: R5001-18
Project Title: Next Generation Digital Camera Imaging: Human Centered Image Reconstruction, Enhancement and Evaluation
Project Coordinator: Prof Lei ZHANG (PolyU)
Abstract
Digital cameras including smartphone cameras, webcam and surveillance cameras have been part of our daily life. Billions of images are captured and shared on Internet every day. Whether the quality of output images meets the increasing requirements of end-users, and whether the photos can be easily captured with desired quality under different environments are among the biggest concerns of camera manufacturers and end-users. Conventional digital imaging systems employ a pipeline of cascaded modules to reconstruct a displayable image from raw data captured by camera sensors, and adopt some additional operations to further enhance the quality of reconstructed images. Such a divide-and-conquer strategy to tackle the different problems in digital imaging individually may accumulate errors and generate visual artifacts. On the other hand, the existing criteria used to evaluate the image quality and aesthetic levels cannot faithfully reflect end-users’ subjective perception, limiting the user experience in using these imaging devices.
In this project, we embrace the recent advances of big data and artificial intelligence to develop next generation digital imaging technologies. First, by leveraging the recently rapidly developed deep learning techniques, we will learn a unified compact model as in-camera imaging pipeline in a data-driven and end-to-end manner. The new pipeline is expected to faithfully reproduce the original scene, even under bad lighting conditions, with high quality concerting human visual perception. Second, we will develop effective, lightweight, and human perception-friendly deep neural network models as intelligent image enhancers. The trained models are expected to produce human favourable photographs with less user interaction. Third, we will build new image quality/aesthetic datasets and develop robust learning methods to train human-centered image quality/aesthetic models, which will be used to predict the quality/aesthetic levels of images, and guide the learning of human-centered imaging pipeline and image enhancement. Finally, a prototype system will be developed to demonstrate the above developed technologies.
Our preliminary results demonstrated the feasibility and great potential of the proposed methods. Upon the completion of this project, the developed imaging pipeline will be a breakthrough in camera imaging technology for its high image quality, the developed deep image enhancement algorithms will reproduce visually more plausible and informative images than existing solutions with much less user interaction, and a wide range of consumers of digital imaging devices and photo editing software will benefit from the products powered by the developed technologies.
Project No.: R5007-18
Project Title: New prefabricated composite pavement systems for sustainable and smart-city development of Hong Kong: Key scientific and engineering solutions
Project Coordinator: Dr Yuhong WANG (PolyU)
Abstract
Like many other cities in the world, public areas in Hong Kong are mostly covered with road and street pavements. Pavements are skins of our city. Current urban pavement systems are similar to those used on rural roads, and pavement design and construction have been emphasized on engineering performance and cost savings.
A key issue that affects the sustainable development of Hong Kong, however, is limited lands to meet the demands from growing population and economic activities. In core city districts, land price is much higher than the pavement cost of the same area. In addition, conventional pavements in urban areas cause various problems. This poses a challenging question to government, industry and researchers: Can a paradigm shift be made on pavement technology to maximize the value of urban lands and tackle various issues associated with the current urban pavements?
This research aims to develop technologies to create fundamentally different urban pavement systems for effective use of the pavements and their occupied spaces. The proposed new pavement systems have the following characteristics: 1) Prefabricated structures for convenient construction, maintenance, and replacement and for hosting integrated electronic and electrical systems; 2) Hybrid pavement surfaces for enhanced performance and environmental stewardship; 3) Integrated intelligent transport systems (ITS) and Internet of Things (IoTs) sensors for smart city development; 4) Integrated solar energy harvesting and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) systems for traffic signage and city beautification.
The short-term beneficiaries of the research are local industries, which will gain competitive advantages by transferring the research outcomes into new products and technological know-how. The medium-term beneficiaries are dwellers, travelers and the government of Hong Kong, because the new pavement systems will bring the benefits such as less traffic disruption, improved safety, smartness, life-cycle-cost effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and others. It is estimated by The United Nations (UN) that 63% of the population in the developing world and 85% in the developed one will live in cities by 2050. Once the new pavement technologies are mature in Hong Kong, they may be used by other similar cities. Hence, the long-term beneficiaries are other municipalities around the globe.
