Mr Alfred SIT, JP

Secretary, Innovation and Technology Bureau, HKSAR

Mr. Alfred SIT is the current Secretary for Innovation and Technology. Mr SIT is an electrical engineer by profession and has over 30 years’ experience in public administration. He is a fellow member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. He was the President of the Hong Kong Institution of Facility Management and Chairman of the Biomedical Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

Mr. SIT joined the Government as an Assistant Electrical and Mechanical Engineer in 1984 and was promoted to Chief Electrical and Mechanical Engineer in 2001, to Government Electrical and Mechanical Engineer in 2007 and to Deputy Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services in 2011. From October 2017, he was the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services and Electrical and the Mechanical Services Trading Fund General Manager. On 22 April 2020, Mr SIT was appointed as the Secretary for Innovation and Technology.

Mr SIT holds an Associateship in Electrical Engineering from the Hong Kong Polytechnic and a masters degree in Business Administration from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has also attended Harvard Business School.

Prof. Rocky TUAN

Vice-Chancellor and President, CUHK

Prof. Rocky S. Tuan began his term as the eighth Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) on 1 January 2018. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he pursued further studies in the United States and received his PhD in Life Sciences in 1977 from the Rockefeller University in New York.

Prof. Tuan is an internationally renowned biomedical scientist specializing in musculoskeletal biology and tissue regeneration, whose work covers both basic science and engineering, as well as translational and clinical applications. Prior to joining CUHK in 2016 as a distinguished visiting professor and the founding director of the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, he was distinguished professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Engineering in the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, Prof. Tuan was elected to the fellowships of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Chinese Association of Inventions (CAI), the American Association of Anatomists (AAA), and the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), respectively, for his accomplishments in innovation and translational research that bring significant impact on society.

Prof. Alan CHAN

Provost, CUHK

Prof. Alan Chan is currently the Provost and J.S. Lee Professor of Chinese Culture at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining CUHK, Prof. Chan was Toh Puan Mahani Idris Daim Chair Professor of Humanities at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) of Singapore. He joined NTU as Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and Professor of Philosophy in 2009. In January 2018, Prof. Chan was appointed Vice President of NTU, responsible for alumni engagement, university advancement and international relations.

Prof. Chan was born in Hong Kong and completed his secondary school education here. He then pursued his higher education in Canada. He received his BA from the University of Winnipeg, MA from the University of Manitoba, and PhD in religious studies from the University of Toronto. Prof. Chan began his academic career as an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba. He then joined the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he held several leadership roles, including the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education). While at NUS, Prof. Chan twice received the Teaching Excellence Award.

Prof. Mai Har SHAM

Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President, CUHK

Prof. Mai Har Sham is a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Choh-Ming Li Professor of Biomedical Sciences. Prof. Sham obtained her BSc and MPhil degrees in Biology at CUHK. She was awarded a Croucher Foundation Scholarship and pursued her PhD in Biochemistry in the University of Cambridge. She received her postdoctoral training in Developmental Genetics in the National Institute for Medical Research in London, U.K. Prof, Sham joined the University of Hong Kong as a lecturer and progressed to full professor. She headed the Department of Biochemistry, where she promoted not only excellent research, but also good practice in teaching. She was dedicated to medical and science curriculum development, she led the design and establishment of the first Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences curriculum in Hong Kong.

Prof. Sham has extensive experience in research management and leadership. In her previous roles as Assistant Dean (Research) and Associate Vice-President (Research) in the University of Hong Kong, she contributed to research grant management, research assessment exercises, strategic development of research and collaborations with international and mainland China institutions. She facilitated the development of research postgraduate education and joint PhD supervision programmes with partner institutions. Prof. Sham is a member of the World Conference on Research Integrity Foundation. Working together with the international consortium, she promotes responsible conduct of research and good science in universities and research institutions.

As a developmental geneticist, Prof. Sham leads a research team focusing on the molecular mechanisms of mammalian development and human congenital disorders. Her research programmes cover areas of gene regulation and molecular signaling, craniofacial and hearing disorders, genetic bases and mutant mouse models of rare human diseases, stem cells and tissue regeneration. She served as the Director of the Centre for Reproduction Development and Growth in the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong. She is currently the President of the Hong Kong Society of Developmental Biology. She serves as an Editorial Committee Member for Annual Review on Genomics and Human Genetics.

