New vista of regenerative medicine
Nearly 1,000 global scholars and industry experts participated in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society–Asia Pacific (TERMIS-AP) Conference hosted by CUHK last month, exchanging latest knowledge and forging new connections to advance human health.
During the four-day event from October 16 to 19, participants from 38 regions engaged in a diverse programme including plenary lectures, discussion sessions, presentations and exhibitions on topics ranging from biomaterials and immune biology to the development of human organs-on-chips and stem cell therapies. TERMIS is a world-leading organisation in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK Professor Rocky S. Tuan, conference chair and a world-renowned scholar in the field, said at the closing ceremony that he was pleased to see a large turnout of young investigators and students joining established scientists at the event, with some of them coming from beyond Asia-Pacific, including Europe, Africa and North America.
Professor Tuan noted that there were three Rs in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine—repair structurally, restore functionally and regenerate holistically.
“I am going to add two more ‘Rs’. The fourth one is ‘recreate’ experimentally—you have heard Professor Donald Ingber talk about human organs-on-chips” he said, referring to the Harvard University professor’s groundbreaking technology to replace animal testing for drug development and personalised medicine. “The final ‘R’ is ‘reconnect’ professionally and personally. With this meeting, we have reconnected as well.”
