RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES

The University earned major funding success and honours across a range of disciplines in 2019–20, a year in which we also demonstrated global impact on people’s well-being through our insights on COVID-19. Progress was also made on future expansion plans.

The COVID-19 pandemic was the defining event of 2020 and HKU researchers were thick in the effort to find solutions. Capitalising on years of effort and investment in building up expertise in infectious diseases, they produced dozens of studies on diagnosing the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 and tracking its transmission and spread between individuals and across communities. They have also been at the forefront in seeking effective treatments and vaccines (see PATHBREAKERS for more details). 

But the year was also important to HKU for other reasons, most notably the dedication of scholars across all disciplines to continue with their work despite the disruptions of COVID-19 and the social unrest that suspended classes in November 2019. In both cases, researchers kept doing their research and laboratories stayed open. This made HKU more fortunate than many other institutions around the world and meant that our research activities and excellence have been undiminished, as evidenced by our stellar success in research funding exercises.

Marks of Success: In the Research Grants Council’s (RGC) 2020–21 General Research Fund exercise, we secured HK$212 million (excluding on-costs) for 265 projects, the highest number of projects and largest share of funding amongst institutions in Hong Kong. We also received the highest award in the Early Career Scheme, some HK$32 million (excluding on-costs) for 44 projects, and had two of the eight Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme projects awarded. In the Research Matching Grant Scheme, HKU received HK$403 million in the five cycles since August 2019.

The Theme-based Research Scheme was another stand-out, where we received HK$179 million (including on-costs) for major projects in areas important to Hong Kong’s long-term development. Seven projects were awarded across Hong Kong and our scholars are coordinating five of them and participating in a sixth. The five projects include personalised and innovative treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia; wireless power transfer; financial technology, stability and inclusion; intelligent robotics for elderly assistance in Hong Kong; and assessing the extent of antibiotic-resistant genes in the environment.

In addition to these regular RGC funding exercises, we were the top recipient of the Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau’s Health and Medical Research Fund dedicated to COVID-19 research, receiving more than HK$97 million in additional resources to address this global threat, far more than any other institution – a reflection of our hard-earned expertise in infectious diseases and related research.

Funding is only one measure of success, though. HKU scholars also received welcome recognition by their peers for the high quality of their work. According to Clarivate Analytics, 127 HKU scholars were in the top 1% in the world in 2020 in at least one research field, based on citations by other academics. Individual researchers were also singled out by China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund, Academia Europaea, the American Physical Society and MIT Technology Review, among others (see ACCLAIM).

Taking Stock: Alongside these successes, we completed an in-depth assessment of research and impact across the University for the RGC’s Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). This was supported by a wide range of activities, such as RAE colloquia, mock RAE exercises, training workshops, data collection, the recruitment of international advisors and professional services, and much more. At the end of the day, our submission included 3,450 research outputs, 74 impact cases and 37 overview statements for 37 units of assessment (of the RGC’s total 41 units). The results will not be known until the second quarter of 2021, but we are already investigating how to further enhance the impact of our work and take our research to the next level.  

Through the HKU Global Professoriate Recruitment Campaign, the University plans to recruit 100 outstanding academics in emerging fields with potential for scientific and scholarly breakthroughs to join HKU.

Ready for Growth: Having achieved our current level of success, we are starting to look forward, to see where there is room for growth and elevation. We want to take HKU to a higher ‘steady state’.  

People will be an important factor in achieving that goal. In 2020, we launched the HKU Global Professoriate Recruitment Campaign to attract high-flyers and up-and-coming scholars from some of the top universities in the world. At the same time, we are grooming young talent through several schemes to support research postgraduate (RPG) students and we plan to further increase RPG numbers. We have allocated additional housing for these students in our current building plans, which will also expand research facilities on Sassoon Road and at the new Tech Landmark. We hope to complete these projects over the next few years.