Project No.: R5011-18
Project Title: Development of a colistin / adjuvant antimicrobial regimen that exhibits low toxicity and high efficacy in combating multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens
Project Coordinator: Prof Sheng CHEN (PolyU)
Abstract
Emergence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) strains that also exhibit resistance to the polymyxin drug of colistin undermines the value of this drug as the last resort antimicrobial agent in treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant, carbapenemase producing organisms. In an attempt to devise new approaches to preserve the antimicrobial efficacy of colistin, we recently identified three compounds, namely cetylpyridinium chloride (CET), domiphen bromide (DOM) and econazole (Econ), which exhibited strong synergistic antimicrobial effect with colistin against both colistin-resistant and susceptible Enterobacteriaceae strains, facilitating the use of a much lower dosage of colistin in treatment and minimizing the toxic side effects on severely ill patients. Animal experiments confirmed that administration of these compounds along with colistin in mouse thigh infection and sepsis models conferred remarkable protective effect against multidrug resistant infections that would otherwise be fatal. Investigation into the mechanism of action of these compounds showed that CET and DOM competitively block a hydrophobic pocket in bacterial phosphoethanolamine transferases including MCR-1, preventing insertion of the lipid A tail and recognition and modification of lipid A by these enzymes, thereby significantly enhancing the antimicrobial potency of colistin. The mechanism of action of Econ is not well defined, but presumably involved de-stabilization of bacterial membrane integrity. Our preliminary data also show that drug combinations containing these compounds and colistin exhibit low toxicity as well as negligible resistance selection potential. These properties render CET/DOM/Econ excellent adjuvant candidates that help transform colistin into a highly potent antimicrobial agent for treatment of Gram negative bacterial infections, including those caused by colistin resistant strains. The proposed work has two objectives; (1) preform pre-clinical studies to optimize the antimicrobial efficacy and further reduce toxicity of the colistin and adjuvant combinations, as well as test and optimize the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics properties to facilitate design of the dosing and formulation of such novel drug regimens, (2) investigate the mechanism of action by which CET/DOM/Econ enhances the antimicrobial activity of colistin. We expect that deliverables of this work will produce a series of new colistin and adjuvant-based antimicrobial drug regimens that are ready for clinical trial.
Project No.: R5017-18
Project Title: Early Detection of Progressive Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis and Optimization for Non-surgical Treatments using Novel 3D Ultrasound Imaging
Project Coordinator: Prof Yongping ZHENG (PolyU)
Abstract
Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS), the most common spine disease among kids, refers to a lateral spinal curvature (Cobb angle) larger than 10 degrees as measured on standing radiograph, normally associated with 3D deformity, and most are females. The reported incidence rate is about 5% in Hong Kong, and a recent screening study reported is 14% for females aged 14-15 years. Clinical gold standard for diagnosis is X-ray, which has radiation hazard. In a recent study of 25-year follow up study in Denmark, it has been confirmed that scoliosis subjects with the use of X-ray have 5 times higher cancer rate. Meanwhile, many related international societies have pointed the importance of early diagnosis and early treatment, and this will help to reduce severe scoliosis cases but meanwhile requires more subjects to take X-ray images. Hence, it is very important to develop a reliable radiation-free imaging tool for scoliosis diagnosis and treatment outcome measure, and it would be even better if such a technique can help for curve progression and prediction for scoliosis. Based on earlier achievements of the research team on ultrasound imaging system for scoliosis assessment, which has been installed for clinical uses in multiple countries, the overall aim of this study is to explore a novel clinical tool to assess the 3D nature of scoliosis using a radiation-free 3D ultrasound.
The results of this study can be integrated into the available 2D ultrasound imaging system for prediction of curve progression, optimization of spinal orthosis design and exercise treatment, and monitoring of scoliosis treatment outcomes. It is estimated that about 3 million of scoliosis patients can benefit from the results of this research project in 10 years, given that over 6000 3D ultrasound imaging systems will be installed all over the world. Therefore, this technique may help to significantly reduce the use of X-ray dose to scoliosis patients, while scoliosis progression can be better followed up with 3D scoliosis deformity information. This is an interdisciplinary collaboration project, with team members and collaborators from universities, hospitals, and industries in Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland, and internationally.
Project No.: R5020-18
Project Title: Enhancing safety, punctuality and ride comfort of railway transportation: From local metro system to global high-speed rail network Imaging
Project Coordinator: Prof Yiqing NI (PolyU)
Abstract
In order to sustain high-quality service for the expanding MTR network and the HSR’s linkage to the Chinese Mainland, there is a strong need for sharpening up safety, punctuality and ride comfort of existing railways. The need to ensure safety of operation takes the highest priority as any failure that occurs on rail system can lead to derailment and, potentially, loss of human lives. Punctuality of rail transit is one of the vital components of maintaining service quality and passenger satisfaction, especially for local railway network with averagely over five million trips made in a weekday. When it comes to ride comfort, noise and vibration inside passenger coaches are major problems to be solved, for both local metro and HSR in China and worldwide.