Prof. Benny ZEE

Director, Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services, CUHK

Prof. Benny Zee is Director, Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He is also Professor and Director of the Centre for Clinical Research and Biostatistics (CCRB) of the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, and Director of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics Lab in the CU Shenzhen Research Institute (SZRI). He holds honorary appointments in the Department of Clinical Oncology and the Department of Statistics of CUHK. He is also the Chairman of the Joint CUHK-NTEC Clinical Research Ethics Committee from 2006-2020. Prof. Zee obtained his Ph.D in Biostatistics from the University of Pittsburgh USA in 1987. He then joined the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group as Senior Biostatistician, and faculty member in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of Queen’s University Canada from 1987-2001. He remains as Adjunct Professor with Queen’s University after he joined CUHK and is actively promoting international academic activities and collaborations.

Prof. Zee has strong interest in various aspects of multi-center clinical trials, including statistical methods, data management, drug and medical device development. On the methodological side, he is active in Biostatistics research, especially in the area of clinical trials design, bioinformatics, quality of life, data & safety monitoring and other statistical issues. He has experience in the development of efficient data management procedure using advanced computer technology for “big data analytics” and "machine learning", plus ample experience in working with industry to design and to carry out clinical trials that satisfy both academic interest and industry objectives. He has tremendous experience in the development of infrastructure such as Ethics Committee, GCP Centre and quality assurance team to carry out clinical research in hospitals that satisfies regulatory and international requirements. He is also active in medical devices development such as “automatic retinal imaging analysis (ARIA)” and serves in the Centre for Entrepreneurship of CUHK. He had published more than 250 international peer reviewed journal articles, a number of US and international patents and serves in various committees including advisory committees for drug development and data & safety monitoring committees for international drug trials.

Prof. Mei Po KWAN

Director, Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, CUHK

Prof. KWAN Mei-Po is the Director of the Institute of Space and Earth Information Science of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Geography and Resource Management of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Affiliated Professor in the Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prof. KWAN is a Fellow of the United Kingdom Academy of Social Sciences, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and American Association of Geographers. She was awarded many Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards by the American Association of Geographers, including the Distinguished Scholarship Honors, the Edward L. Ullman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Transportation Geography, and the Melinda Meade Award for Outstanding Contributions to Health and Medical Research. She also received the U.S. University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) Research Award.

Prof. Chunshan SONG

Dean, Faculty of Science, CUHK

Prof. Chunshan Song is Dean of Science and Wei Lun Professor of Chemistry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong since July 2020. He was Director of the Energy Institute and a Distinguished Professor in Fuel Science and Chemical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University in the US and the founding Director of US DOE University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research consisting of 15 major research universities until June 2020. His research interests focus on chemistry and catalysis for energy and fuels including CO2 separation and CO2 conversion to chemicals and fuels; adsorptive, oxidative and catalytic processing of fuels; shape-selective catalysis; energy conversion; synthesis and application of nano-structured materials. He received BS in chemical engineering from Dalian University of Technology in China, MS and PhD in applied chemistry from Osaka University in Japan. He has 440 refereed publications (with 35,200 citations and H-index of 87 in Google Scholar, Sept 2021), 8 patents, and 15 edited books. He is a Fellow of American Chemical Society, and has received ACS George A. Olah Award, ACS Henry H. Storch Award; ACS Energy & Fuels Division’s Distinguished Researcher Award; Fulbright Distinguished Scholar; Herman Pines Award from Catalysis Club of Chicago; Catalysis Club of Philadelphia Award; Top Cited Author in Catalysis from Elsevier; Most Cited Author in Energy Science & Engineering and in Chemical Engineering, Global Alumni Fellow of Osaka University, and within Penn State, the Faculty Scholar Medal, Distinguished Professor, and Wilson Award for Excellence in Research.

Prof. Hon Fai CHAN

Assistant Professor, Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM), CUHK

Prof. CHAN Hon Fai is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM) and School of Biomedical Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received his B.Eng. degree from The University of Hong Kong. He then pursued his M.S. and Ph.D. degree at Duke University. During his Ph.D. training, he focused on developing several microfluidic technologies to perform 3D spheroid culture, and investigated the effect of supplementing extracellular matrix cues on spheroid functions. Afterward, Prof. CHAN joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral associate. There he conducted organ-on-a-chip research and developed biomaterial scaffold to recapitulate tissue folding. His current research focuses on organ-on-a-chip and microfabrication approach for tissue engineering.