Apart from these tangible developments, HKU continues to reach out and collaborate with partners in the region and the world. For instance, we joined the International Universities Climate Alliance in 2020 in which 40 world-leading universities on climate research are uniting to communicate research insights about climate change, and we joined with Oxford University to establish the HKU-Oxford Joint Lab for Quantum Information and Computation. HKU is also preparing for the announcement of the HKSAR Government’s InnoHK funding, which will be Hong Kong’s largest research award and involve collaboration with international and Mainland China partners. Our future is bright and, as COVID-19 has shown, we are ready and able to take on the challenges that lie ahead.

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The establishment of the ‘HKU-Oxford Joint Lab for Quantum Information and Computation’ facilitates the exchange of mutual research visits, joint participation in grant applications, and joint supervision of PhD students in the growing area of quantum information and computation.

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HK$

584.6

million

funding from UGC and RGC

HK$

1,011.3

million

funding from other sources

for new research projects in 2019-20.

Photo

HK$

584.6

million

funding from UGC and RGC

HK$

1,011.3

million

funding from other sources

for new research projects in 2019-20.

Photo

HK$

584.6

million

funding from UGC and RGC

HK$

1,011.3

million

funding from other sources

for new research projects in 2019-20.

Photo

13

highly cited researchers

ranked by Clarivate Analytics in 2020 based on producing multiple highly cited research papers. 

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of 7

Theme-based Research Scheme projects

are led by HKU professors and received a total of HK$179 million. HKU is also a participant in a sixth project.

Photo

13

highly cited researchers

ranked by Clarivate Analytics in 2020 based on producing multiple highly cited research papers. 

Photo

of 7

Theme-based Research Scheme projects

are led by HKU professors and received a total of HK$179 million. HKU is also a participant in a sixth project.

Photo

13

highly cited researchers

ranked by Clarivate Analytics in 2020 based on producing multiple highly cited research papers. 

Photo

of 7

Theme-based Research Scheme projects

are led by HKU professors and received a total of HK$179 million. HKU is also a participant in a sixth project.

PATHBREAKERS

HKU’s experience in controlling infectious diseases came to the forefront in 2020, when we produced important research across several disciplines that helped deepen understanding of the nature of the COVID-19 virus and how to control it, and identified avenues for treatment and vaccines.

Identifying the New Threat

Scholars from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine (HKUMed) were at the forefront of this new pandemic, producing some of the earliest research findings on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 and drawing on deep experience in studying infectious diseases that stretches back to SARS in 2003. The World Health Organization (WHO), governments and other researchers around the world have all worked closely with our scholars trying to understand the virus and how to control it. 

One of the first questions they grappled with was how to identify the virus and diagnose it in patients. Working with the Faculty of Engineering, HKUMed scholars produced some of the first electron microscope images of SARS-CoV-2, which were released in January, shortly after the pandemic started to threaten. These images have helped researchers and medical professionals around the world identify the virus. 

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Pseudo-colour scanning electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 grown in culture from a patient isolate. After 24 hours in culture there are large numbers of viral particles (orange) on the surface of the cell (blue).

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Rapid nucleic acid amplification tests developed by HKUMed to detect COVID-19 in patients are being used by public health laboratories in more than 70 countries and territories. 

HKUMed scholars also quickly developed a protocol for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in humans, and the reagents and methods have been shared with over 70 countries. 

Over the subsequent months, they refined testing methods and identified new targets. For example, they showed that deep throat saliva samples, especially if taken early in the morning, are highly effective for diagnosis and that the viral load in infected patients is a potential marker for assessing disease severity and prognosis, with loads much higher in severe cases. They also identified two novel virus protein targets, ORF8 and ORF3b, that can facilitate antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2.

Symptoms were also investigated. For instance, HKUMed scholars detected auto-antibodies that attack the immune system in more than one in every 10 people who developed severe COVID-19, regardless of age and pre-existing medical conditions, which may explain why some patients suffer a more severe disease than others of the same age.

