Three rising stars receive Croucher Innovation Awards
Croucher Foundation is pleased to announce the 2024 Croucher Tak Wah Mak Innovation Awards, which recognise the rising stars of Hong Kong science and enable them to focus on critical research within their fields.
Three distinguished scholars received Innovation Awards in 2024. Dr Hei Ming Lai, a clinical assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, received the award for his work in biotechnology. Dr Hairong Lyu is an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and won an award to continue her work in synthetic organoboron chemistry. Dr Yi Yang, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, was awarded for his research in the field of photonics.
“The Innovation Award is perhaps the most prestigious award for early career researchers at my stage, which is a significant recognition for my team’s work, and a motivation to continue to innovate and solve problems in the world,” said Lai.
The Innovation Awards are designed to offer substantial support to early-career scientists engaging in research at universities in Hong Kong. The awards enable researchers to pursue their scientific, intellectual, and professional inclinations, to advance their expertise, engage in bold new work, and contribute to the development of education and research in Hong Kong.
“This award emphasises our contribution to the fields of boron chemistry and organic synthesis, inspiring us to continue our pursuit of innovative solutions to the challenges facing the chemical industry, especially in synthesising fine chemicals amidst a global surge in demand,” said Lyu.
In order to be eligible for the award, candidates must be a new or recent recruit with a tenure-track faculty position at a university in Hong Kong and have a strong, internationally competitive track record in research. The total value of each Innovation Award is HK$5 million.
“This is an important recognition of my research achievements in the past and research ideas for the future,” said Yang.
Dr Hei Ming Lai
From spatial multi-omics to systems biophysics and 3D tissue diagnostics.
Lai and his team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong are working to create a 3D spatial multi-omics platform for clinical diagnostics and spatial biology research. This involves the development of affordable tissue mapping technologies, building a standard 3D tissue annotated atlas, applying their technology to investigate new biological structures, and the systematic development of 3D tissue imaging-based diagnostics to improve cancer outcomes.
“During 3D tissue imaging technology development, we observed many interesting phenomena and biology that has not been described. I hope this award can provide us with the freedom to explore these uncharted areas, which definitely will lead to intriguing discoveries and new possibilities,” said Lai.
Lai and his team have developed new tools in protein engineering, supramolecular chemistry, nanotechnology, and chemical engineering to tackle complex problems in cancer tissue diagnostics, neuropsychiatric disease mechanisms and biomarker discovery, photovoltaics, COVID-19, and the relationship between tissue structures and molecular phenotypes and their functions.
“We aim for our technology and database to be accessible by any laboratories globally, to catalyse the exploration of biomarkers and biology in its native 3D perspective, and directly benefit patient outcomes to improve survival and reduce unnecessary treatment,” Lai said.
Dr Hairong Lyu
Deep involvement of boron into synthetic chemistry: methodologies and applications.
Lyu and her team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong aim to address global demand for fine chemicals using boron-based strategies. Extensive chemical syntheses are necessary for generating compound libraries, manipulating natural products, and optimising lead compounds. Organic chemists have long sought to improve atom and step economy, making synthesis more efficient and sustainable, in order to advance the pharmaceutical industry.
“The global demand for fine chemicals, which are crucial in drug discovery for generating compound libraries, manipulating natural products, and optimising lead compounds, presents significant challenges. Our research, which focusses on utilising boron-based strategies, is anticipated to offer new solutions to these issues,” said Lyu.
By developing new boron reagents and synthetic methodologies, Lyu and her team aim to significantly improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of synthetic processes. This could reduce the time and cost associated with the development of new drugs and lead to treatments for diseases that are currently difficult to manage or untreatable.
“The transformative potential of these innovations in chemical synthesis promises to make a profound impact on the drug discovery process and, ultimately, on patient care and healthcare economics globally,” Lyu said.
Additionally, Lyu’s focus on sustainability helps to reduce the environmental impacts associated with chemical synthesis, aligning with global efforts towards more sustainable scientific practices.
Dr Yi Yang
Nonrelativistic free-electron-light interaction with nanophotonics.
Yang and his research team at the University of Hong Kong aim to realise strong free-electron-light interaction by interfacing slow nonrelativistic electrons with judiciously designed photonic environments. The growing synergy of free electron optics and nanophotonics has spurred new discoveries and applications, such as the stimulated inverse Cherenkov effect, entanglement between free electrons and photons, tunable integrated radiation sources and particle accelerators, and even biomedical imaging.
“Much of the synergy between free electron optics and nanophotonics relies on the strong interaction between free electrons and photons. Nonrelativistic electrons hold great promise for achieving such a strong interaction because their energy is comparable to photon energy. Such a strong interaction could give rise to unique quantum-recoil phenomena and multiple photon processes,” Yang said.
Yang will provide a general framework to elucidate the maximal quantum interaction limit between free electrons and photons under arbitrary bandwidth. Based on the quantum limit, he will utilise optimal structures to demonstrate the slow-electron advantage in radiation generation and quantum light manipulation by studying cathodoluminescence in electron microscopes.
He will investigate the interplay between nonrelativistic electrons, Van der Waals materials, and nanostructures to explore quantum recoil, spin polarisation, and multi-photon emission processes.
“Our research can be useful in electron microscopy and spectroscopy. It could generate entangled electrons and photons for quantum light generation and manipulation. It may also enable integrated free-electron radiation sources and accelerators,” Yang said.
More details on the Croucher Innovation Awards can be found here.