Research Projects
Genetic Surveillance for Guiding Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Urothelial Carcinoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial


Programme(s) to which this project applies:
☑MPhil/PhD ☒ MRes[Med] ☑ URIS

Objective:
This project aims to evaluate circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-based sequencing approach for detecting molecular residual disease (MRD) in post-operational urothelial carcinomas (UC), and to generate the preliminary data of the MRD profiling for predicting the outcome of adjuvant chemotherapy. 

Significance:
Genetic profile of ctDNA for detecting MRD can provide real-time recurrence monitoring with a significant lead time prior to radiological relapse.

Research Plan and Methodology:
The student(s) will be provided training in RCT design, patient recruitment, data collection and follow-up, as well as the analysis of survival data that would be relevant to clinical research. 

Professor Y Na, Department of Surgery

Professor Yung Na obtained the MD/Ph.D. degree in 2013. He also obtained the MPH from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in 2021. He has special interests in urological oncology, especially in prostate cancer. His research focuses on genetic epidemiology research, Genetic functional study, and clinical translational research for prostate cancer and other urological diseases. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications in different impacted journals in the field, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, European Urology, etc. He served as an editor and reviewer in different medical journals. He was awarded 3 National Natural Science Foundation projects and was one of the key members of a National Key R&D Program funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). He was the youth committee member of the Chinese Urological Association from 2018-2021 and is currently a sub-committee member of the Chinese Urological Association (2021-present).

Biography
HKU Scholars Hub
ORCID
yungna@hku.hk

For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description.  Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:

  1. your CV,
  2. a brief description of your research interest and experience, and
  3. two reference letters (not required for HKUMed UG students seeking MRes[Med]/URIS projects).

Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.

HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.  

HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information. 

Research @ Department of Surgery