v25i2

LEADING THE QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE HKUMed researchers have made ground- breaking discoveries about the science of COVID-19 that have informed coping strategies by governments and organisations around the world. We had several world firsts early on that provided critical insights on the transmission and infectious nature of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. We have since continued to produce a steady stream of research as our understanding of the virus and pandemic becomes more advanced. A crucial factor behind our contributions has been our lightning-quick response to the outbreak, honed by years of working on infectious diseases. Our first major test was the 2003 SARS outbreak, after which we recruited new expertise, created new teams, strengthened existing ones, and put a sharp focus on producing scientific evidence about infectious diseases. Our growing research strength in this area has attracted funding success and collaborators from around the nation and the world, including the World Health Organization which established a WHO Collaborating Centre in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control (WHO Collaborating Centre) and a WHO Reference Laboratory for H5N1 Influenza in our Faculty, and the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Recently, five @InnoHK hubs led by HKUMed scholars each received hundreds of millions of dollars to pursue cutting- edge research that will, among other things, advance our ability to fight infectious diseases. Our collective experience and expertise meant that when COVID-19 started to hit the radar in early January, HKUMed scholars were the right people in the right place at the right time – close to the epicentre, but not in harm’s way, and able to draw on all the lessons of the past to quickly ascertain the nature of this disease and the virus causing it. Our preparedness helped us to secure a total of HK$97.288 million for commissioned research projects on COVID-19 under the Health and Medical Research Fund by Food and Health Bureau, HKSAR Government, in 2020. The work is ongoing and the key findings to date are described on these pages. An important feature of our work has A pseudo-colour thin- section electron micrograph shows the SARS-CoV-2 virus grown in cells by HKUMed. Multiple virus particles can be seen being released from the cell surface. Each infected cell produces thousands of such particles which can go on to infect new cells. 08