Research Report 2005-06

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The twenty-first century will bring forth a phenomenal transformation of the socio-economic structure of the mankind. We will witness the full bloom of the knowledge-based society in which science and technology will be recognized as the engine of economic growth. Research and development will gain increased prominence among all human endeavors. Through research and development, knowledge will be generated, disseminated and utilized to benefit society at a very fast pace previously unimagined.

A research university is distinguished by the quality and accomplishment by its faculty, staff and students. It is also characterized by the leadership it demonstrates in bringing forth the fruits of research to impact the society. HKUST, since its inception in 1991, has strived to excel and to attain world-class standing in its chosen fields of pursuit.

While the University has encouraged its members to pursue any field of intellectual curiosity and challenge, it has also focused on several specific fields to establish areas of core impact and excellence. These include: advanced materials and manufacturing, biotechnology, e-commerce, environment, executive education, infrastructure, IC electronic packaging design, internet and information technology, logistics, microelectronics and microsystems, molecular neuroscience, nano technology, social survey studies, South China research, traditional Chinese medicine, transportation, and wireless communication.

This publication highlights the research activities of HKUST faculty members. It is the University's objective to engage in the forefront of global research as well as in areas of significant relevance to Hong Kong. We hope this publication will serve as a useful reference to benchmark our progress toward this goal.

Professor Roland T Chin

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The twenty-first century will bring forth a phenomenal transformation of the socio-economic structure of the mankind. We will witness the full bloom of the knowledge-based society in which science and technology will be recognized as the engine of economic growth. Research and development will gain increased prominence among all human endeavors. Through research and development, knowledge will be

generated, disseminated and utilized to benefit society at a very fast pace previously unimagined.

A research university is distinguished by the quality and accomplishment by its faculty, staff and students. It is also characterized by the leadership it demonstrates in bringing forth the fruits of research to impact the society. HKUST, since its inception in 1991, has strived to excel and to attain world-class standing in its chosen fields of pursuit.

While the University has encouraged its members to pursue any field of intellectual curiosity and challenge, it has also focused on several specific fields to establish areas of core impact and excellence. These include: advanced materials and manufacturing, biotechnology, e-commerce, environment, executive education, infrastructure, IC electronic packaging design, internet and information technology, logistics, microelectronics and microsystems, molecular neuroscience, nano technology, social survey studies, South China research, traditional Chinese medicine, transportation, and wireless communication.

This publication highlights the research activities of HKUST faculty members. It is the University's objective to engage in the forefront of global research as well as in areas of significant relevance to Hong Kong. We hope this publication will serve as a useful reference to benchmark our progress toward this goal.

Professor Roland T Chin

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Report One - Overview

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THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

REPORT ON RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, 2005-06

to

RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL

RGC REPORT ONE - OVERVIEW

1. YEAR IN REVIEW

HKUST is now in its fifteenth year. A significant anniversary provides a university with the opportunity to reflect on its achievements and to look ahead. The HKUST community engaged in an extensive strategic thinking and planning process during 2005, and this resulted in the HKUST Strategic Plan 2005-2020 “Building on Excellence”.

In this Plan, the University re-expressed its objectives to be recognized as a leading university with significant international impact and strong local commitment. The University has elaborated its objectives from different perspectives:

Globally to be a world-class university at the cutting edge internationally in all targeted fields of pursuit

Nationally to contribute to the economic and social development of the nation as a leading university in China

Locally to play a key role, in partnership with government, business and industry, in the development of Hong Kong as a knowledge-based society

With specific regard to research, HKUST will build on its competencies to move into a position of global leadership and exert maximum influence in the following five high-impact fields:

• Biological sciences and biotechnology

• Electronics, wireless and information technology • Management education and research

• Nanoscience and nanotechnology

• Sustainable development: energy and environment

These disciplines were carefully selected for their scientific significance and relevance to the social and economic development of Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta region and beyond.

Scholarship, research and its development and application are therefore central to the mission and strategy of HKUST. The selection of highlights presented below covers the

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spectrum from the most basic research to commercialization and business development. They demonstrate that HKUST is building on its achievements as a world-class research university with regional benefits and impact.

Basic/ Fundamental Research & Scholarship

HKUST researchers continue to make substantial contributions at the forefront of their disciplines, resulting in a host of publications in leading disciplinary journals.

• Prof. Jun Xia's research team found that a synaptic protein, PICK1 directly binds to lipids, mainly phosphoinositides, via a newly identified BAR domain. They further demonstrated that lipid binding regulates PICK1's synaptic targeting, AMPA receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity. This is the first time that a dynamic protein-lipid interaction was found to be important for targeting of synaptic protein.

• Prof. Shengcai Lin's group has found that Axin serves as a major scaffolding protein in the TGF-beta signaling pathway, in that Axin interacts with Arkadia and inhibitory Smad-7 to facilitate the degradation of the inhibitory Smad. Coupled with their previous finding that Axin also stimulates the transcriptional activity of tumor suppressor p53, this novel finding establishes that Axin exerts its anti-proliferative activity (tumor suppression) by multiple means.

• Profs Donald Chang and Kathy Luo have received US and Chinese patents for a molecular biosensor based on the principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) for detecting caspase-3 activation in apoptotic cells. Using this biosensor, one can rapidly screen chemical compounds that can trigger programmed cell death (also called “apoptosis”) in cancer cells.

• The activation of cell cycle regulators at the G_1 /S boundary has been linked to cellular protein synthesis rate. Using highly synchronized cells and fatty acid synthesis inhibitors, Prof. Joseph Wong demonstrated a commitment point monitoring the synthesis of fatty acids at the late G_1 phase of the dinoflagellate cell cycle. Reduction of medium glucose concentrations down-regulated the G_1 cell size with a concomitant forward shift of the commitment point.

• Prof. Pingbo Huang’s lab has discovered that the CFTR (Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator) chloride channel in airway epithelial cells is regulated by a novel signaling molecule called soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC). They also have some novel findings in the role of cytoskeleton proteins, lipid raft, and adenosine receptors in the regulation of CFTR.

• Prof. Beifang Chen studied chromatic, integral and modular tension polynomials, integral and modular flow polynomials of graphs, applying Ehrhart theory of lattice polytopes and his own theory of group arrangements. He discovered the combinatorial interpretations for the values of modular tension polynomials at negative integers and zero. He also found (with Prof. Richard Stanley of MIT) the combinatorial meaning of the integral and modular flow polynomials at negative integers and zero.

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• Prof. Qi-Man Shao and his collaborators established necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of the maximum partial likelihood estimate for completely observed data settings as well as for existence of the maximum likelihood estimate for survival data with missing covariates via the profile likelihood method.

• Prof. Xu Kun developed a unified gas-kinetic BGK method for the high speed continuum and rarefied flow computation in recent years. For the first time, highly non-equilibrium shock structures for both monatomic and diatomic gases have been successfully calculated using a PDE formulation, rather than the particle method. The impact of the scheme on the design/analysis of atmospheric-entry vehicles including optimization and aerothermoelasticity is profound.

• Through interbank excitations, the two converse effects of (electronic) spin photocurrent and current-induced (electronic) spin polarization were observed in InGaAs two-dimensional electron gas system for the first time by Prof. Weikun Ge and his collaborators.

• Through theoretical analysis and extensive simulations, Prof. Vincent Lau has established an analytical framework for the design and analysis of cross layer system design with imperfect channel knowledge and heterogeneous delay constraints. His research contributions has resulted in a book “Channel Adaptive Technologies and Cross Layer Design for Multi-antenna Wireless Systems – Theory and Applications” (John Wiley and Sons).

