Research Projects
Single-Cell Transcriptomics in Liver Cancer


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

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy worldwide. Unfortunately, 55% of all new liver cancer cases each year worldwide occur in China including Hong Kong, due to a high prevalence of hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection. HCC is known to have high degree of heterogeneity, both intra-tumourally and inter-tumourally. Like other cancers, HCC tumour comprises a complex network of tumour cells (including cancer stem cells), tumour-infiltrating immune cells and stromal cells. Crosstalks among such tumour-residing cells can modulate one another and shape an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (TME) to support HCC development and evasion from immune surveillance. Traditional strategies e.g. bulk-cell or cell-sorting approaches have inherent limitations. The emergence of single-cell genomics represents an unprecedented, powerful strategy in delineating the molecular landscapes of tumour cells and their TME at high resolution.

Professor DWH Ho, Department of Pathology

My research focuses are bioinformatics analysis on high-throughput omics data and computational analysis tools development. I have particular interests on genomics studies of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through the application of next generation sequencing, large-scale screening, liquid biopsy and single-cell genomics. I am also involved in multidisciplinary and integrative studies to investigate and understand the molecular mechanism of hepatocarcinogenesis and metastasis of HCC.

Biography
HKU Scholars Hub
dwhho@pathology.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 Pathology