Prof. YUNG Shu-hang (iTERM Clinical Director and Director of the Center for CNRM) and one of our iTERM members Prof. Woody CHAN (the co-director of CNRM) were interviewed and featured in CU Bulletin (issue No. 1, 2023), some of the paragraphs and photos are extracted here to share with you the exciting news about the latest development of the centre! 

Prof. CHAN Wood-yee, Woody (Left) and Prof. YUNG Shu-hang, Patrick (right)

“Opened last March at the Hong Kong Science Park, the Centre for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine (CNRM) aims to make the injured whole again. The team finally got the good news at the end of January 2022 that the establishment of CNRM had been approved, after two years of rigorous interviews and proposal reviews.

Joining forces with Karolinska

Professor Patrick Yung, CNRM’s director and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, teamed up with Professor Woody Chan, who works at the School of Biomedical Sciences and is now the Centre’s co-director. They identified 12 medicine, biomedical sciences and engineering researchers at the University.

 

Together with 12 researchers from its overseas partner, Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the team works on 23 research projects encompassing stem cells1 and cell-based therapies, tissue engineering2 and modelling, cellular and molecular biology, clinical translation, and enabling technologies.

 

“In terms of musculoskeletal research, CUHK is really top-notch in the world. For research into neural systems, Karolinska is particularly strong. Working with them can strengthen our capability in that regard,” says Professor Yung. In February 2022, a month after the Centre was approved, the CUHK and Karolinska researchers met online, with Vice-Chancellors from the two universities officiating. “The presence of two Vice-Chancellors in the same online meeting speaks volumes of the importance both institutions attach to CNRM,” says Professor Chan.

An entrepreneurial turn

Turning from the ivory tower to entrepreneurship, the two professors leading CNRM realise there is much to learn. “From the early days of incubation to now, I have learnt a lot. Research translation is not as simple as it sounds. We have spent a lot of time negotiating patents, collaboration agreements and intellectual property.

“Patents are important. We didn’t realise that in the past, and many research outcomes remained unpatented. Indeed, everything, however infinitesimal, should be patented. Only then can the intellectual property of the University and, indeed, Hong Kong be protected,” says Professor Yung. 

 

For more details, please visit https://www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/images/publication/bulletin/202301/html5/english/10/ to access the full article. 

 

iTERM hereby declares that it does not own the rights to the captured article above. All rights belong to Chinese University Bulletin. No Copyright Infringement Intended.