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14 Feature Other national recognition has been accorded to highly-esteemed individual scholars who are based in the Faculty, including three scholars named to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (Professor John Leong Chi-yan, Professor So Kwok-fai and former HKU Vice- Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui), and two named to the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) (Professor Fan Sheung-Tat and Professor Yuen Kwok-yung). They have each made important contributions to science and medicine and are contributing their expertise to the development of the GBA through the new Bay Area academician alliance in Hong Kong, which is promoting participation by CAS and CAE academicians. Among the achievements of the CAS and CAE academicians is Professor So’s globally pioneering work in axonal regeneration of the visual system and his subsequent work in tackling axonal regeneration of the spinal cord. Professor So is also Director of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of Central Nervous System Regeneration based at Jinan University in Guangzhou, which has produced numerous high- impact publications since its establishment in 2012. Another example is the work of microbiologist, physician and surgeon Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, who is world- renowned for his discoveries pertaining to infectious diseases such as H5N1 and SARS. Professor Yuen and his team at the Department of Microbiology recently have collaborated with Hainan-Medical University (HMU) to establish the HMU-HKU Joint Laboratory of Tropical Diseases, which has set its sights on oft-neglected diseases Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and his team at the Department of Microbiology recently collaborated with Hainan-Medical University (HMU) to establish HMU-HKU Joint Laboratory of Tropical Diseases with sights on oft-neglected diseases such as viral hepatitis and parasitic infections. 袁國勇教授與微生物學系團隊最近與海南醫學院合作，成立海南醫學院－香港大學熱帶傳染病聯合實驗室，以經常備受忽略的疾病如病毒性肝炎及寄生蟲感染為研究目標。 such as viral hepatitis and parasitic infections. In just two years, the lab has already translated its research into new diagnostic tests and therapeutic options. Professor Tsui is another nationally-and internationally-acclaimed scientist. He was HKU’s Vice-Chancellor from 2002 to 2014, and he now chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of the Faculty’s School of Biomedical Sciences, is Director of the Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies at Zhejiang University and Founding President of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, among many other achievements. He believes there is potential for Hong Kong to be a world-class biomedical technology centre, especially with recent allocations from the Hong Kong government. In November 2018 the government earmarked HK$30 million to support 22 laboratories jointly founded by the CAS and local universities – good news that also coincided with five joint CAS-HKU labs being rated “distinguished” or “good” in the Fifth Assessment of the Hong Kong-Chinese Academy of Sciences Joint Laboratories. Two of these labs are connected with the Faculty: the Joint Laboratory for Biomaterials of SIAT- HKU-CUHK, involving Professor William Lu Weijia, was rated “distinguished”; and the Hong Kong-Guangdong Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Centre, involving Professor Tse Hung-fat, was rated “good”. “Hong Kong has an edge in biomedical technology and HKUMed has contributed to that edge. Its impact will be even greater when it collaborates with more partners, especially from Mainland China,” Professor Tsui said.