• Prof. Andrew Poon's group demonstrated a silicon electro-optic modulator in the telecommunication wavelengths, using an optical microdisk resonator with embedded diodes. The modulator can be as fast as 0.5 GHz, with high optical on/off ratio, micrometer-scale in size, and compatible with conventional silicon microelectronics. Such silicon photonics technology will be relevant to next-generation dense wavelength-division-multiplexed optical networks.

• In conjunction with the Li Fang-Kuei Society for Chinese Linguistics (紀念李方桂先生 中國語言學研究學會) based at the University of Washington in Seattle, the Center for Chinese Linguistics launched a new peer-reviewed international journal - Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics - in May 2006. The journal aims to advance theoretical understanding of languages spoken in China and neighboring regions, with particular emphasis on historical comparative study and dialectal research on Chinese languages; a field in which the Center has a critical mass of expertise. It will be the first worldwide academic journal dedicated primarily to Chinese historical linguistics.

Applied Research

Examples of successful applied research are evident across most disciplines of the University:

• The Tuen Mun highway accident in 2003 prompted the Government to evaluate the standards of bridge parapets and roadside barriers in Hong Kong. Profs Moe Cheung, Hong Lo and J. Kuang completed a comprehensive research project in this area. They reviewed overseas practices of six representative countries and compared these practices

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with current practice in Hong Kong. Based on their findings, a new performance-based guideline for the selection of each containment level for parapet/barriers at different bridge/road locations has been developed by taking into account both risk and cost effectiveness of the parapet/barrier installations.

• The world’s first motion simulator to reproduce wind-induced motion of skyscrapers, located in the CLP Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility (WWTF), enabled researchers, led by Prof. Kenny Kwok, Director of the WWTF, to collect data on test subjects’ comfort levels and cognitive performance under various conditions of motion.

• Profs Lionel Ni and Yunhao Liu’s WSN (Wireless Sensor Networks) research involves middleware design, in-network query processing, emulation systems, plan recognition and prediction, routing protocols and a number of applications. One on-going project includes the construction of a WSN system for underground monitoring in coal mines, for monitoring of oxygen, gas and water, as well as tunnel structures

• A Digital Ink Painting Software Package (MOXI) developed by Nelson Chu, a Computer Science research assistant, under the supervision of Prof. Chiew-Lan Tai, makes use of a pressure sensitive pen and tablet device to simulate Chinese calligraphy and ink painting on the computer screen. MOXI can simulate the delicate real-time brush deformations and ink dispersion needed for oriental ink painting.

• Profs Chung-Yee Lee and Andrew Lim investigated the time spent on queuing and documentation checking and utilized real-time data to provide a border crossing time analysis and cost-benefit figures for a Green Lane Concept. This concept involves a non-stop boundary crossing, implemented with the aid of data mining, GPS, e-seal, EPC network and RFID technologies.

• Prof. Johnny Sin has invented a new power transistor structure that has a record low input capacitance. The transistor will be most suitable for high efficiency power management applications.

• The Center for Wireless Information Technology (CenWIT) has been involved in developing cutting-edge wireless technologies with local and Mainland companies to develop advanced MIMO and reconfigurable broadband OFDM systems, enabling technologies for Beyond 3G wireless systems, and advanced algorithms for the next-generation WRAN systems.

• T.Y. Man, Prof. P. Mok and Prof. M. Chan developed a CMOS-Control Rectifier that achieves milli-volt range forward-voltage drop and nanoseconds response time. The invention was presented in the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) – also known as the “Chip Olympics” – in San Francisco in Feb 2006.

• Research teams led respectively by Prof. Chung-Yee Lee and Prof. Raymond Cheung have worked on two projects with the Hongkong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) to devise dynamic routing policies for container storage systems, and for coping with the pressure of air cargo. The teams successfully developed optimization and simulation models for increasing Hactl's throughput as well as improving their service efficiency.

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• Profs Gilles Hillary and Clive Lennox conducted a study to test whether the opinions issued by peer reviewers about accounting firms provide credible information to clients about audit firm quality. Critics had claimed that self-regulated peer reviews of accounting firms lacked credibility and, following the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, peer reviews were replaced by independent inspections conducted by the Public Company Accounting and Oversight Board. Their study, however, finds evidence suggesting that peer review opinions did provide credible information about quality differences among audit firms. • In a collaborative study, Prof. Xiaohong Liu examined how partners in an audit firm use

profit sharing rules to induce optimal partner behavior from the firm's viewpoint. She finds that audit firms strategically choose different sharing rules to specialize in different types of clients, thereby earning positive economic profits. The study develops a theory that explains the observed differences in the compensation plans of the Big Four audit firms and provides insights into client-auditor alignments.

• Prof. Siu Fai Leung has developed an econometric approach that can simultaneously correct for survey response bias and produce consistent estimates for the determinants of substance use. The approach is applicable to all survey data that may be contaminated by socially responsible responses.

• Prof. David Cook has developed stochastic dynamic general equilibrium models to help explain the dynamics of financial crises in emerging markets.

• The Survey Research Center conducted its 2005 CGSS survey and workshops as planned. In addition, the Center for Spatial and Social Demographics (CSSD) was established in June 2006. Based in Nansha, this new center is a venue to collaborate with the National Bureau of Statistics of China on census-related training and research

Developmental Activities

Towards the development end of the R&D spectrum, there have been many achievements:

• Prof. Ross Murch's research group has developed compact RFID antennas for use in tags. These antennas are made novel by making use of an asymmetrical design while still maintaining differential feeding.

• Prof. Brian Mak has helped develop the ASTell technology with ASTRI. The technology has been used by Modern Tech Ltd to produce a pronunciation learning tool called the "i-English" Learning System. With the ASTell technology, i-English not only can tell if a student says an English word correctly, but also exactly where the student is wrong if he or she does not. i-English also provides students with a multimedia, interactive and self-learning environment to motivate their interest in self-learning English.

• Researchers from Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering have developed a new technology that can greatly enhance the ballistic-proof strength of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber by adding carbon nanotubes to pristine high-strength fiber.

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• Prof. Oscar Au and his group from the Multimedia Technology Research Center developed the first ever video streaming system for mobile phones based on the Audio Video coding Standard (AVS) Technology. They have also developed a transcoding technology which enables a 2.5G mobile phone to receive and play video content from a 3G handset.

• Prof. Chun Man Chan has developed a computer package for the optimal design of tall building structures which has been employed in the design of many buildings in Hong Kong, among them the 118-storey International Commerce Centre and the 88-storey Two International Finance Centre.

• Breakthroughs in photonics technology include Prof Hoi Sing Kwok’s development of a novel color Liquid Crystal Display using the conventional TN fabrication process. Profs Kwok and Man Wong also conducted research as part of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology 863 Program and successfully developed the first five-inch diagonal full-color organic LED display on an active-matrix back plane in China.

• Prof T S Zhao and his group have made many significant breakthroughs in the area of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) development. These include the discovery that the power of miniature DMFCs can be boosted by up to 60%, and the development of a passively operated prototype DMFC with neither a liquid pump nor a gas compressor and demonstrated a maximum power density of about 50 mW/cm², the highest performance for this type of fuel cell in the open literature.

• Prof. Ross Murch's research group has developed an advanced Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) wireless communications test bed. It has been specifically designed to determine the effects of correlation and mutual coupling on future wireless communications systems.

Events

A number of prestigious research events marked HKUST’s 15th anniversary.

