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Professor Yao Wang from the Faculty of Science and Professor Mingxin Huang from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), have both been awarded the 2021 Xplorer Prize. Supported by Tencent, the award is presented to young scientists under the age of 45 who demonstrate exceptional quality and innovation in their field of research.

A multi-institutional research team led by scientists at the AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, LKS Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has identified BilA-SG, a tandem bi-specific broadly neutralising antibody, as a promising universal drug for human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) prevention and functional cure. A single pre-exposure intramuscular injection of BilA-SG was found to be 100% effective in preventing a pathogenic virus and a similar post-exposure treatment sustained 100% survival and complete virus suppression in most of the non-human primate models for two years. The new findings are now published in the August issue of Cell Reports, one of the world’s leading scientific journals.

Professor Yuguo Li, Chair Professor of Building Environment at the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been honored the Louise and Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award 2021 by The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), in recognition of his contributions and pre-eminence in engineering and research work.

Young researchers at the University of Hong Kong have achieved outstanding results in the Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) for 2021.

Researchers at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) have uncovered the important roles of tumour-associated macrophages and identified an important TIGIT-NECTIN2 immune checkpoint axis (interacting partners) in liver cancer, which helps to create an immunosuppressive microenvironment in promoting the growth of liver cancer, meanwhile indicating the possibility to restore the immune attack on tumour cells by inactivating the immune checkpoint. The novel and translational findings provide useful pre-clinical foundation and mechanistic insight for developing onco-immunotherapeutics in precision liver cancer treatment. The findings are now published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal.

The collaborative research team formed by the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy and Department of Microbiology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed an inhalable dry powder formulation of tamibarotene, a repurposed drug that exhibits broad-spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and influenza A H1N1 virus following pulmonary delivery. The work has been published online in Advanced Therapeutics in June 2021. A provisional application has been filed to the United States Patent and Trademark Office based on this work.

Six members from the Faculty of Dentistry, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) were recipients of awards or fellowships at the 99th General Session & Exhibition of International Association for Dental Research (IADR). Due to COVID19, the award presentation ceremony was held virtually on July 21, 2021.

Advanced devices developed by a mechanical engineering team at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has proven to be useful for detecting potential stroke patients and helping machines mimic human brain functions.

Dr. Janet Borland, Assistant Professor in the Department of Japanese Studies, has won the 2020 Grace Abbott Book Prize for Earthquake Children: Building Resilience from the Ruins of Tokyo (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2020).

Nowadays, citizens often stick to the flat screens of mobile phones. To reconnect people in the city with nature through their mobile devices, the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society jointly developed the iOS app "HKBirds: Birds of Hong Kong". The app facilitates observation, identification, recording and sharing of bird records at anytime and anywhere. It encourages users to observe and reconnect with nature, raises public awareness on biodiversity and enhances appreciation of nature. The app is available for free download worldwide and acts as a field guide for the birds of Hong Kong.