The proposed project will address the technical issues of the railway system including train components, rail infrastructure and power signaling systems, which are critical from the viewpoints of safety, punctuality and ride comfort. New technologies are to be developed by the research team with multidisciplines in structural health monitoring, sensing technology, vibration and acoustic control, electrical power supply, smart materials and energy harvesting. The direct research outputs of this project are new technological systems, smart devices, material designs and potential applications that go beyond the current practice and standards. To achieve this target, the proposed research will develop (i) a precise nonlinear three-dimensional wheel/rail contact model; (ii) a self-powered adaptive suspension system for train vehicles; (iii) smart materials and devices enabling electro-magneto-mechanical sensing of rail electrification system; (iv) an advanced track-sensed online monitoring system for wheel defect detection; (v) a multi-resolution method for short-pitch rail corrugation detection; and (vi) a hybrid long-range monitoring system for rail crack detection. This project will improve the local railway operation safety and serviceability in the short term and will enhance the sustainability for future railway development and benefit the whole society in the long run.
Project No.: R5029-18
Project Title: Reliability-based Intelligent Transportation Systems in Urban Road Network with Uncertainty
Project Coordinator: Prof LAM Hing-keung William (PolyU)
Abstract
The ever-increasing demand for travel raises various problems and issues including congestion, energy, environment, and safety. TomTom Telematics recently reported how much traffic congestion is costing business in 390 major global cities. In particular, their report showed that commuters in Hong Kong could spend up to 45 minutes extra travel time on average in traffic jam per day. Road networks are also vulnerable to non-recurrent factors and disruptions such as incidents and adverse weather. In Hong Kong, the average total number of road traffic accidents is over 15,000 per year and the annual average rainy days are about 143 days over the past 10 years. The consequence on traffic delays and economic loss of these could be enormous should the problems be not addressed properly. Continuous construction of new roads will not be a sustainable solution due to the increasingly tight fiscal, physical and environmental constraints. Consequently, most major cities are exploring how their existing roads can be better utilized and managed. With The Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong published in 2017, recent attention has been given to improve the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Like many other major Asian cities with relatively high incident rates and annual rainfall intensities, the potential benefits to be gained from exploration of ITS for improvement of network reliability in Hong Kong can be substantial. The proposed project opens new ways of thinking for developing and deploying Reliability-based ITS (R-ITS) testbed in congested road networks in Hong Kong as well as other major Asian cities. The project explores new approaches and techniques, and possibly new theories, to enhance the existing ITS for improving the efficiency and reliability of urban road networks with travel time uncertainties due to traffic incidents and adverse weather.
This project proposes a new conceptual framework for developing a network-wide stochastic traffic information system with use of heterogeneous on-line and off-line data. We will develop a set of advanced data analytics and traffic modelling techniques in order to make full use of historical data as well as real-time measurements collected from multiple detection systems. The ultimate goal of the system is to predict within-day and day-to-day average travel times and their variability on congested road networks with consideration of uncertainties in demand and capacity due to adverse weather and/or traffic incidents. In particular, we will adopt an integrated data-driven and model-based approach in which road traffic is characterized by stochastic fundamental diagrams which is a new concept for specifying the flow-density relationships in the road networks with consideration of demand and supply uncertainties.
The proposed project starts with establishing a database which consolidates all relevant traffic, incidents, and weather data collected from different sources. The data are then used for deriving stochastic fundamental diagrams of traffic flow and prediction algorithms for within-day and day-to-day travel time variations and their variability for different types of vehicles under different road and weather conditions. The developed models and prediction algorithms will then be incorporated into a reliability-based route guidance system which can derive optimal travel routes for users with different objectives or criteria by using stochastic path finding algorithms. Finally, website and mobile applications will be developed as a demonstration R-ITS testbed for disseminating and displaying the travel time predictions and route guidance to the system users together with additional information on on-time arrival probability and latest departure time from origin or the earliest arrival time at destination etc.
Project No.: R5032-18
Project Title: Effectiveness of Bright Light Therapy, Myopic Defocus, Atropine and the Combinations for Controlling Myopic Eye Growth in Schoolchildren: A Randomized Control Trial
Project Coordinator: Prof Chi-ho TO (PolyU)
Abstract
Myopia affects more than 80% of young adults in Hong Kong and many East Asian populations. It is known that high myopia is associated with a range of blinding diseases such as glaucoma and retinal degenerations. As our population ages, it is projected that more than 80% of the population will become myopic, of whom 10% will be highly myopic. This will cause an increasingly high socio-economic burden to the health care system and society. In fact, myopia control and prevention has become a matter of national strategic importance as announced by the Ministry of Education of China in 2018.