• HKUST was honoured to host a week-long visit by Prof. Stephen Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Among a number of events, Prof. Hawking delivered the Institute for Advanced Study inaugural lecture on “The Origins of the Universe”.

• Sixty-four scientists from around the world came to HKUST in January 2006 for the Croucher Advanced Study Institute (ASI) "Signaling in Cell Growth and Differentiation". The ASI lecturers included the Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine in 2001, Prof. Tim Hunt, from Cancer Research UK, and members/foreign associates of the prestigious US National Academy of Sciences.

• The prestigious Gordon Research Conference on “Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology” was held in June 2006. It was the fourth GRC held at HKUST, which has been chosen as a permanent conference site in Asia since 2000. The 2006 Conference integrated scientific principles that are of general interest to molecular and cellular neurobiologists and encouraged interactions between neurobiologists from different but related

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disciplines. A total of 172 leading scientists, postdoctoral fellows and students from Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region participated in this GRC, which featured three special lectures by Prof. Story Landis from the National Institutes of Health, Prof H Robert Horvitz from MIT and Prof. Linda Buck from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Prof. Horvitz and Prof. Buck are Nobel Laureates in Physiology and Medicine in 2002 and 2004, respectively.

• The 2006 Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting of the Economic Science Association was held at HKUST in January 2006 and was organized by our Center for Experimental Business Research. The Economic Science Association is a professional organization devoted to experimental economics and their members treat economics as an observational science using controlled experiments to learn about economic behavior.

• The seventh "Computing in the 21st Century" academic conference was held in Nov 2005 with Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). This conference theme was "Data Centric Computing" - moving the intelligence, processing, and computing value from applications to the end data to create a data-centric computing paradigm. The distinguished line-up of conference speakers consisted of world-renowned international scholars and computing experts including a Turing Award recipient, members of the US National Academy of Science, and the National Academy of Engineering.

• The First Nansha Science and Technology Forum "Information Technology: Digital Life" was held in Feb 2006 at the Nansha Information Technology Park in Guangzhou. Internationally renowned experts and academics gathered at this high-level forum to explore key science and technology issues of major relevance to the social and economic development of the region. About 500 senior government officials, business leaders, academics, senior professionals in related fields, and undergraduate and postgraduate students participated in the Forum, which was broadcasted to major universities in China via the web-cast system.

• A conference entitled “Chinese People on the Move: The Transnational Flow of Chinese Human Capital” was organized by the Center on China’s Transnational Relations. Selected papers will be published in two special volumes in the Journal of International Migration and Integration and Pacific Affairs. Co-editors will be Prof. David Zweig (Director, CCTR) and Prof. Don Devoretz, co-Director, RIIM, Simon Fraser University.

Commercialization and Business Development

HKUST is striving to make a contribution to economic development in Hong Kong and the region by human resource development, technology diffusion and transfer processes, intellectual property protection and licensing, and the incubation of start-up companies.

Human resources are considered the most effective means of technology diffusion. Most of the 1,182 Master’s degree and 119 doctoral degree graduates from HKUST in 2005 moved into the private and public sectors, taking with them in-depth knowledge of their discipline, know-how and an ability to be creative and innovative. These graduates, and indeed those at the bachelor’s level, are a force for change and can play a major role in the transition of Hong Kong to a knowledge-based society.

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To highlight our partnerships with industry, we note that:

¾ HKUST has been allocated $419 million in ITF funding over the seven-year period 1999-2006 (i.e. since the beginning of the ITF program) - - substantially more than any other institution in Hong Kong

¾ Over this same period, HKUST has received $264 million in industrial funding for contract research and collaborative R&D

The University’s Technology Transfer Center (TTC) and the HKUST R and D Corporation Ltd (RDC) collaborate to establish university-industry collaboration, R&D partnerships, and the protection and licensing of intellectual property. Examples include: • Catalytic nanotechnologies for the removal of biologically active indoor air contaminants

have been patented and licensed to Chiaphua Industries Ltd for use in appliances that are now in the marketplace to enhance indoor air quality and to Artenano Ltd, an HKUST spin-off company, for the production of nanostructed catalysts, again for indoor air quality applications

• Prof. H S Kwok and his research team have achieved the fastest nematic LCD using a new nanoalignment layer and invented several new bistable display modes. CONA Electronics has begun mass production of the patented color vertically aligned LCD. Dai-Nippon Ink has begun sample production of the photo-alignmentmaterials.

• Prof. V Chigrinov collaborates with Dai-Nippon Ink and Chemical (DIC) Japan. A plastic color-twisted nematic liquid crystal display (TN-LCD) was developed using a photo-alignment method using a continuous roll-to-roll process. Azodye materials will be soon transferred from DIC research to the production division.

• Prof. Johnny Sin has founded a company called Analog Power Limited at HKUST for commercializing power semiconductor transistors and integrated circuits. The company has successfully sold over 150 million parts last year, and the volume is even higher so far in 2006.

In 2005-06 alone:

¾ TTC evaluated 48 invention disclosures from HKUST researchers

¾ TTC arranged for the filing of 77 patent applications, including full and provisional applications with the US Patent Office, CIP, international filings, etc.

¾ HKUST received notification of the granting of 9 patents

¾ RDC signed 118 R&D contracts with industrial clients, worth more than $35 million ¾ RDC licensed 24 patents that were assigned to HKUST

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¾ RDC continued to incubate 18 start-up companies based on expertise and technology developed at HKUST

Awards and Recognition

Recognition of the accomplishments of individual researchers and of HKUST as an institution is increasingly evident:

• Prof. Yundong Wu was elected as member of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2005

• Prof. Xiao-Yuan Li received 2005 SPACC-CSI Award from the Society of Pure and Applied Coordination Chemistry, Chemical Society of Japan, for his research work. • According to Web of Science® statistics, the Geotechnical Group in CIVL led the world

in terms of total papers published in the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE; Geotechnique; Canadian Geotechnical Journal; and Soil and Foundations. One member of the group had the highest number of papers published in these journals from January 2001-April 2005

• ECE is among the world leaders for number of papers published in international journals in the electrical and electronic engineering and telecommunications fields:

- IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 1998 to 2005 (Rank No. 1)

- IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communication 2002 to 2005 (Rank No. 2)

- IEEE Transactions Circuits and Systems for Video Technology 1997 to 2005 (Rank No. 3)

• Prof. Furong Gao and his research team in CENG received the Best Paper Award at the Society of Plastics Engineers Annual Technical Conference in 2005 for their study on ‘Weight Prediction Using Captive Transducer in Injection Molding’.

• Prof. Ka Ming Ng of CENG has been elected a Fellow of the prestigious American Institute of Chemical Engineers in recognition of his significant contributions to chemical engineering.

• Prof. Moe M S Cheung of CIVL was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in recognition of his leading research work on the development of the finite strip method for bridge analysis and design, and his contributions to bridge engineering. • Prof. Lionel Ni and Prof Yunhao Liu of CSE received the Best Paper Award at the IEEE

International Conference in e-Business Engineering. Prof Ni, Prof Liu and their research team received the accolade for the paper “S-Club: An Overlay Based Efficient Service Discovery Mechanism in CROWN Grid”. The same year, Prof Ni was also elected an Overseas Expert by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

• Prof. Qiang Yang of CSE, successfully led researchers from the HKUST-Chinese Academy of Sciences joint laboratory to victory over teams from around the world to win the Association for Computing Machinery’s Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Cup in 2004. Prof Yang followed this with another win in the same contest in 2005 with a

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team of HKUST researchers. The KDD Cup is the most rigorous annual competition in the predictive technology and data mining field.

