position last year to 29th this year, a historic high. Marked improvement has also been observed in the research scores of citations per paper and H-index in the overall subject of Life Sciences and Medicine and in the individual subjects of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacology and Pharmacy. Moreover, the pieces are falling into place for taking the Faculty to the next level. Last year, proposed new facilities in the greenbelt next to 3 Sassoon Road were approved, while dedicated cancer research and cancer care centres are under construction at Grantham Hospital. ‘Space has long been a critical factor for us because our scientists need more lab space. These projects offer a light at the end of the tunnel,’ Professor Leung said. Research funding is also on the upswing with more government funding for health and medical research. Under InnoHK alone, HKUMed initiatives have received more than HK$2 billion. Opportunities have also opened up to access grants on the Mainland and do research there, particularly through the HKU-Shenzhen Hospital and in the Greater Bay Area. ‘There’s a change in the paradigm towards expediting the translation of discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic, to improve medical care and make it more accessible to all. We will focus more on translational research and how to commercialise it and license it, and we are recruiting related expertise to help us focus on tech transfer,’ Professor Leung said. The Faculty has also stepped up its support of research through investment in core facilities that are available to all researchers through the Centre for PanorOmic Sciences (CPOS), such as sequencing and imaging equipment, wet labs and computer servers for dry lab work. Recent and upcoming additions include the HKU-HA Data Collaboration Lab, a Stem Cell GMP Lab and a cryogenic electron microscope. People, though, remain the most important asset, Professor Leung said. The ‘140 for 140’ campaign aims to hire 140 new scholars by HKUMed’s 140th anniversary in 2027. The Faculty is also nurturing young talent – its future stars – through such things as funding support, mentoring programmes, and research fellowships for clinical academics and early-career doctors. The aim is to help them develop their research for wider impact in the community. ↑Professor Leung Wai-keung, Associate Dean (Research) remarked that the Faculty will focus more on translational research, as well as the commercialisation and licensing of new discoveries. 7 HKUMed News Summer 2023
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