Previous studies have identified pharmacologic and optical methods to control myopia and retard its progression with a low to moderate effectiveness. A novel treatment, preferable a non-invasive one, is much desired. Recent studies on the mechanism of myopia has suggested a role of retinal dopaminergic signalling pathway, thus indicating the potential use of Bright Light Therapy (BLT) for treating myopia. BLT has been well recognized for its effectiveness and non-invasiveness in alleviating depressive disorders through stimulating dopamine release via the visual pathways. An important parallel exists as epidemiological studies have reported lower incidence of myopia in children with higher amounts of sunlight exposure.
The present study aims to determine the clinical effectiveness of bright light therapy on inhibiting myopia progression in schoolchildren, and to determine whether combination therapy using bright light, myopic defocus and low-dose atropine is more effective than monotherapy. In addition, potential factors that associate with the effectiveness of myopia control will be analysed. The project is a multi-arm randomised clinical trial with a 24-month duration. Subjects will be healthy Hong Kong Chinese schoolchildren with low to moderate myopia.
If our hypotheses are correct and BLT is found to be effective in our trial as monotherapy and polytherapy for myopia, there will be a strong public health impact. The new findings will likely revolutionize the present clinical management of myopia by clinician, and may shape public policies regarding school time, interior designs of classrooms and household. A novel, effective, and non-invasive way to control myopia progression in the myopic populations of both Hong Kong and globally could emerge. Some of the tested device/therapy may also be suitable for production or commercialization for civil use.
Project No.: R5034-18
Project Title: Tackling Grand Challenges in Food Safety: A Big Data and IoT Enabled Approach
Project Coordinator: Prof Jiannong CAO (PolyU)
Abstract
Decades of research in Internet of Things (IoT) moves it towards smart IoT, which employs various technologies including wireless sensing, big data, blockchain, and cloud computing to facilitate interactions among the things and create added values from the things and the data produced by them. Over the past years, with the support of RGC and other grants, we have been actively doing research in the related areas and achieved results of both academic and practical significance. We now are highly capable of integrating our results to solve real-world problems and make high-impact contributions to the society.
In this project, we apply our research achievements to food safety area and tackle the critical issues including biological risk, chemical risk and food fraud in food safety. These issues are not adequately addressed by current solutions, e.g., sampling inspection. First, although biological and chemical risks can be well detected, food status cannot be traced in a secure and authentic way to avoid food fraud; second, the sampling inspection is conducted by human resources, which is labour-intensive and time-consuming; third, the sampling inspection can only detect food status while it leaves unknown which part goes wrong and what the future food status will be.
To tackle the above food safety issues, we will develop a big data and IoT enabled system, which provides three food safety services, i.e., traceability, status detection, and risk prediction. Specifically, traceability is the ability to track any food items through all stages of production, processing, and distribution. To enable the traceability, we propose to attach an RFID tag to each food item as its identity. The transaction data generated from food supply chain will be stored in blockchain. On the other hand, status detection is to accurately discover the food spoilage and timely monitor the environmental information in food production, warehousing and shipping. We will deploy a large number of wireless sensors in the environment where food items reside to monitor temperature and humidity. These sensory data can help us timely detect the food status. Finally, risk prediction is to predict food safety risk, which can be divided into two types: biological risks and chemical risks. In this aspect, we will integrate heterogeneous food safety data and propose big data techniques to uncover the hidden correlations, thereby pinpointing the sources of food risks and predicting the food status in future.
Project No.: R5037-18
Project Title: Study of Super-fast Large-area Economical Marine Reclamations for Housing and Infrastructural Developments in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area
Project Coordinator: Prof Jianhua YIN (PolyU)
Abstract
Housing is currently one of the burning social issues in Hong Kong. There is a very urgent need for the provision of large area of suitable lands for residential housing and other supporting infrastructures. This project will provide a feasible solution to the problem of the short-supply of lands. The main objective of this proposed project is to carry out a study on the key fundamental and technical issues to develop a feasible method for super-fast large-area economical marine reclamations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, especially in Hong Kong. The key points in our new approach will be: (a) we use local marine soils and/or general soil fills (including construction wastes) to construct a marine reclamation, rather than using imported sand, thereby reducing construction time and cost; (b) we use super-fast dredging ships to blow-fill a reclamation area instead of using the slow sand dumping method; (c) we use vertical drains with vacuum preloading to consolidate soft marine soils very fast, rather than using imported sand for surcharge; (d) we use FRP (fibre-reinforced Polymer) or steel tubular pile wall with deep cement mixing method for improving foundation soils in a fast construction speed, rather than using other slow conventional methods to build an impermeable wall to surround a reclaimed area. Therefore, six tasks are proposed to achieve the above main objective and key points.