• Prof. Xiren Cao of ECE was selected as Editor-in-Chief for the journal Discrete Event Dynamic Systems: Theory and Applications, published by Springer. Prof Cao was also appointed Chair of the IEEE Fellow Evaluation Committee of the IEEE Control Systems Society in the same year.

• Prof. Ricky Lee of MECH was elected a Fellow of the renowned American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and became an Editor-in-Chief for IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies.

• Prof. Chak K.Chan received the first Asian Young Aerosol Scientist Award, presented by the Asian Aerosol Research Assembly. The award is presented in recognition for Prof Chan's outstanding contributions to the field and laboratory investigations of the thermodynamics and hygroscopic properties of atmospheric aerosols.

• Prof. Fangzhen Lin has been awarded a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship for his outstanding contributions to artificial intelligence (AI) research. Prof. Lin is known for his important contributions to the theory and implementation of knowledge representation and reasoning. Among his many achievements, Prof. Lin has developed a methodology for "Computer-Aided Theorem Discovery", which he is applying to find theorems to help analyze and predict computer program behavior. This will assist the design of reliable software, one of the key problems in computer science.

• Prof. Fangzhen Lin and his co-authors (Yin Chen, Yisong Wang and Mingyi Zhang) were awarded the Ray Reiter Best Paper Prize in the 10th International Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR2006) for their paper "First-Order Loop Formulas for Normal Logic Programs".

• A research team, under the leadership of Prof. Khaled Ben Letaief, won the Best Paper Award for their paper "A Cross Layer Method for Interference Cancellation and Network Coding in Wireless Networks” at the prestigious 2006 IEEE International Conference on Communications, held in Istanbul, Turkey in June 2006.

• Mr. Lam Yat-Hei, PhD student of ECE, has won the "University LSI Design Contest Special Feature Award" organized by the Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC) that was held in Yohohama in February 2006. His paper entitled "Adaptively-Biased Capacitor-Less CMOS Low Dropout Regulator with Direct Current Feedback" employs a patent-pending current sensor to achieve pole tracking, such that the regulator is stable for any output capacitor from 0 - 300pF. This regulator is a good candidate for on-chip power management systems.

• Prof. Amine Bermak and his student Chen Shoushun won the Best Paper Award at the 5th IEEE International Workshop on System on-Chip for Real-Time Applications, (IWSOC05), Banff, Alberta – Canada in August 2005, for the paper entitled: “A Scalable Low Power Imager Architecture for Compound-Eye Vision Sensors”. The paper described a novel low-power vision sensor architecture using time-domain data representation combined with a biologically inspired read-out strategy for compound eye applications.

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• In a survey released by Yuan Ze University (Taiwan) in November 2005, the research output of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management is ranked No. 4 in the world. The ranking was based on the number of Science Citation Index (SCI) papers published.

• Prof. Mitchell Tseng received the Outstanding Industrial Engineer Award from the School of Engineering at Purdue University, the second oldest Industrial Engineering School in the world, at its 50th anniversary in October 2005.

• Prof Ching Ping Wong received the 2006 IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Award. Sponsored by the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society, the award recognizes meritorious contributions to the advancement of components, electronic packaging or manufacturing technologies.

• Prof Huihe Qiu has been named as a first-class author publishing with the Institute of Physics (IOP), in recognition of his contribution to the journals. Specifically, Prof Qiu's paper "Measurements of Interfacial Film Thickness for Immiscible Liquid-liquid Slug/droplet Flows" has been deemed by peer review to be of top quality. Prof Qiu has been invited to an interview for the Journal's article "60 seconds with..." published on the front page of the IOP Electronic Journals Website.

• ACCT ranked fourth in the world in research publications appearing in the top three academic journals (Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review). With this achievement, HKUST has now ranked among the top ten in the world in five of the past six years. This is a record exceeded by no other university globally, and tied by only one: University of Chicago.

• Prof. In Choi has been elected a Fellow of the Journal of Econometrics.

• Profs Heli Wang, Jaepil Choi and J T Li of MGTO won the 2005 Best Paper Award at the Social Issues in Management Division, Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Hawaii. The title of the paper is “Too Little or Too Much? Re-examining the Relationship between Corporate Charitable Giving and Corporate Financial Performance”. • Film Genres and Genre Films〔電影類型與類型電影〕, a monograph in Chinese by Professor William Tay（鄭樹森教授）from Hung-fan Books（洪範）, was honored with an award as “Ten Best Books of 2005”（二 OO 五年十大好書）in January 2006. The annual award was organized by《United Daily News》〔聯合報〕and judged by a committee of one hundred adjudicators (writers, critics, editors, and scholars).

• The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (founded in 1910 and based in Washington DC), one of the largest and most influential policy research groups in the United States, has appointed Professor Xueliang Ding（丁學良教授） as its academic representative to China.

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In the RGC Competitive Earmarked Research Grants program announced in June 2006, HKUST researchers were awarded $103.4 million - - 21% of the total awarded to Hong Kong’s tertiary institutions. In this annual internationally peer-reviewed competition, HKUST can claim:

¾ the highest success rate (61%), for the fourteenth consecutive year ¾ the highest funding per eligible faculty ($234,500)

¾ the highest total funding from the Engineering panel ¾ the two highest individual awards in Biology & Medicine

− Prof. Mingjie Zhang; $1.96 million for his project “Structural basis of split PH domain assembly and biochemical functions of split PH domains”

− Prof. Yung Hou Wong; $1.94 million for his project “Elucidating the role of Gα-interacting protein in cell growth and proliferation”

¾ the highest participation rate (38% of eligible faculty were awarded funding)

Noting that success in this competition is dependent on the quality of proposals, as perceived by international peers, and on the track record of the applicants, these funding results are testimony to the excellence of research and scholarship at HKUST.

HKUST has achieved much. It has helped to redefine the academic and R&D culture of Hong Kong. It has grown from a vision to becoming a dynamo for change, a force and catalyst in Hong Kong’s transition to a knowledge-based society. And it has found recognition on the world stage of research universities in just fifteen short years.

2. INSTITUTIONAL POLICY ON RESEARCH

While the foundation research policies have served the University well, we continue to review and fine-tune our operational practices to ensure that resources are used effectively towards achieving our mandate to serve economic, social and technological development in Hong Kong and the region.

Research is integral to the mission of the University. HKUST’s research policies are formulated to achieve both world-class excellence and techno-economic benefits to Hong Kong through quality, focus and synergy.

Quality is achieved through human and physical resources. HKUST attracts senior faculty of great distinction and established reputation, junior faculty of proven research capability, and postgraduate students with great promise. The University has created an environment that is both supportive and demanding. Our strong record of publication, success in winning competitive grants, and growing international reputation attest to the quality of research being conducted at HKUST.

Focus is achieved as a result of the identification of strategic areas of research and the recruitment of faculty to build strengths in these areas. In its Strategic Plan for 2005-2020

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“Building on Excellence”, HKUST reiterated an intention to build on its competencies to move into a position of global leadership and exert maximum influence, particularly in five high impact fields, namely nanoscience and nanotechnology; biological sciences and biotechnology; electronics, wireless and information technology; sustainable development (energy and environment); management education and research.

3. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESEARCH POLICY AND OTHER INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES

It is difficult to segregate research and other policies, as research (like education) is woven into the fabric of the University. Research plays a major role in personnel policies and represents a principal criterion in the appointment, advancement and retention of faculty. It is an integral component of educational programs, not just for PhD and MPhil students, but also at the senior undergraduate level. Faculty at the leading edge of their disciplines enrich undergraduate programs, and participation in research by undergraduates is encouraged and opportunities to do so are provided throughout the year.

The timely application of the output of research to serve societal needs and to create economic development opportunities is central to the mission of the University. In this regard, HKUST encourages and assists researchers to recognize the value of intellectual property, and the University has a well-established Technology Transfer Center and business arm, the HKUST R and D Corporation Ltd., to assess, protect, market and license intellectual property with commercial potential.

4. ORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH FUNDING

Each academic unit has a mentoring and peer review process to assist in the development of research proposals. Draft applications are reviewed by Schools for intellectual merit and by the Office of Contract and Grant Administration (OCGA) for compliance and presentation. Research proposals are finally approved and signed by senior administrative officers of the University for submission to the appropriate agency.

The University also has internal competitions for project and equipment funding from the Block Grant, direct allocation and private gifts. Proposals for such funding are reviewed and adjudicated by the Senate Research Committee for institution-wide funds, or by the Research Committees of the Schools for funds earmarked for such units.

OCGA provides extensive administrative and support services for faculty, both in preparing proposals and in managing the awards and reporting processes.

5. CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING PRIORITIES

All academic Departments and Schools and organized research units have well-established processes for determining priorities. Each School has an external advisory board that provides counsel on academic programs and research priorities. Within this framework, each department has a dynamic planning process, which includes strategic recruitment to achieve its largely research-based objectives. Each organised research unit also has its own

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Advisory Committee or Board with external representation to assist in identifying needs, opportunities and developmental directions.

6. USAGE OF DIRECT ALLOCATION GRANT

In 2005-06, HKUST received a Direct Allocation Grant from RGC of $7.83 million. The funding was allocated to Schools on a formula basis for allocation by the Research Committees of these Schools.

In total, the four Schools and other qualifying units at HKUST allocated funding of $7.83 million to 138 projects from the Direct Allocation Grant, as follows:

School of Science 37 ($2.15 million)

School of Engineering 46 ($3.13 million)

School of Business & Management 44 ($2.09 million) School of Humanities & Social Science 11 ($0.46 million)

Consistent with the guidelines established by RGC and HKUST’s Senate Research Committee, the above resources were committed to assist newly appointed staff and junior faculty in developing their initial research activities and to support new and on-going research programs for which funding requirements are below the threshold amounts of RGC grants. Excellence or potential for excellence is the dominant criterion in internal funding decisions.

In addition, UGC funding in the amount of $1.36 million was used for Research Travel Grants. This funding was adjudicated on a competitive basis to assist senior postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows to present the results of their research at international conferences.

7. EFFORTS MADE TO ATTRACT PRIVATE FUNDS

Many of the organised research units at HKUST were established through major gifts made in the early days of the University. Efforts to obtain major gifts for research continue, and have been extended to establishing collaborative activities and contract research with the private sector, as well as an involvement in civil and commercial projects. An increasingly significant component is contributed by the private sector in Hong Kong. Our engagement with the private sector demonstrates both the commitment of HKUST to foster techno-economic development in Hong Kong and the recognition by industry of the value of developing partnerships with researchers at HKUST.

Commercial activities are still developing; in time we anticipate that they will provide a significant source of funds for research at HKUST.

8. OPPORTUNITIES AND DIFFICULTIES IN INTER-INSTITUTIONAL

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Academics can and do collaborate well, and applications to programs such as the China/Hong Kong, Germany/Hong Kong and France/Hong Kong Joint Research Schemes show that the availability of resources can stimulate joint research programs.

Collaboration exists at the inter-institutional level and between research groups and individual researchers. We have established partnerships with many leading research universities in Mainland China, North America and Europe.

Collaboration with our sister institutions in Hong Kong is growing. Under the right circumstances, such collaboration can reduce duplication, foster synergy among institutions and create an atmosphere of mutual assistance that is highly beneficial to both research and education and that can yield better value to the community from the investment of public resources. When sharing of resources or joint work is mandated or highly encouraged by funding agencies, collaboration can be fruitful, but it also requires careful management to ensure that such linkages are mutually beneficial, productive and sustainable, rather than just opportunistic.

9. ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

HKUST is a research university that seeks to undertake research of the highest quality and impact from an international perspective, but in the context of an equally strong commitment to education and application. While these are compatible and synergistic goals, in practice they impose a high work load on faculty and an optimal balance is difficult to achieve.

A major inhibiting factor in building research excellence remains the modest number of PhD students per faculty member. This is related to the perceived lack of need and career opportunities in Hong Kong for persons with postgraduate degrees. While any major improvement in this situation would need a significant policy change, for example admitting more students from the Chinese mainland, there are near-term measures that are being taken. These include greater collaboration among faculty members and a greater reliance on postdoctoral researchers and professional staff.

The excellence and productivity of research at HKUST and the effectiveness with which resources provided by UGC, RGC and other agencies have been utilized should be evident from this Annual Report of our research output.

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[BICH] [BIOL] [CHEM] [MATH] [PHYS] [AMCE]

DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

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[BICH] [BIOL] [CHEM] [MATH] [PHYS] [AMCE]

DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

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Department of Biochemistry

Nancy Yuk-Yu IP, Professor and Department Head; Associate Dean of Science; Director, BRI and Co-Director, Molecular Neuroscience Center

Robert K M KO, Professor

Randy Yat Choi POON, Professor

Yung Hou WONG, Professor and Associate Director of Biotechnology Research Institute

Mingjie ZHANG, Professor

Jeffrey Tze-Fei WONG, Adjunct Professor

Yifan HAN, Associate Professor

Chun LIANG, Associate Professor

Zilong WEN, Associate Professor

Wan-Keung R WONG, Associate Professor

Zhenguo WU, Associate Professor

Hong XUE, Associate Professor and Director, Hong Kong Bioinformatics Center

Guang ZHU, Associate Professor

Raymond S C WONG, Adjunct Associate Professor and Director, Animal and Plant Care Facility

Kenny K K CHUNG, Assistant Professor

Robert Zhong QI, Assistant Professor

Shui Ying TSANG, Visiting Assistant Professor

Jun XIA, Assistant Professor

Anthony S L CHAN, Research Assistant Professor

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Wei FENG, Research Assistant Professor

Kit Yu FU, Research Assistant Professor

Christina J MORRIS, Research Assistant Professor

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Nancy Yuk-Yu IP

Professor and Department Head; Associate Dean of Science; Director, BRI and Co-Director, Molecular Neuroscience Center

(2358 7289 ; [email protected])

PhD (1983) and Postdoctoral Fellow (1983-84), Harvard Medical School Laboratory Head, Medical Genetics, Lifecodes Corporation (1987-89) Senior Staff Scientist, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (1989-93)

Academician, CAS (2001- )

Current Research Activities:

The functional roles of trophic factors in neuronal differentiation and synapse formation, and their potential applications in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Active Projects as Principal Investigator:

Molecular neuroscience: basic research and drug discovery

UGC - Areas of Excellence HK$8,000,00001 Sep 2007

Croucher forum on molecular neuroscience

Croucher Foundation HK$190,000 01 Jun 2005

Symposium on "The Role of Cdk5 in Neuronal Plasticity"

Croucher Foundation HK$85,000 09 Jan 2007

Molecular neuroscience: Basic research and drug discovery

Office of the Dean of Science, HKUST HK$2,250,00012 Jul 2005

Modernization of chinese medicine: from clinical efficacy to drug production - two innovative formulae for comprehensive research (GHP/037/05)

Innovation and Technology Commission & Industries HK$1,219,00001 May 2006 Molecular medicine

UGC - High Impact Area HK$1,000,00001 Dec 2005

Understanding the postsynaptic signaling mechanisms of Eph receptor in muscle RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,089,95701 Nov 2005

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Representative Research Publications:

Ip, Nancy Y. (2007) "Biotech News on Hong Kong", Asia Pacific Biotech News, 11(4): 218-220.