Loss of smell as a symptom was also explored and shown in some cases to be the only symptom. Gastrointestinal effects were shown to be slightly more prevalent in children, especially those under two years old.

The fatality rate was also estimated to be about 1.4%, based on patients with symptoms in Wuhan, which is well above the rate for seasonal flu.

Diagnosing COVID-19 has not been the domain of only medical scholars, though. Engineers, as mentioned, helped produce the electron microscope images, while scholars in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science drew on their years of research into computer imaging to develop a digital online diagnostic system for COVID-19 based on chest CT scans. The system uses AI and integrates radiography and computer vision, and is especially effective for cases with no or minimal symptoms. The scholars are continuing to refine the system and have made it available online free of charge.

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A research team led by Professor Guosheng Yin (right) and Dr Bin Liu (left) have integrated radiography and computer vision to develop a digital online diagnostic system for COVID-19 based on chest CT scans.

Tracking Transmission

Epidemiologists and microbiologists in HKUMed have been mapping and tracking outbreaks to determine the infectiveness of SARS-CoV-2. Before the end of January, they provided the first evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus involving a family that was diagnosed at HKU-Shenzhen Hospital. Later, they were the first to show that a patient previously recovered from the virus had been reinfected.

In terms of when people are infective, one study showed that patients shed the virus two to three days before symptoms appear, and that returnees to Hong Kong from Wuhan and on board a quarantined cruise ship included asymptomatic cases. These findings all flagged challenges to controlling the spread. Another study found patients shed the virus for at least nine to 10 days after the onset of symptoms, which prompted the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and WHO to adapt their policies on patient discharge. Yet another study showed that the eye could be an important route of infection.

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Professor Gabriel Leung (left) and Professor Joseph Wu Tsz-kei (right) warned the general public the domestic and international spread of COVID-19 in late January. 

The real-time dashboard developed by the School of Public Health, which is accessible for all, provides detailed up-to-date information on daily infection and effective reproduction numbers in Hong Kong.

At the population level, HKUMed scholars were quick off the draw to model the transmission dynamics and likely spread of COVID-19 across China and the world. The results, released before the end of January, served as an early warning to the rest of the world of the nature of this threat and recommended that authorities worldwide start making preparations to mitigate its spread. In the following months, the model’s predictions were largely realised.

The School of Public Health helped people in Hong Kong monitor the local spread of the disease by developing the real-time dashboard, which provides detailed up-to-date information on local cases and the probability of an infected person passing the virus to another, among other details. 

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A mechanical engineering study led by Professor Li Yuguo reveals airborne transmission of COVID-19 is opportunistic in nature and poor indoor ventilation plays a role in transmission.

Other research showed Hong Kong had experienced ‘superspreading’ events, in which a few infected patients infect many people, and that there could be in-flight transmission aboard aircraft.

Scholars in other disciplines also contributed knowledge. The Department of Mechanical Engineering showed the virus could be transmitted several metres by air when there is poor ventilation, based on an examination of cases from early in the outbreak. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Business and Economics developed a model that can predict the pandemic’s spread over time and space and assess risk using aggregated mobile phone data. 

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Evidence that Masks and Other Non-drug Measures Can Help

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to a surprising debate about whether face masks were effective in minimising infections. For places like Hong Kong, where people regularly wear masks when ill and where most of the population wore masks during SARS in 2003, the assumption was clear-cut: masks work. But in places where masks were not so common, doubts and questions arose. Research by HKUMed scholars provided strong evidence that Hong Kongers had it right.

One study, published in April, confirmed that face masks helped limit the transmission of pre-COVID-19 respiratory viruses from symptomatic people; it became one of the most reported studies in the world at that time. Another experimental study of surgical mask partition using hamsters demonstrated that masks could effectively reduce COVID-19 transmission.