It can be seen that the impact of the project will be significant in both social and economic aspects in Hong Kong. The short-term impact will be immediate application of the new approach to speed up marine reclamations in Hong Kong. The medium-term impact will be that we will promote, jointly with our partners and HKSAR Government departments, our new approach, new understandings, and new methods/models to be used by HKSAR Government, local consulting firms, and contractors for design and construction of “Lantau Tomorrow” marine reclamations in Hong Kong. The long-term impact will be providing enough lands, as a long-term effective solution, for future residential houses and infrastructures in Hong Kong, and significant positive impacts on society, economy, and quality of life in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and other coastal cities in the world.
Project No.: R5050-18
Project Title: Context-dependent modulation of autophagy pathway as novel complementary approach for cancer therapy
Project Coordinator: Prof Yanxiang ZHAO (PolyU)
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC, is the most common form of primary liver cancer. HCC usually occurs at the end-stage of cirrhosis after chronic liver injury caused by risk factors like HBV, HCV, alcohol and aflatoxin. HCC is the 6th most common cancer worldwide and the 4th leading cause of cancer death. HCC affects Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland in particular because this region accounts for more than half of the new cases and deaths.
Therapeutic options for HCC patients are rather limited. Less than 5% of patients are diagnosed at early stage and receive curative treatments such as surgical resection and liver transplantation. For majority of patients diagnosed at intermediate and late stage, the prognosis is poor and only a few targeted therapies are available. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like sorafenib and lenvatinib provide modest survival benefit of 2-3 months. Immunotherapies using anti-PD-l monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) like nivolumab offer longer survival benefit but has limited response rate of 14%.
Leveraging the research findings of our team on autophagy and HCC pathogenesis, we propose to investigate whether targeting the autophagy process in context-dependent manner can serve as novel complementary approach for HCC therapy. Autophagy, which means self-eating, is a cellular catabolic process that degrades and recycles cytosolic content in lysosome-dependent manner. Autophagy has a complicated and context-dependent relationship with cancer, acting as an anti-tumor mechanism at early-stage to preserve cellular integrity and inhibit malignant transformation; but switching to a pro-tumor role to sustain the growth and progression of established tumors within the metabolically stressed microenvironment.
With previous funding support from RGC, our research team have conducted extensive studies of Beclin1, an essential autophagy protein with tumor suppressor function. Our structural studies reveal that the “imperfect” interface of Beclin1 coiled coil domain distinctively regulates its interaction with Atg14L and UVRAG, two key autophagy modulators. Furthermore, the research team have designed and patented a series of Beclin1-targeting stapled peptides that can enhance autophagy and promote endolysosomal degradation of the oncogenic receptor EGFR in several cancer cell lines.
In this project, we will use our patented peptides as prototype to design more potent and specific Beclin1-targeting autophagy enhancers. The anti-proliferative efficacy of these designed peptides will be tested by cell- and animal-based HCC models, both as single agent and in combination with existing HCC therapeutics like TKIs or mAbs. In particular, our research team have developed patient derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) mouse strains and transgenic mouse models generated with the Sleeping Beauty transposon (SB) system. Both models can recapitulate the clinical characteristics of HCC tumor and thus offer good predictive results for preclinical drug evaluation of our designed peptides. It would be of great translational impact if our study can validate Beclin1-targeting autophagy enhancement as a novel complementary approach for HCC therapy.
Project No.: R6008-18
Project Title: Center for Wide-bandgap Semiconductor Power Electronics Research
Project Coordinator: Prof Kevin J CHEN (HKUST)
Abstract
We aim at building a world-class research and education center of wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor power electronics by focusing on advanced GaN and SiC power devices and integrated circuits (IC’s) that will play crucial roles in driving electric power conversion systems with higher efficiency and higher power density.
These WBG power electronic components could deliver superior performance because of their superior material properties. Electric power conversion systems form the backbones of the modern society and civilization that are still undergoing continuous and recently accelerating electrification. These power converters would become more energy-efficient and more compact if WBG semiconductors replace silicon in the core power switching components. Because of the tremendous benefits in energy saving and consequent CO2 emission reduction, it is expected that WBG semiconductor power electronic devices would become a critical driving force behind numerous power-hungry emerging applications including renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, autonomous driving vehicles and robots, efficient power supply systems for data centers, and compact power supplies.
The main goal of the proposed research center is to develop technological solutions to several critical challenges in GaN and SiC power device technology. Through extensive collaboration with industry and institutes, especially the ones in Greater China Region and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, we seek to develop innovative solutions to meet the major challenges in commercial adoption and application of GaN and SiC power devices. With the technology developed from this project, we plan to demonstrate the tremendous benefit of WBG semiconductor based power devices with unprecedented performance and enhanced reliability.
