Project Title: Systematic Development of Molecular Targets for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Project Coordinator: Professor Kwok-wai Lo (CUHK)
Abstract
The distinct occurrence and highest global
incidence of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC)
in South China has crowned this deadly malignancy
as the "Cantonese Cancer". NPC
is a major health-care problem in Hong Kong,
where it is also the most prevalent cancer
in our middle-aged workforce population.
Despite advances in current radio-chemotherapy,
poor clinical outcome remains the major
concern in >60% of newly diagnosed NPC
patients, who are usually presented with
advanced stage disease. The key problems
of these patients are distant failure and
lack of efficient treatment for recurrent
diseases. New clinical interventions to
treat the disease, prolong disease-free
survival and improve quality of life of
patients are therefore of strategic importance.
A comprehensive understanding of genetic
changes involved in NPC tumorigenesis is
expected to offer the basis for research
to develop promising disease control strategies
for this cancer. Systematic discovering
driver genetic lesions and apprehending
how they contribute to transformation and
progression of NPC are essential information
to underpin reliable biomarkers and novel
molecular targets for therapy; the cornerstone
of developing patient-specific personalized
medicine. In this application, we propose
to decode the DNA sequence of entire NPC
genome and thereby catalogue the whole spectrum
of genomic changes involved in NPC tumorigenesis
by massive parallel genome sequencing. Our
team will systematically define the driver
mutations and identify key "molecular
targets" through large-scale whole
genome and transcriptome sequencing, bioinformatic
analysis and extensive validation in microdissected
primary NPC samples using our newly developed
technologies. Functional studies will confirm
the oncogenic activities and biological
significances of candidate driver mutations.
To translate the genomic findings to specific
NPC biomarkers, statistical analysis will
be conducted to determine the clinical correlation
between somatic variants and patients' clinical
outcome. Importantly, candidate molecular
targets and relevant tumour dependency can
be elucidated for their therapeutic potentials
in our unique panel of in vitro and
in vivo NPC models. The finding will
provide important novel biomarkers and
therapeutic targets for developing personalized
cancer treatment strategies. We expect
this project would make strategic breakthrough
in molecular genetics of NPC and contribute
significant impact to the control of this
common cancer.
Project Title: An Integrated Trans-omics Approach to Diabetic Cardio-renal Complications: From Novel Discoveries to Personalized Medicine
Project Coordinator: Professor Ching-wan Ronald Ma (CUHK)
Abstract
Diabetes is a major health problem
worldwide, including in Hong Kong. Most
of the healthcare burden from diabetes is
associated with the management of diabetic
complications, in particular, cardiovascular
and renal complications. Diabetes is the
major cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD),
and increases the risk of cardiovascular
disease (CVD) by 3-4 fold. Asian patients
with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are particularly
prone to renal complications when compared
to patients of European origin. Only few
genetic markers have so far been identified
to predict diabetic cardiovascular-renal
complications. Discovery of novel genetic
or other biomarkers for diabetic complications
can help identify at risk subjects for intensive
risk factors management, advance our understanding
of disease pathogenesis, revolutionize care
and provide novel targets for drug development.
In this Grand Challenge, we aim to utilize
the unique resource from the Hong Kong Diabetes
Registry, with more than 10,000 patients
with T2D with detailed biochemical assessment
of risk factors and documentation of medication
history, who have been prospectively followed
up for a mean duration of 8 years, with
an accrual of 4,000 events of cardiovascular
and renal complications. We will utilize
a multi-omic approach and use new-generation
sequencing (NGS) and other technologies
to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of
the genome, epigenome and transcriptome
of diabetic patients with complications
and diabetic patients free of complications
despite long duration of disease. We will
utilize advanced bioinformatics analysis
to integrate findings from these different
approaches. Insights from this multi-faceted
investigation will be compared to findings
from animal models of diabetic complications.