Cheung, Zelda H. Y., Chin, Wing Hong, Chen, Yu, Ng, Yu Pong, Ip, Nancy Y. (2007) "Cdk5 is involved in BDNF-stimulated dendritic growth in hippocampal neurons", PLoS Biol., 5(4) e63: 1-13.

Fu, Ada W. Y., Chen, Yu, Sahin, Mustafa, Zhao, Xiao Su, Shi, Lei, Bikoff, Jay B., Lai, Kwok

On, Yung, Wing Ho, Fu, Amy K. Y., Greenberg, Michael E., Ip, Nancy Y. (2007) "Cdk5 regulates

EphA4-mediated dendritic spine retraction through an ephexin1-dependent mechanism", Nat. Neurosci., 10:67-76.

Lok, Ka Chun, Fu, Amy K. Y., Ip, Fanny C. F., Wong, Yung Hou, Ip, Nancy Y. (2007) "Expression of G protein Beta subunits in rat skeletal muscle after nerve injury: Implication in the regulation of neuregulin signaling", Neurosci., 146: 594-603.

Ng, Yu Pong, Lo, Kin Yip, Cheung, Zelda H. Y., Ip, Nancy Y. (2006) "Signaling through the neurotrophin receptors in the nervous system", Handbook of Neurochemistry, 2:12-32.

Liu, Yu Xin, Cheng, Kai, Gong, Ke, Fu, Amy K. Y., Ip, Nancy Y. (2006) "Pctaire1

phosphorylates N-Ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein: implications in the regulation of its hexamerization and exocytosis", J. Biol. Chem., 281: 9852-9858.

Ng, Yu Pong, Cheung, Zelda H. Y., Ip, Nancy Y. (2006) "STAT3 as a downstream mediator of Trk signaling and functions", J. Biol. Chem., 281: 15636-15644.

Cheung, Zelda H. Y., Fu, Amy K. Y., Ip, Nancy Y. (2006) "Synaptic roles of Cdk5:

implications in higher cognitive functions and neurodegenerative diseases", Neuron, 50: 13-18.

Robert K M KO

Professor

(2358 7298 ; [email protected])

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Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity; protection against such injuries by antioxidants; antioxidant properties of traditional Chinese medicine.

Cellular signaling triggered by schisandrin B in the protection against oxidant injury

RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$655,496 01 Sep 2007

CHIU, P.Y., LEUNG, H.Y., Siu, A.H.Y., Poon, M.K.T., Dong, T.T.X., Tsim, K.W.K., Ko, K.M. (2007) "Dang-Gui Buxue Tang protects against oxidant injury by enhancing cellular glutathione in H9c2 cells: Role of glutathione synthesis and regeneration", Planta Med., 73: 134-141.

Ko, K.M., LEUNG, H.Y. (2007) "Enhancement of ATP generation capacity, antioxidant activity and immunomodulatory activities of Chinese Yang and Yin tonifying herbs", Chinese Medicine, 2:3 doi:10.1186/1749-8546-2-3.

CHIU, P.Y., LEUNG, H.Y., Siu, A.H.Y., Poon, M.K.T., Ko, K.M. (2007) "Schisandrin B decreases the sensitivity of mitochondria to calcium ion-induced permeability transition and protects against carbon tetrachloride toxicity in mouse livers", Biol. Pharm. Bull., 30: 1108-1112. Ko, K.M., LEON, T.Y.Y., Mak, D.H.F, CHIU, P.Y., DU, Y., Poon, M.K.T. (2006) "A

characteristic pharmacological action of 'Yang-invigorating' Chinese tonifying herbs: Enhancement of myocardial ATP generation capacity", Phytomedicine, 13:636-642.

CHIU, P.Y., LEUNG, H.Y., Poon, M.K.T., Ko, K.M. (2006) "Chronic schisandrin B treatment improves mitochondrial antioxidant status and tissue heat shock protein production in various tissues of young adult and middle-aged rats", Biogerontology, 7: 199-210.

DU, Y., Ko, K.M. (2006) "Effects of pharmacological preconditioning by emodin/oleanolic acid treatment and/or ischemic preconditioning on mitochondrial antioxidant components as well as the susceptibility to ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat hearts", Mol. Cell. Biochem., 288: 135-142. CHIU, P.Y., LEUNG, H.Y., Poon, M.K.T., Mak, D.H.F., Ko, K.M. (2006) "Schisandrin B is more potent than its enantiomer in enhancing cellular glutathione and heat shock protein production as well as protecting against oxidant injury in H9c2 cardiomyocytes", Mol. Cell. Biochem., 289: 185-191.

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CHIU, P.Y., Ko, K.M. (2006) "Schisandrin B-induced increase in cellular glutathione level and protection against oxidant injury are mediated by the enhancement of glutathione synthesis and regeneration in AML12 and H9c2 cells", Biofactors, 26:221-230.

Randy Yat Choi POON

Professor

(2358 8703 ; [email protected]) PhD, University of Cambridge (1994)

Molecular basis of cell cycle control in normal and cancer cells.

The molecular basis of immortalization and transformation of serum-free mouse embryonic fibroblasts

RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,858,01401 Sep 2005

The molecular basis of mitotic catastrophe and adaptation associated with the G2DNA damage checkpoint and the spindle-assembly checkpoint

RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$998,500 01 Sep 2006

Fung, Tsz Kan, Ma, Hoi Tang, Poon, Randy Y.C. (2007) "Specialized roles of the two mitotic cyclins in somatic cells: cyclin A as an activator of M phase-promoting factor", Molecular Biology of the Cell, 18: 1861-73.

Ho, C.C., Siu, W.Y., Lau, Anita, Chan, W.M., Arooz, Talha, Poon, Randy Y.C. (2006) "Stalled replication induces p53 accumulation through distinct mechanisms from DNA damage checkpoint pathways", Cancer Res., 66: 2233-41.

Woo, Richard Aleston, Poon, Randy Yat Choi (2003-2004) "Activated oncogenes promote and cooperate with chromosomal instability for neoplastic transformation", Genes and

Development, 18: 1317-1330.

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Arooz, Talha, Ng, Chuen-Pei, Yamashita, Katsumi, Poon, Randy Yat Choi (2003-2004) "DNA

damage during the spindle-assembly checkpoint degrades CDC25A, inhibits cyclin-CDC2 complexes, and reverses cells to interphase", Molecular Biology of the Cell, 14: 3189-4002. Chow, Jeremy Pak Hong, Siu, Wai Yee, Ho, Horace Tsun-Bond, Ma, Ken Hoi Tang, Ho,

Chiu Chiu, Poon, Randy Yat Choi (2003-2004) "Differential contribution of inhibitory

phosphorylation of CDC2 and CDK2 for unperturbed cell cycle control and DNA integrity checkpoints", Journal of Biological Chemistry, 278: 40815-40828.