Project No.: R6011-18
Project Title: Real-time Airborne Particulate Matter Pollution Source Identification
Project Coordinator: Prof Jianzhen YU (HKUST)
Abstract
Airborne particulate matter (PM) can penetrate deep into our respiratory system, eliciting adverse health effects. World Health Organization lists PM as the largest environmental cause of premature death worldwide and the 7th leading risk factor for global deaths. PM also scatters sunlight, thereby modulating absorption of solar irradiation and water cycle, and degrading visibility. Measurement data are essential to monitor the quality of the air we breathe in, track origins of a myriad of pollution sources, determine the local vs regional spatial nature, and quantify the temporal variations of contributing sources. The quantitative source identification outcomes derived from the measurements form a scientific foundation for developing control policies at local and regional levels.
In this project, we will consolidate and expand our expertise built over the past 15 years in PM measurements and modeling. The goal is to achieve robust real-time PM source identification and quantification that are suitable for routine 24-7 operation. Specifically, we aim to develop and demonstrate the robust implementation of an array of instruments to monitor major components (i.e., water-soluble ions, elemental and organic carbon) and source-indicative PM components continuously and in real time; and subsequently develop measurement-based statistical and numerical modeling tools for estimating the quantities of PM pollution sources in real time. This project will provide data and tools to enable more effective and dynamic management of both long-term air quality and heavy pollution episodes, thereby helping to minimize the impact of PM pollution on public health.
Project No.: R6015-18
Project Title: Broadband absorbers for microwaves and ultra-low frequency mechanical waves
Project Coordinator: Prof Ping SHENG (HKUST)
Abstract
This proposed RIF project aims to realize the societal impact of our previous research accomplishments through the design and implementation of two physics innovations. The first is a broadband microwave absorption structure with minimum thickness that can deter the tracking of digital footprint left by the use of communications devices, to protect user privacy while raising the cost of collecting personal information for unauthorized use. At the same time, the use of the broadband microwave absorption material/structure can reduce exposures to the increasing amount of microwave energy that permeate the atmosphere, so as to remediate health concerns; microwaves are known to interact with biological tissues. The second item is a compact device for attenuating and harvesting energy from ultra-low frequency mechanical waves in the range of 0.1 to 300 Hz, dubbed “no man’s land” in wave attenuation. The devices can attenuate low frequency vibration, and underwater drilling noise. The compactness of this device means that it will be mass-producible not to mention flexible and convenient to use. Commercial interest exists, so there’s a good chance that the prototypes will eventually be mass produced and sold on the market.
Project No.: R6021-18
Project Title: Understanding and Improving the Stability of Organic Photovoltaics - Towards a Low-Cost and Commercially Viable Photovoltaic Technology
Project Coordinator: Prof He YAN (HKUST)
Abstract
Organic photovoltaics (OPV) are promising alternatives to the traditional silicon solar panels because they are flexible, lightweight, semi-transparent and do not contain any toxic materials. These properties make OPV suitable for new solar cell applications (such as building-integrated PV, BIPV) which cannot be realized with the existing silicon technology. However, conventional OPV based on fullerene acceptors have intrinsic stability issues. As a result, the best stabilized efficiency of fullerene OPV is only about 4% with a device lifetime of about 7 years.
During the past five years, the OPV field has seen a surprisingly rapid development of non-fullerene acceptor materials, which not only increases the power conversion efficiency (up to 17.3% to date) but also extends the lifetime of OPV devices. Reports have shown that, by replacing the problematic fullerene acceptors with non-fullerene molecules, OPV can eliminate the degradation problem. Therefore, researchers are optimistic of achieving OPV lifetime of at least 10 years and potentially beyond 20 years, which would be sufficient for commercial applications.
This project will not only help unravel the science behind OPV stability issues, but it will also have significant technological and societal impacts by promoting the deployment of flexible PV in Hong Kong, where the government has recently launched a highly attractive feed- in-tariff scheme to accelerate PV installation. To maximize the commercial and societal impacts of our research, we will work closely with our industry partners in the final phase to transfer our research results for industrial upscaling and prototype development.
Project No.: R7017-18
Project Title: Tools to Inform Policy: Chinese communities’ Action in Response to Dementia (TIP-CARD)
Project Coordinator: Dr WONG Hoi Yan, Gloria (HKU)
Abstract
Dementia is a group of chronic diseases that require long-term care, putting great pressure on family carers, care facility personnel, and health care and social care systems. It is associated with great economic burden. Many countries have developed dementia-specific policy to tackle the challenge. With the world’s greatest number of people with dementia, Chinese communities need policy solutions for dementia that are based on evidence and guided by the needs and expectations of stakeholders.
