2015 Senior Research Fellow: Liwen Jiang
Jiang has been internationally recognised as a leading expert in the field of plant protein transport. His major contributions include the identification of multivesicular bodies as prevacuolar compartments in tobacco cell lines, and the elucidation of the novel EXPO (exocyst-positive organelle) compartment and the EXPO-mediated unconventional protein secretion pathway in plant cells. Since protein transport and organelle biogenesis are crucial for plant development and plant stress resistance, understanding of the molecular mechanisms will contribute to the development of plant biotechnology and improve crop cultivation in future.
In 2009, Jiang received a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship for his outstanding research achievements in the study of plant protein transport. In 2015, in light of his continuing record of achievement, Jiang received a second award. Jiang will use the period of his 2015 Senior Research Fellowship to continue working on unconventional protein secretion in plants, which will enhance our understanding of plant growth and development, as well as plants’ responses to the environment.
Croucher Senior Research Fellowships are prestigious awards supporting mid-career scientists in Hong Kong universities who wish to spend more time on research, and less time on their heavy teaching and administrative commitments. In selecting the awardees for the Senior Research Fellowships the Croucher Foundation Trustees were assisted by a group of eminent scientists from nine countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, UK and the USA. All candidates in this exercise went through a stringent process of assessment and selection, and are Hong Kong scientists internationally recognised to be at the forefront of their respective fields.
Jiang was educated at the South China Agricultural University and completed postgraduate degrees at the University of British Columbia and Simon Frazier University. He joined the Department of Biology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2000, was promoted to Professor in 2007 and is currently serving as the Choh-Ming Li Professor of Life Sciences and Director of AoE Centre for Organelle Biogenesis and Function, as well as the Director of Centre for Cell and Developmental Biology at CUHK. As of early May 2015, Jiang has 108 publications including 85 research articles and 2 book chapters, with a total of 3,132 citations.
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