Event

Dear Colleagues and Students,

You are warmly invited to join this sixth episode of the CUHK and CUHK(SZ) Joint Seminar Series: ALS & Alzheimer's — Novel Research on Neurological Diseases, presented by two distinguished faculty members, Prof. Ho Yin Edwin Chan and Prof. Kim Hei-Man Chow, from the School of Life Sciences at CUHK . Details are as follows. Don’t miss out and register NOW!

Date: April 26, 2022 (Tuesday)
Time: 2pm -4pm
Mode: Zoom
Medium: English
Register: CUHK and CUHK (SZ) Joint Seminar Series | Registration Form 2022-04

Chair:
Prof. Mai Har Sham
Pro-Vice-Chancellor/Vice-President (Research), CUHK

Speakers:

Prof. Ho Yin Edwin Chan
Professor, School of Life Sciences, CUHK

Prof. Chan received undergraduate training in biochemistry from CUHK, doctoral training at The University of Cambridge (UK), and postdoctoral training at The University of Pennsylvania (US). Since 1999, Prof. Chan has been investigating rare neurological and neuromuscular disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/frontotemporal dementia, Huntington’s disease, myotonic dystrophy and spinocerebellar ataxias.

Topic:
Hope in the “ice bucket” – developing novel therapeutic strategies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease study

Synopsis:
The hexanucleotide repeat GGGGCC expansion in the human C9orf72 gene causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). C9ALS/FTD patients exhibit progressive deterioration of behavior, language and personality, ultimately leading to death from a combination of motor, frontal and temporal lobe neuronal degeneration. To date, treatment options for C9ALS/FTD patients remain very limited. This talk describes our recent attempts to develop novel therapeutic strategies against C9ALS/FTD.

Prof. Kim Hei-Man Chow
Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, CUHK

Prof. Chow is an assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences, CUHK. She received her graduate training at HKU, postdoctoral training at Cornell University and then a research assistant professorship training at HKUST. Prof. Chow was the recipient of multiple international fellowships, including the Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship, the World Economic Forum Global Future Council Fellowship and the NSFC Excellent Young Scientist Fund. The Chow Lab focuses on studying mechanisms underlying pathological brain aging and related neurodegenerative disorders. Current projects aim at delineating the metabolic and molecular signatures of rare subpopulations of senescent cells in diseased brains in hope to identify new targets for drugs development.

Topic:
Metabolic aspects in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

Synopsis:
Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are a prominent class of neurological diseases currently without a cure. A growing body of evidence suggests that brain and cognitive aging are accompanied by extensive metabolic perturbation, despite how known risk factors of the disease may yield such effects remains elusive. This talk describes our recent work in addressing such question, with attempts to prevent and modify the rate of progression in a metabolic-centric approach.