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While the clinical connection between chronic pain and increases in levels of anxiety, depression, cognitive dysfunction has long been established, the underlying mechanisms of brain neural networks remain less understood. Professor Li Ying, Chair Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Department of Biomedical Sciences, has achieved breakthroughs by unveiling the secrets of brain molecules and tissue – astrocytes and myelin – in the central nervous system. By identifying the roles of astrocyte lactate signalling and myelin plasticity in circuitry synchrony, he has shed light on how fundamental cognitive functions, including learning, memory and decision-making, could be rescued and enhanced, especially for patients suffering from chronic pain.

How memories are formed has long been a fundamental question for neuroscientists. Studies by Professor He Jufang, Wong Chun Hong Chair Professor of Translational Neuroscience in the Department of Neuroscience and Department of Biomedical Sciences, have shed light on the crucial role of a key neuromodulator, called cholecystokinin (CCK), in memory forming in the neocortex. As a result of the discovery of CCK’s functions, Professor He is developing a treatment strategy to alleviate epilepsy, tinnitus, Alzheimer’s disease, and other brain disorders.

An international research team co-led by Dr Yan Jian, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has developed a high-throughput biological assay technique that provides valuable data for finding type-2 diabetes key biomarkers for diagnostics and treatment.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer with a high fatality rate. Currently, chemotherapy is the major treatment option, but the clinical result is unsatisfactory. A research team led by biologists at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has identified and characterised a set of specific super-enhancers that stimulate the activity of the related critical cancer genes. The research has also discovered that the deletion of certain specific super-enhancers could reduce tumour cell growth. The latest findings may help discover new effective drug targets for TNBC patients to improve their survival chance.

Goats can adapt to changing environmental conditions more quickly than sheep probably because of different feeding ecologies, according to a new study involving Dr Alan McElligott, an expert in animal behaviour and welfare at City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

Researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) received 12 awards, including a Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury, five Gold Medals, three Silver Medals and three Bronze Medals at the Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days (IGED) 2021, a virtual edition of the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva.

New medicines can save and improve lives, but drug discovery is an extremely long and expensive process. One of the top scientists at CityU is developing an integrated system based on his internationally recognised, award-winning biochip technology, with the aim of providing a novel drug-screening tool with greatly reduced drug development time and cost.

Many genetic variants have been found to have a linkage with genetic diseases, but the understanding of their functional roles in causing diseases are still limited. An international research team, including a biomedical scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has developed a high-throughput biological assay technique which enabled them to conduct a systematic analysis on the impact of nearly 100,000 genetic variants on the binding of transcription factors to DNA. Their findings provided valuable data for finding key biomarkers of type 2 diabetes for diagnostics and treatments. And they believe that the new technique can be applied to studies of variants associated with other genetic diseases.