We will use bioinformatics, in vitro experiments
and animal models to characterize the functional
significance and regulatory pathways of
novel genes identified from the genomic
studies. In addition to novel biological
discoveries, we aim to translate our findings
and examine the clinical significance of
these novel biomarkers, as well as their
interactions with different treatments on
disease outcomes. Finally, we will leverage
on the existing healthcare infrastructure
and detailed clinical information available
to establish an expanded diabetes registry
and biobank with contribution from major
diabetes centres across Hong Kong for large-scale
replication of any novel biomarkers discovered.
This resource will be a first-of-its-kind.
In sum, 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 Title: Smart Solar Energy Harvesting, Storage, and Utilization
Project Coordinator: Professor Ching-ping Wong (CUHK)
Abstract
The fast-growing demand for energy and the
recognition of man-made global climate change
underscore the urgency of developing clean
and renewable energy resources to replace
fossil fuels. Harvesting energy directly
from sunlight by using photovoltaics (PV),
photocatalysis, artificial photosynthesis,
and other enabling technologies is a promising
way to meet such requirements. As an alternative
to conventional PV cells based on crystalline
silicon wafer, vacuum-deposited CIGS and
CZTS thin-film PV cells as well as solution-processed
inorganic and organic thin-film PV cells
offer processing advantages that will likely
enable low-cost, high-throughput, and large-area
PV production. Furthermore, the development
of efficient and smart energy storage systems
is imperative to effectively ensure reliable
energy supply and increase the penetration
of solar energy utilization. To sustainably
utilize solar energy, intelligent power
distribution grids need to be locally developed
for solar energy generation, storage, and
utilization at affordable cost and with
enhanced security of supply through flexible
transition between grid interconnected and
islanded operating modes. All of these issues
are in line with the strategic objectives
on sustainable development outlined by the
Hong Kong Government in 2005.
The proposed research scheme is aimed at the aforementioned strategic objectives through exploring various approaches in solar energy harvesting, storage, and utilization, to increase solar penetration to 10% in a selected campus building microgrid system under grid interconnected operation, and more importantly explore the feasibility of enhancing local security and independency of electricity supply of the microgrid through solar enabled islanded operation by end of 2017. The merit of this scheme lies in the fact that solar energy harvesting, storage, and utilization are holistically considered and thereafter they will be meticulously investigated. Accordingly the research topics covered by this scheme include: (1) the development of high-performance vacuum deposited thin-film PV devices and modules with new materials and processing techniques, particularly based on earth-abundant materials; (2) the establishment of an interdisciplinary research platform for fundamental research in solution-processed thin-film PV devices and modules based on inorganic and organic active materials, as well as the development of novel light-trapping schemes for efficiency enhancement; (3) the exploration of novel metal-oxides and organic dyes for chemical fuels production via artificial photosynthesis and photocatalysis; (4) the development of new materials and processing approaches for high energy-density batteries and supercapacitors, so as to realize a hybrid storage system; (5) the development of advanced strategies to integrate, manage, and control various subsystems based on information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and protocols, so as to enhance the performance and security of solar-enabled microgrids under various operating modes; (6) the practical demonstration of microgrid (MG) operations based on intelligent control and integration of PV modules, smart storages and loads and other technologies in a laboratory and selected campus building systems under interconnected and islanded modes.
Hong Kong has demonstrated its uniqueness and strengths in development of high-performance PV technologies, but not yet in the development of smart electricity storage and distributed grid systems. The proposed theme aims to strengthen the competitive edge of Hong Kong in solar energy technologies and their market penetration by combining the newly developed PV modules with the intelligent system integration. It is anticipated that the theme will not only create an interdisciplinary research platform for fundamental studies on solar energy harvesting, storage, and utilization, but also advocate applied research (e.g. development of flexible PVs) that leads to technology transfer to industry. The impact of the theme will be reflected in excellent R&D personnel training and generation of publications in leading journals, invited lectures at international conferences and intellectual properties that will benefit high-tech industry. All these will eventually lead to the formation of an area of excellence as well as to the substantial technology transfer of solar energy technologies in Hong Kong and beyond.