This project aims to build on existing data, fill gaps in evidence, and consolidate findings with stakeholders to provide the policy tools to inform the best strategies for dementia care in Chinese communities. In 3 years, we will conduct three inter-related studies: (1) a situation analysis to assess the current dementia care, intervention and support situation with stakeholders; (2) a cost of dementia study to estimate the monetarized cost of dementia, considering family caregiving and other factors, using existing data and collecting new information needed; (3) a simulation modelling analysis to simulate future demands in terms of financial, organizational and workforce support under different assumptions of dementia prevalence, service model and care pathway. The expected outcome of the research is a set of accessible tools, data and strategies co-developed with stakeholders to support the generation of dementia policies and action plans for Hong Kong and the greater Chinese communities.
Project No.: R7027-18
Project Title: “Modular Integrated Construction 2.0+” for Quality and Efficient Tall Residential Buildings through Advanced Structural Engineering, Innovative Building Materials and Smart Project Delivery
Project Coordinator: Dr PAN We (HKU)
Abstract
Hong Kong is one of the highest-density cities in the world with very limited developable land resources. Building high-rise towers for housing is thus the norm in Hong Kong. However, the construction industry of Hong Kong is still labor-intensive with very high construction cost. Modular construction (MC) is a novel approach to innovate building construction and has been adopted in many countries with wide-ranging benefits. However, the adoption of the modular approach has largely been for houses and low-rise buildings, while there are only a small number of modular high-rises. Modular integrated construction (MiC) is based on the MC approach and has recently been adopted as a new policy initiative in Hong Kong. There have been a few government-announced pilot projects which however all engage buildings with 20 floors or less and adopt the MC systems currently available in the market. There is still a lack of systematic exploration of the full project lifecycle of MiC and a paucity of examination of modular tall buildings in high-density cities.
MiC 2.0+ proposed in this project is a breakthrough of the MiC initiative and targets at the smart delivery of quality and efficient MiC tall residential buildings of 40 and 50 floors. This project will establish the scientific fundamentals and methodology of MiC 2.0+ for the supply and delivery of quality and efficient tall residential buildings in dense urban areas through advanced structural engineering, innovative building materials and smart project delivery. It will also develop solutions of MiC 2.0+ tested in universities’ laboratories and demonstrated in real-life building projects. It will further substantiate the impact of the research on the supply and delivery of tall residential buildings. The project team is led by HKU with investigators also from PolyU and HKUST, and is supported by industry and community partners. The project will be completed over a 60-month period.
Project No.: R7033-18
Project Title: Antimicrobial resistance comprehensive etiology study (ACES)
Project Coordinator: Prof FUKUDA Keiji (HKU)
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens human and animal health as well as food and financial security. In recent years, we have seen increases in AMR in some pathogens, and we now face that some bacterial infections could become untreatable with existing antibiotics. It is important to understand the degree to which animals, food and the environment contribute to the development and spread of AMR in humans in order to identify possible interventions and inform policy to control AMR at manageable levels. We plan to conduct a prospective study to investigate patterns of AMR and contributing factors in two high-density suburban areas in Hong Kong. Specifically, our study will document antibiotic exposure and AMR in humans and animals, examine short-term variations in these patterns over time, and explore possible transmission route(s) of AMR with analysis on AMR-associated genetic components. AMR and antibiotic use data will be collected from humans, food, animals and the environment, which will allow us to explore the potential association between AMR infections in humans and potential risk factors such as antibiotic exposure or exposure to AMR pathogens in food or the environment. This study will establish a framework for further understanding AMR development and transmission locally, nationally and globally. Hong Kong provides us with a good opportunity to study potential associations and interactions between these ecological sectors because of its communities and AMR-associated ecosystems in close connection with each other. This study could substantially directly influence AMR prevention and management policies and strategies locally through local community stakeholders and civil groups in Hong Kong, as well as the international community through our links with international organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Project No.: R7054-18
Project Title: Balancing the Opportunities and Risks of Financial Technology: FinTech Regulation and Policy
Project Coordinator: Prof Douglas Wayne ARNER (HKU)
Abstract
Technology is transforming finance and its regulation across the world. This project will analyse regulatory and legal approaches to financial technology (FinTech), drawing implications for financial law and regulation in Hong Kong. Our project builds on work emerging from a recently completed RGC Theme-based Research Scheme project on “Enhancing Hong Kong’s Future as a Leading International Financial Centre”. The project brings together world class experts in financial law and regulation with experts on finance (Lin) and emerging technologies. Our team will study the legal and regulatory challenges of FinTech in Hong Kong, focusing on four major technologies and their implications, namely: (1) distributed ledger technology (DLT) and Blockchain; (2) Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI), particularly their relation to digital reporting and compliance; (3) mobile internet and cloud, particularly in the context of cybersecurity and data protection; and (4) biometrics and digital identification, particularly as they relate to know your customer (KYC) systems and access to finance.