Ng, Chuen-Pei, Lee, Hung Chiu, Ho, Chung Wai, Arooz, Talha, Siu, Wai Yee, Lau, Anita,

Poon, Randy Yat Choi (2003-2004) "Differential mode of regulation of the checkpoint kinases

CHK1 and CHK2 by their regulatory domains", Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279: 8808-8819. Chan, Wan Mui, Siu, Wai Yee, Lau, Anita, Poon, Randy Yat Choi (2003-2004) "How many mutant p53 molecules are needed to inactivate a tetramer?", Molecular and Cellular Biology, 24: 3536-3551.

Yung Hou WONG

Professor and Associate Director of Biotechnology Research Institute (2358 7328 ; [email protected])

PhD, University of Cambridge (1988)

The role of G-proteins in cell proliferation, differentiation and the development of drug tolerance; cell-based high throughput drug screening.

Deciphering the role of Gaz in cell differentiation

RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,928,10001 Nov 2005 Elucidating the role of G£\ interacting protein (RGS-GAIP/RGS19) in cell growth and proliferation RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,936,50001 Dec 2006

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Chan, A.S.L., Ng, L.W.C., Poon, L.S.W., Chan, W.W.Y., Wong, Y.H. (2007) "Dopaminergic and adrenergic toxicities on SK-N-MC human neuroblastoma cells are mediated through G protein signaling and oxidative stress", Apoptosis, 12: 167-179.

An, H., Ip, F.C.F., Hu, Y.Q., Ho, M.K.C., Chin, A.C., Harley, C.B., Wong, Y.H., Ip, N.Y. (2007) "Drug development candidate TAT2 activates telomerase in primary neuronal cultures", MGH-HKU-Nature Forum. Molecular Medicine and Biopharma Opportunities, Hong Kong., 5-6 March 2007. Abstract P052.

Lok, K.C., Fu, A.K.Y., Ip, F.C.F., Wong, Y.H., Ip, N.Y. (2007) "Expression of G protein Beta subunits in rat skeletal muscle after nerve injury: implication in the regulation of neuregulin signaling", Neurosci., 146: 594-603.

Ho, M.K.C., New, D.C., Hu, Y.Q., Pang, H., Wong, Y.H. (2007) "Identification of subtype-selective melatonin receptor ligands from traditional Chinese medicine", MGH-HKU-Nature

Forum. Molecular Medicine and Biopharma Opportunities, Hong Kong., 5-6 March 2007. Abstract P042.

Pang, H., Hu, Y.Q., Ho, M.K.C., Ip, F.C.F., An, H., Ip, N.Y., Wong, Y.H. (2007) "Knowledge-based drug discovery: identification of novel leads from traditional Chinese medicine", MGH-HKU-Nature Forum. Molecular Medicine and Biopharma Opportunities, Hong Kong., 5-6 March 2007. Abstract P050.

New, D.C., Wong, Y.H. (2007) "Molecular mechanisms mediating the G protein-coupled receptor regulation of cell cycle progression", J. Mol. Signal., 2: 2.

Wu, E.H.T., Wu, K.K.H., Wong, Y.H. (2007) "Tuberin: a stimulus-regulated tumor suppressor protein controlled by a diverse array of receptor tyrosine kinases and G protein-coupled

receptors", NeuroSignals, 15: 217-227.

Yung, H.S., Wong, Y.H., Wise, H. (2006) "A time-dependent loss of prostaglandin EP3 receptors in PC12 cells during neuroal differentiation", The 4th Congress of Federation of Asian-Oceanian Neuroscience Societies (FAONS) & Annual Scientific Meeting of Hong Kong Society of Neurosciences, Hong Kong., November 30 - December 2, 2006. Abstract.

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Mingjie ZHANG

Professor

(2358 8709 ; [email protected] ; http://bcz102.ust.hk) PhD, University of Calgary (1993)

High resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and biochemical studies of regulatory proteins in neuronal signal transductions.

Protein-lipid interactions in neuronal signaling complex organization

RGC - Central Allocation Vote - Matching Grant HK$250,000 25 Jun 2007 Solution structure and biological functions of the novel N-terminal multimerization domain of Par-3

RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,915,51401 Nov 2005 Structural basis of split PH domain assembly and biochemical functions of split PH domains RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,960,50001 Sep 2006 Systematic analysis of lipid and PDZ interactions

UGC - Research Infrastructure Grant HK$600,000 30 Jun 2007

Feng, Wei, Wu, Hao, Chan, Ling-Nga, Zhang, Mingjie (2007) "The Par-3 NTD adopts a PB1-like structure required for Par-3 oligomerization and apical membrane localization", EMBO J., 26,2786-2796.

Long, Jia-fu, Feng, Wei, Wang, Rui, Chan, Ling-Nga, Ip, Fanny, Xia, Jun, Ip, Nancy,

Zhang, Mingjie (2005) "Autoinhibition of X11s/Mints Scaffold Proteins Revealed by the Closed

Conformation of the PDZ Tandem", Nat. Struct. & Mol. Biol., 12, 722-728.

Yan, Jing, Wen, Wenyu, Xu, Weiguang, Long, Jia-fu, Adams, Marvin E, Froehner, Stanely C, Zhang, Mingjie (2005) "Structure of the Split PH domain and Distinct Lipid Binding Properties of the PH-PDZ Supramodule of alpha-Syntrophin", EMBO J., 24, 3985-3995.

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structures of tetrameric L27 domain complexes formed by mLin-2/mLin-7 and Patj/Pals1 scaffold proteins", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102, 6861-6866.

Feng, Wei, Long, Jiafu, Fan, Jing-Song, Tetsuya, Suetake, Zhang, Mingjie (2004) "Hetero-tetrameric L27 (Lin-2, Lin-7) domain complexes as organization platforms for supra-molecular assemblies", Nat. Struct. & Mol. Biol., 11, 475-480.

Zhang, Mingjie, Wang, Wenning (2003) "Organization of Signaling Complexes by PDZ-Domain Scaffold Proteins", Acc. Chem. Res., 36, 530-538.

Feng, Wei, Shi, Yawei, Li, Ming, Zhang, Mingjie (2003) "Tandem PDZ repeats in glutamate receptor interacting proteins have a novel mode of PDZ domain-mediated target binding", Nat. Struct. Biol., 10, 972-978.

Tochio, H, Tsui, Marco M. K., Banfiel, David K., Zhang, Mingjie (2001) "An Auto-Inhibitory Mechanism for Non-Syntaxin SNARE Proteins Revealed by the Structure of Ykt6p", Science, 293, 698-702.

Jeffrey Tze-Fei WONG

Adjunct Professor

(2358 7288 ; [email protected]) PhD, University of Toronto (1963)

Professor of Biochemistry, University of Toronto (1976-90)

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Wong, J.T. (2007) "Coevolution theory of the genetic code: a proven theory", Orig. Life Evol. Biosph., PMID: 17611816.

Wong, J.T. (2005) "Coevolution theory of the genetic code at age thirty", BioEssays, 27, 416-425.

Tong, K.L., Wong, J.T. (2004) "Anticodon and wobble evolution", Gene, 333,169-177.

Tong, Ka-Lok, Wong, J. T.-F. (2004) "Anticodon and wobble evolution", Gene, 333: 169-177. Xue, Hong, Ka-lok, Tong, Marck, Christian, Grosjean, Henri, Wong, J. Tze-Fei (2003) "Transfer RNA Paralogs: Evidence for Genetic Code-Amino Acid Biosynthesis Coevolution and an Archaeal Root of Life.", Gene, 310, 59-66.

