01/03/2011
From left: Prof. Wei Juncheng, Prof. Yu Jun, Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung, Prof. Chen Zhenyu and Prof. Huang Yu
CUHK Receives Three National Scientific Research Awards
Three remarkable scientific research projects at CUHK received the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) in the category of natural sciences from the Ministry of Education (MOE). Two of them received the first-class awards and the other, a second-class award. Ms. Zhou Jing, deputy directorgeneral of the Centre for Science and Technology Development of MOE, was invited to host the award presentation ceremony held in the Lecture Theatre of Shaw College on 1 March.
The first-class award projects were: ‘Integrative Research on Molecular Basis and Potential Targets for Gastric Cancer’ conducted by Prof. Yu Jun, associate professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, and Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung, Vice-Chancellor and Mok Hing Yiu Professor of Medicine; and ‘Concentration Phenomena in Nonlinear Elliptic Equations and Systems’ conducted by Prof. Wei Juncheng, Professor of Mathematics.
Led by Professor Yu and Professor Sung, the research team demonstrated the close relation between H. pylori and gastric cancer and the eradication of H. pylori can help prevent gastric cancer. The team also identified novel proto-oncogenes that lead to gastric carcinogenesis, and revealed the functions of several novel tumour suppressors and their diagnostic values in gastric cancer.
Findings of this research have led to new insights in the prevention of gastric cancer. Professor Wei’s exhaustive research in the concentration phenomenon has brought a complete solution to a long standing and unsolved problem in pure and applied science. Having won recognition from the leading mathematics journal Annals of Mathematics for his revolutionary research findings, he became the only mathematician from Hong Kong to have published in this journal. Professor Wei’s research has made great contributions to mathematical biology and materials science by explaining how diverse patterns in nature are formed and helping to design medical implantation of specific surface properties.
The project receiving a second-class award was ‘Cholesterol-lowering and Cardiovascular Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals’ conducted by Prof. Chen Zhenyu of the School of Life Sciences and Prof. Huang Yu of the School of Biomedical Sciences.
The Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards are granted to research selected by experts from the same fields as the candidates. In 2010, a total of 304 research projects were awarded, of which 48 and 83 projects received first-class and second-class awards respectively in the category of natural sciences.
[Original source: Press Release on 1 March 2011, CUHK Communication and Public Relations Office Website http://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/press_detail.php?id=982]