The new challenges to theory and policy in FinTech show why new thinking needs to lead to new policies for Hong Kong, as a competitive international financial centre, and elsewhere. Underlying the project will be the overall objective of identifying legal and regulatory reforms in Hong Kong to support competitiveness as an international financial centre while at the same time balancing the objectives of financial stability, financial inclusion, market integrity and consumer protection.
Project No.: R7066-18
Project Title: Novel ultra-strong and ductile steel at low cost
Project Coordinator: Dr HUANG Mingxin (HKU)
Abstract
Global automotive industry is actively searching for low-cost, high-performance steels for construction of lightweight automobile with improved crash performance. High-performance automotive steels require simultaneously ultrahigh strength and good ductility. Nevertheless, strength and ductility are mutually exclusive, which is known as strength-ductility trade-off. It is extremely difficult to design an ultrahigh strength steel with good tensile ductility, especially steels with yield strength higher than 2 GPa. Recently, the Project Coordinator (PC) and his team developed a breakthrough “deformed and partitioned” (D&P) steel that challenged the strength-ductility trade-off. The D&P steel achieves an unprecedented yield strength of 2.2 GPa and an uniform elongation of 16%. The results were published in Science in 2017.
A preliminary analysis shows that the breakthrough D&P steel can save 30% of weight of critical crash-resistance components of automobile such as door beams, while keeping the same crash performance and similar cost, compared to state-of-the-art automotive steels available in the market. Based on its breakthrough mechanical properties, low cost, simple industrial processes, it is anticipated that the D&P steel has great potential for real applications in automotive industry. Therefore, the aim of the proposed project is to explore the industrialization of the D&P steel, and provides in-depth scientific understanding on the in-use properties of the D&P steel.
Project No.: R7070-18
Project Title: Combination approach to combat metallo-β-lactamase positive superbugs
Project Coordinator: Prof SUN Hongzhe (HKU)
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a huge threat to human health worldwide. In Hong Kong, approximately one new AMR-caused infection occurs every 20 minutes in public hospitals. Infections caused by metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) producing superbugs have emerged as the most notable resistance determinants in Enterobacteriaceae. The project aims to develop bismuth compounds including clinically used bismuth drugs as antibiotic adjuvants to preserve existing antibiotics. Combination therapy consisting of an antibiotic and bismuth compounds will be economical alternative to fight with antimicrobial resistance, particularly in the current era that development of new antibiotics is very sluggish. The data from this project may stimulate pharmaceutical industry both locally and regionally (in the Greater Bay Area).
Project No.: R7072-18
Project Title: Multiphase Materials by All-aqueous Microfluidics for Biomedical Applications
Project Coordinator: Dr SHUM Ho-Cheung Anderson (HKU)
Abstract
Hydrogels, which are macromolecular networks of polymer chains, are frequently used in biomedical applications including drug delivery, tissue engineering and regeneration. Typically, hydrogels are formed either by chemical crosslinking or physical interactions. The former requires the presence of both a polymeric backbone and a crosslinker, and hence a mixing step. This can be tedious for clinical applications where rapid gelation is needed. Moreover, the crosslinking reaction may interfere with the biological functions of the drugs to be delivered. While physical hydrogels do not require the crosslinking step, the constituent polymeric backbone must be able to interact with itself, limiting the choice of constituent materials and active ingredients. Therefore, the introduction of a simple method for producing a physically crosslinked gel is critically important for clinical applications.
When sheared by a flow, microfibers in solutions can become topologically entangled, which we refer to as “mechanical interlocking”, and form a hydrogel. Since no chemical crosslinking or physical interactions are required, the hydrogels can be conveniently produced and locally applied simply by injection through a syringe needle. This novel approach is particularly advantageous for clinical applications requiring quick and convenient gelation, such as wound healing.
Our team consists of experts in fabrication and assembly of microfibers, all-aqueous formulations and wound healing. The aims of the proposed study are to: (1) fabricate a biocompatible hydrogel for encapsulation of biomolecules in an oil-free, reaction-free and interaction-free manner, (2) develop a new injectable, biocompatible hydrogel for wound healing applications, and (3) formulate wound dressings with enhanced recovery capabilities. Clinical and commercial impacts of the fundamentally new hydrogel assembly mechanisms can be maximized with the partnership of the collaborating companies, hospitals and clinicians. These concerted efforts will lead to a new hydrogel product with uniquely tailored properties for wound healing, and inspire new biomedical uses.