Our LIFS faculties won two of the seven awards presented by the Croucher Foundation this year. They are Dr. NGUYEN Tuan Anh, Assistant Professor of the Division of Life Science, who received the Croucher Innovation Awards 2018, and Prof. WEN Zilong, Professor of Division of Life Science, who received the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship 2019. The presentation ceremony was officiated by Mr. Matthew CHEUNG Kin-chung, GBM, GBS, JP, Chief Secretary of the HKSAR Government on December 7, 2018.
Dr. NGUYEN Tuan Anh (HKUST)
Assistant Professor, Division of Life Science,
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Dr. Nguyen, is dedicated to the understanding of how modulated and structured elements of pri-miRNAs are recognized and interact with multiple RNA-interacting proteins, enzymes and small chemical molecules. His research offers a fundamental understanding of miRNA-caused human diseases and leads for the design of artificial pri-miRNAs in gene knockdown technology.
Born and raised in Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen joined HKUST in 2017. He completed his Bachelor degree at Vietnam National University and later moved to Korea. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Seoul National University. Dr. Nguyen will use the grant to explore the biogenesis process of microRNAs and roles of RNA helicases in this process, in order to figure out the fundamental causes of human diseases – including cancer and different virus infections associated with microRNA biogenesis and RNA helicases.
Croucher Innovation Awards
Established in 2012, the Croucher Innovation Awards aim to identify a small number of exceptionally talented scientists working at an internationally competitive level and to offer substantial support to these “rising stars” at a formative stage in their careers. The scheme is designed to enable recipients to pursue their own scientific, intellectual and professional inclinations, to advance their expertise, to engage in bold new work, and to contribute to the development of education and research in Hong Kong. Each award carries a value of up to HK$5 million over five years.
Prof. WEN Zilong (HKUST)
Professor, Division of Life Science,
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Prof. Wen is a renowned geneticist and developmental biologist in hematopoiesis. He has made substantial contributions to understanding the development of blood cell lineages. His team pioneered in using simple animal models – such as zebrafish, to answer challenging questions in hematopoiesis. For 20 years, his team has resolved many mysteries regarding the origin, developmental regulation and tissue-specific function of hematopoietic stem cells, lymphocytes and microglia (a type of macrophages in the central nervous system).
His findings shed light on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying different diseases such as leukemia and neurodegenerative disorders, offering important insights to the development of relevant drugs and treatments. Going forward, Prof. Wen will use the Croucher grant to explore the molecular mechanism that controls the development of hematopoietic stem cells and microglia, and to elucidate the function of endothelium-hematopoietic precursor-derived T cells.
Prof. Wen obtained his Bachelor of Medicine from the First Military Medical University (Southern Medical University) in Mainland China and PhD degree in Molecular Biology from The Rockefeller University. He joined HKUST in 2007.
Croucher Senior Research Fellowships
The Croucher Senior Research Fellowships scheme was first introduced in 1997. It is awarded to local academics who have excelled in scientific research work as judged by leading international scientists invited to provide confidential reviews of candidates nominated in a competitive exercise. Funds are awarded to the universities of the fellowship recipients, enabling the university to recruit replacement teachers to take over the award winner’s duties for the period of the fellowship. This enables the awardees to devote more time and effort to research work.
The value of each award includes a HK$2 million research grant and the cost of a replacement teacher/clinical medical staff for a twelve-month period, currently stands at a maximum of HK$994,860 for the Senior Research Fellowships.
