The 1st HKU-CUHK Joint Postdoctoral Biomedical Sciences Symposium 2024 was successfully held on 22 March 2024 at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong. This symposium was co-organized by the School of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Hong Kong (HKU-SBMS) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK-SBS), with Prof. Martin C.H. Cheung and Dr. Jayne Barbour from HKU-SBMS, along with Prof. Stephen K.W. Tsui and Dr. Carol Lee from CUHK-SBS serving as key members of the organizing committee.

The event provided a valuable platform to bring together postdoctoral fellows from both schools to showcase their research achievements, engage with peers, foster collaborations and enhance their skills in communication, leadership and networking. It has attracted over 100 participants, including professors, postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students from HKU-SBMS and CUHK-SBS. The keynote speech was presented by Prof. Zhenguo Wu from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) highlighting valuable scientific discoveries on muscle stem cell biology.

This year, a total of 25 abstract submissions were received, including 16 oral presentations and 9 posters on topics ranging from cancer and biological data science, neurophysiology and disease, immunology, inflammation and cell biology, to development, regeneration and tissue. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the prize winners for their outstanding presentations and research work. The awardees are as follows:

We hope that the counsellors will share their experiences from this programme with their students, inspiring more aspiring minds to join CUHK in the future.

Looking ahead, we are excited about the prospect of hosting this joint-university symposium by HKU and CUHK on an alternating basis annually, further promoting knowledge exchange and collaboration between postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical field from both schools.

Group photo taken at the symposium

Prof. Danny Chan, Director of HKU-SBMS (top left), Prof. Andrew M.L. Chan, Director of CUHK-SBS (top right), and Prof. Zhenguo Wu, Professor at HKUST serving as keynote speaker (bottom)

Prof. Stephen K.W. Tsui, Associate Director (Research) of CUHK-SBS (left), and postdoctoral representatives of the organizing committee, Dr. Jayne Barbour from HKU-SBMS (middle) and Dr. Carol Lee from CUHK-SBS (right)