Prof. Anna BLOCKI

Assistant Professor, Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM), CUHK

Prof. Anna BLOCKI, PhD, has joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) since February 2018 as an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM) and School of Biomedical Sciences (SBS). Her current work focuses on developing innovative approaches to modulate diseased microenvironments and guide healing and regenerative processes. Prof. BLOCKI received her PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2013. Following that, she carried out her first postdoctoral appointment at the Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. In 2015, Prof. BLOCKI was able to secure a competitive postdoctoral fellowship from the Charité Universitätsklinikum Berlin, where she worked before joining CUHK.

Prof. Michelle WANG

Research Assistant Professor, Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM), CUHK

Prof. Michelle WANG completed her B.S and M.S in Dental Medicine from Sun Yat-Sen Medical University, Ph.D. in Oral Biology from the Dental School of University of Pittsburgh, and her postdoctoral training from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Stanford University. Prof. Wang has interdisciplinary training, including basic and pre-clinical research and a current medical practice. These diverse perspectives have informed her approach to expanding the frontiers of biomedical knowledge and advanced patient care.

During her doctoral training, Prof. WANG secured a Ph.D. scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh and studied the contributions of Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) to skull bone healing in various clinically relevant animal models. This work has received recognition in the form of a Student Research Award from the American Association for Dental Research. During her postdoctoral research at Stanford University, Prof. WANG identified genes responsible for rapid bone growth and differentiation in deer antler regeneration, and research received widespread media coverage for this research. Professor WANG also developed a phototunable polyurethane biomaterial for bone-to-tendon repair, which is currently under further pre-clinical development. In her current research program at CUHK, Prof. WANG and her team are focused on elucidating the contributions of extracellular matrix (ECM) components within the stem cell microenvironment and applying such knowledge towards the engineering of novel biomaterials for musculoskeletal tissue repair. Prof. WANG has obtained numerous local and national research support and her work has been published in prestigious journals such as Advanced Functional Materials, Biomaterials, Nature Publishing Group Asia Materials, Stem Cell Research & Therapy, and had been featured in several books.

Ms. Elsa WONG

Managing Director, NEC Hong Kong Limited

Ms. Elsa WONG is Managing Director and Board of Director of NEC Hong Kong Limited (NECHK), a leading Japanese based technology company providing one-stop solutions/services for various industries in Hong Kong, Macau and the Greater Bay Area.

Ms. WONG has been working for NECHK for more than 22 years and was promoted through the ranks to Managing Director and the Global Head of “Centre of Excellence” for Smart Transportation. NECHK won Hong Kong’s Most Valuable Companies Award in the “Most Reliable Biometrics Solutions Provider” category and won the Leaders of Innovation awards in 2019.

Ms. WONG is a Robotic Engineer and holds a Master degree in Computer Science. She has led innovation within the Hong Kong team at NEC to create several patents for the Company.

Prof. Peifeng MA

Research Assistant Professor, Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, CUHK

Peifeng Ma is a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has published more than 30 research articles in international journals and obtained 12 patents. His interests include radar remote sensing, infrastructural heath monitoring, geo-hazard monitoring and mitigation, big data analysis, and sustainable cities. He has received many prestigious honours and awards, such as the AXA Post-Doctoral Fellowship, the Remote Sensing Young Talent Award from the National Remote Sensing Centre of China, and the First Class Prize of the National Surveying and Mapping Science and Technology Progress Award.

Prof. Wei REN

Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, CUHK

Prof. Wei REN received his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University in 2013. He is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research aims to develop new technologies and understand basic principles in laser spectroscopy and optical gas sensing. His laboratory places a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship in academic pursuits and recently spun out LaSense Technology that offers ultrasensitive gas sensing systems for the environmental protection and energy sectors. Dr. Ren serves as the Co-Editor of Springer journal Applied Physics B. He is the senior member of the Optical Society, and the recipient of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China (2021).

Prof. Patrick WONG

Director, Brain and Mind Institute, CUHK

Prof. WONG is a linguist, cognitive neuroscientist and speech-language therapist whose research centers on cultural and biological factors that lead to variation in language and cognition across individuals. From imaging the brains of infants and older adults, to perceptual psychophysics, grammar learning, gene sequencing, and developing processes to forecast developmental changes, his research is fundamentally interdisciplinary. Over 100 research papers authored by Prof. WONG have been featured in scholarly publications across various disciplines, and his work has been reported on by media outlets such as The New York Times and the Scientific American. He is the founder of Foresight Language and Learning Solutions Ltd.