Social restrictions and lockdowns were also assessed. One study showed that the Hong Kong government’s response during the first wave of COVID-19, which involved contact tracing and population behavioural changes but not a total lockdown, had been effective based on a sharp drop in cases of influenza, which is also easily transmitted. Another study of 54 countries and four epicentres nonetheless showed that curfews, lockdowns and other containment measures were effective in lowering the daily increase in new cases to less than 5% within one month.

Taking people’s temperature has become a common way to detect fever in places that attract a lot of people, such as restaurants, fitness centres, shops and beauty salons. Researchers in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science developed a low-cost, portable thermography fever detection system that can be easily mastered by users. The device can run on mobile devices and can rapidly screen and single out suspected fever cases in a crowd.

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The handy thermography fever detection system for public transportations developed by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science.

Prevention and Treatment

The most anticipated development for COVID-19 is a vaccine that could protect people or minimise the severity of the disease. HKU has been at the forefront in pursuing this goal. Researchers at HKUMed have developed the world’s first nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine, which was given the green light for human clinical trials in September. It is being developed with collaborators in Xiamen University and it is hoped that it will become part of a phalanx of emerging vaccines that can contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Another vaccine candidate has also been put forth by HKUMed scholars, a PD1-based DNA vaccine encoding the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2. This vaccine has been successfully licensed for industry collaboration and received funding support from the Shenzhen and Hong Kong governments for clinical trial.

Researchers have also been working frantically to develop treatments for COVID-19. The Departments of Chemistry and Microbiology announced in October 2020 that they had discovered a new antiviral strategy for treating COVID-19 that is based on existing metallodrugs currently used to treat other infections. Their approach was found to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication and relieve associated symptoms in an animal model. Moreover, it is readily available for use. The researchers have applied for a US patent.

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HKU scientists and microbiologists jointly discover a novel antiviral strategy for treatment of COVID-19 using existing metallodrugs.

This work followed earlier efforts that zeroed in on antiviral activity. For example, medical researchers showed that an antiviral therapy combining interferon beta-1b, lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin could effectively suppress the SARS-CoV-2 viral load and cytokine, which resulted in earlier clinical improvement and discharge of COVID-19 patients. 

They also identified a potential target for antibody-based drugs in neutralising monoclonal antibodies. Broad-spectrum treatments, which would attack not only COVID-19 but other viruses, have also been explored and showed promising results.

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Big Ideas Conference

To stimulate multidisciplinary discussions and approaches, HKU organised the Virtual Forum on HKU’s Big Ideas on Combatting the COVID-19 Pandemic in May that brought together scholars from the Medicine, Science, Engineering, Business and Economics, and Education Faculties. Participants brainstormed on how to combine forces to move beyond the ‘fire-fighting’ approach to the pandemic and consider deeper, longer-term issues, such as how to develop effective drug therapies and vaccines, improve social and economic health, and address the impacts on vulnerable groups and future generations.

ACCLAIM

HKU researchers have made important contributions to knowledge across a wide range of fields. Their excellence continued to be recognised in 2019–20 at the international, national and local levels.

World-leading Researchers

HKU has some of the world’s leading experts as measured by the frequency their research is cited by other scholars. The 13 academics shown here were identified by Clarivate Analytics as ‘highly cited researchers’, meaning they have produced multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% in their field based on number of citations.

