CUHK has received the generous support of HK $49.7 million from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (the Trust) to establish five Jockey Club (JC) STEM Labs.

An opening ceremony was held on 18 December. In his welcoming speech, CUHK Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Rocky S. Tuan expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Trust. “The inauguration of the five JC STEM Labs represents a significant milestone in our journey towards achieving our goals. Each Lab focuses on a unique research area and is set to deliver impactful discoveries and innovative outcomes that will not only increase Hong Kong’s competitiveness in the long run, but also emerge as global breakthroughs that will bring heightened social benefits for the community at large,” he said.

The five labs specialise in different fields. The JC STEM Lab of Intelligent Design Automation is led by Professor Ho Tsung Yi from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and aspires to make CUHK a centre for next-generation technologies and applications in electronic design automation. The JC STEM Lab of Astronomical Instrumentation is led by Professor Yan Renbin from the Department of Physics, and is dedicated to mapping the motion and distribution of gases in the Milky Way to understand how stars are born. The JC STEM Lab of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine is led by Professor Stephen Dalton from the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and will specialise in the development of new drugs and novel cell therapy approaches for type-2 diabetes. The JC STEM Lab of Nature-inspired Precision Medical Engineering is led by Professor Mao Chuanbin from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and will focus on developing precision medicine to combat challenging diseases such as cancer. The JC STEM Lab of Personalised Cancer Medicine is led by Professor Andreas Moeller from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and will focus on translational cancer research.

The funds are part of the launch of the JC STEM Lab initiative at University Grants Committee-funded universities. It serves as a central component of the Trust’s talent and sector development strategy, and aims to support laboratory set-up for awarded scholars under the Government-initiated Global STEM Professorship Scheme. In the long term, this will help nurture STEM talent in Hong Kong, and help translate new science and technology into social impact.

A video introducing the five STEM labs can be viewed below.