Wong, J. Tze-Fei (2002) "Mutation and Expansion of the Genetic Code", Engineering Enzymes for Biocatalysis by Using Directed Evolution, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France.

Xue, Hong, Tong, Ka-Lok, Wong, J. Tze-Fei (2002) "Sequence Identities Between Extremely Slow-Evolving Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase and Transfer RNA Paralogs: Evidence for Genetic Code-Amino Acid Biosynthesis Coevolution and an Archaeal Root of Life", The 4th International Congress on Extremophiles 2002, Complesso Universitario, Monte Sant'Angelo, University Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy, L54, p. 84.

Gong, Qingguo, Guo, Qing, Tong, Ka-Lok, Zhu, Guang, Wong, Tze-Fei Jeffrey, Xue,

Hong (2001-2002) "NMR analysis of bovine tRNATrp. Conformation dependence of Mg2+

binding.", J. Biol. Chem., 277, 20694-20701.

Yifan HAN

Associate Professor

(2358 7293 ; [email protected]) PhD, Medical College of Ohio (1991) Visiting Scientist, Hoechst AG (1985-86)

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Molecular mechanisms of learning and memory; neuropsychopharmacologic research and development of anti-Alzheimer's agents, including those from Chinese medicinal herbs.

Novel dimeric AChE inhibitors: Cellular and molecular characterization of one-compound-multi-targets at soluble amyloid cascade associated with Alzheimer's Disease

RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,049,20001 Sep 2007

Novel dimeric AChE inhibitors: Signaling mechanisms of neuroprotections against excitotoxins associated with Alzheimer's disease

RGC - Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HK$1,530,50001 Oct 2006

NIE, H., YU, W.J., LI, X.Y., YUAN, C.H., PANG, Y.P., LI, C.Y., Han, Y.F., LI, Z.W. (2007) "Inhibition by bis(7)-tacrine of native delayed rectifier and KV1.2 encoded potassium channels", Neurosci Lett, 412(2):108-13.

WANG, W., YANG, Y., YING, C., Li, W., RUAN, H., ZHU, X., YOU, Y., Han, Y.F., CHEN, R., WANG, Y., LI, M. (2007) "Inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta protects dopaminergic neurons from MPTP toxicity", Neuropharmacology, 52(8):1678-84.

Fu, H., LI, W., LIU, Y., LAO, Y., LIU, W., CHEN, C., Yu, H., Lee, N.T., Chang, D.C., PANG, Y.,

Tsim, K.W., LI, P., LI, M., Han, Y.F. (2007) "Mitochondrial Proteomic Analysis and

Characterization of the Intracellular Mechanisms of Bis(7)-tacrine in Protecting against Glutamate-Induced Excitotoxicity in Primary Cultured Neurons", J Proteome Res, 6(7):2435-2446.

Li, W., Xue, J., Niu, C., Fu, H., Lam, C.S., Luo, J., Chan, H.H., Xue, H., Kan, K.K., Lee, N.T., LI, C., PANG, Y., LI, M., Tsim, K.W., JIANG, H., CHEN, K., LI, X., Han, Y.F. (2007) "Synergistic Neuroprotection by Bis(7)-tacrine via Concurrent Blockade of N-Methyl-D- aspartate Receptors and Neuronal Nitric-Oxide Synthase", Mol Pharmacol, 71(5):1258-67.

LI, C.Y., Carlier, P.C., Ren, H., Kan, K.K., HUI, K.M., WANG, H., LI, W.M., LI, Z.W., XIONG, K.M., CLEMENT, E.C., Lee, N.T.K., Tsang, H.W., Xue, H., LIU, X.G., LI, M.T., PANG, Y.P., Han,

Y.F. (2007) "Tether length dependent GABAA receptor competitive antagonism by

alkylend-linked tacrine dimers: bis(2)-tacrine is ten times more potent than (+)-bicuculine", NeuroPharmacol, 52(2):436-43.

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DENG, R., LI, W.M., ZHOU, J.M., MEI, Y.P., LI, M.T., FENG, G.K., HUANG, W.L., LIU, Z.C.,

Han, Y.F., ZENG, Y.X., ZHU, X.F. (2006) "Acetylcholinesterase expression mediated by

c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase pathway during apoptosis", Oncogene, 25(53):7070-7.

Fu, H.J., LI, W.M., Lao, Y.Z., Luo, J.L., Lee, N.T.K., Kan, K.K.W., Tsang, H.W., Tsim,

K.W.K., PANG, Y.P., LI, Z.W., Chang, D.C., LI, M.T., Han, Y.F. (2006) "Bis(7)-tacrine attenuates

Beta amyloid-induced apoptosis by regulating L-typecalcium channels", J Neurochem, 98, 1400-1410.

PAN, S.Y., Han, Y.F., YU, Z.L., YANG, R., DONG, H., Ko, K.M. (2006) "Evaluation of acute tacrine treatment on passive-avoidance response, open-field behavior, and toxicity in 17- and 30-day-old mice", Pharmacol Biochem Behav., 85: 50-56.

Chun LIANG

Associate Professor

(2358 7296 ; [email protected]) PhD, Brown University (1993)

Mechanism and cell cycle control of DNA replication in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; regulation of DNA replication in normal and cancer cells; molecular cancer detection and anticancer agents.

Characterization of a novel class of proteins involved in both ribosome biogenesis and initiation of DNA replication

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Liang, Chun (2007) "DNA REPLICATION-INITIATION PROTEINS AND THEIR POTENTIAL APPLICATION AS ANTICANCER TARGETS", Croucher Foundation Advanced Study Institute on Molecular Genetics and Cell Signaling in Cancer and Cancer Metatasis, Hong Kong, 1.2007. Liang, Chun (2007) "Study on DNA replication initiation proteins and their applications in cancer", Shenzhen-Hong Kong Joint Symposium on Biomedical Research, Shenzhen, China, 6.2007.

Liang, Chun (2006) "DNA replication-initiation proteins: identification, characterization and potential application as anticancer targets (Invited talk)", Croucher Foundation Advanced Study Institute on Signaling in Cell Growth and Differentiation, 1.2006.

Huo, Lin, Yu, Zhiling, Chan, Tsz Choi, Lu, Yongjun, Zhang, Yuan, Wong, Bonnie, Labib, Karim, Liang, Chun (2006) "Ipi3p is an essential DNA replication-initiation protein required for and directly involved in pre-replication complex assembly and maintenance (Talk)", The Cell Cycle Meeting, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, N.Y., USA, 9.2006.

Liang, Chun (2005) "DNA replication-initiation proteins and their potential applications in cancer. (Invited talk)", The 1st eIMBL (electronic International Molecular Biology Lab) Workshop, eIMBL, Seoul, Korea, 7.2005.

Liang, Chun (2005) "DNA replication-initiation proteins as novel anticancer targets. (Invited talk)", Hong Kong University Symposium on Frontiers in Biomedical Research, 12.2005.

Liang, Chun (2005) "Identification of effective anticancer drug candidates with low toxicity from Chinese medicinal herbs targeted to DNA replication-initiation proteins. (Invited talk)", Hong Kong Baptist University Conference on Traditional Chinese Medicine., 11.2005.

Zhai, Yuanliang, Chan, Tsz Choi, Feng, Daorong, Fu, Xinrong, Lo, Alice, Chen, Yanhong, Ma, Lijuan, Lu, Yongjun, Liang, Chun (2005) "Identification of novel initiation proteins for yeast DNA replication by using the IDR (Initiation of DNA Replication) screen", Eukaryotic DNA Replication Meeting, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, N.Y., USA, 9.2005.