COMPUTER SCIENCE-Dr Huang Kaibin, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
CROSS-FIELD-Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, Department of Microbiology
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY-Professor Zhang Tong, Department of Civil Engineering
MICROBIOLOGY-Professor Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris, School of Public Health
CROSS-FIELD-Professor Guan Yi, School of Public Health
ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS-Professor Kevin Zhou Zheng, Faculty of Business and Economics
GEOSCIENCES-Professor Sun Min, Department of Earth Sciences
MICROBIOLOGY-Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, School of Public Health
PHYSICS-Professor Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor
CROSS-FIELD-Professor Dennis Leung Yiu-cheong, Department of Mechanical Engineering
ENGINEERING-Professor James Lam, Department of Mechanical Engineering
GEOSCIENCES-Professor Zhao Guochun, Department of Earth Sciences
PHYSICS-Professor Yao Wang, Department of Physics
COMPUTER SCIENCE-Dr Huang Kaibin, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
CROSS-FIELD-Professor Guan Yi, School of Public Health
CROSS-FIELD-Professor Dennis Leung Yiu-cheong, Department of Mechanical Engineering
CROSS-FIELD-Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, Department of Microbiology
ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS-Professor Kevin Zhou Zheng, Faculty of Business and Economics
ENGINEERING-Professor James Lam, Department of Mechanical Engineering
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY-Professor Zhang Tong, Department of Civil Engineering
GEOSCIENCES-Professor Sun Min, Department of Earth Sciences
GEOSCIENCES-Professor Zhao Guochun, Department of Earth Sciences
MICROBIOLOGY-Professor Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris, School of Public Health
MICROBIOLOGY-Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, School of Public Health
PHYSICS-Professor Yao Wang, Department of Physics
PHYSICS-Professor Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor

Young Achievers

Seven young HKU researchers had projects awarded under China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund, a competitive, national-level award under the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Each researcher will receive RMB1.2 million for their projects over a maximum period of three years. The recipients are:

  • Dr Timothy Bonebrake, Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, who is studying global climate change and tropical conservation through the perspective of butterfly models
  • Dr Esther Chan Wai-yin, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, who is optimising antipsychotic drug management in patients with mental disorders
  • Dr Lydia Cheung Wai-ting, Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences, who is developing precision medicine strategies for ovarian cancer
  • Dr Carmen Wong Chak-lui, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, who is studying liver cancer metabolism and the tumour microenvironment
  • Dr Alan Wong Siu-lun, Assistant Professor in both the School of Biomedical Sciences and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who is investigating the application of synthetic biology and combinatorial genetics technologies to cancers and neurodegenerative disease
  • Dr Wang Yufeng, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, who is developing synthesis and assembly strategies to construct colloidal materials, such as a metal-organic framework, with well-defined hierarchical structures and improved properties
  • Dr Zhang Hongsheng, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, who is developing remote sensing technologies to monitor direct changes to the land surface made by humans in the process of urbanisation, in both tropical and subtropical areas
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Global and National Honours

Scholars with a strong track record of excellence were recognised by their disciplinary peers in 2019–20. Internationally, HKU Chair Professor of Chemistry Professor Vivian WW Yam, Philip Wong Wilson Wong Professor in Chemistry and Energy, became the Chief Editor for Chemistry for the new flagship journal Natural Sciences, and was also awarded the prestigious bi-annual Porter Medal, which recognises scientists who have contributed the most to the subject of photochemistry.

Professor Yao Wang, Chair Professor of Physics, was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society 2020, while Professor Zheng Xiao Guo, Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering, was elected a Foreign Member of Academia Europaea.

Three young high-flyers were named Innovators Under 35 for the Asia Pacific Region by the MIT Technology Review. They are: Dr Hao Guo in Civil Engineering, Dr Ziyan Guo in Mechanical Engineering and Dr Ping Luo in Computer Science.

At the national level, Professor Alfonso Ngan, Kingboard Professor in Materials Engineering, and Chair Professor in Materials Science and Engineering, received the prestigious Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize from the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Professor Quentin ZQ Yue was awarded the First Class of Natural Science Award by the China Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering.   

Locally, three HKU scholars received Croucher awards in December 2019: Dr Wang Yufeng in Chemistry received the Croucher Innovation Award, and Professor Anderson Shum in Mechanical Engineering joined Professor Yao Wang of Physics in receiving a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship.

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Professor Vivian WW Yam has taken up the role as the Chief Editor for Chemistry for a new premier international journal Natural Sciences.

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