News & Events

Prof. Thomas Südhof, the Avram Goldstein Professor of the School of Medicine at Stanford University and the 2013 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, was invited to HKUST on 4 July 2014 to give a Nobel Lecture entitled “Towards a Molecular Definition of Synapse Formation: Neurexins, Neuroligins and More”. The event was co-organized with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) with sponsorship from the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation, and attracted a full house of over 100 participants from academia and industry.

The SKL held the Second Academic Advisory Committee Meeting at HKUST on 4 July 2014. Three advisors, Prof. Aaron Ciechanover (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel), Prof. Martha Constantine-Paton (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), and Dr. Ronald Lindsay (Zebra Biologics Inc., USA), attended the meeting. During the one-day review meeting, the SKL team presented their latest research findings to the Committee. The advisors provided strategic and scientific guidance to the SKL team, and evaluated the scientific merits of the research programs.

The Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on "Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology" were held at HKUST from 28 June to 4 July 2014, respectively. GRC is a prestigious conference designed to promote interactions between neuroscientists. With “Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology” as the main theme, this year’s conference featured diverse areas of modern neuroscience from molecules and cells to circuits, behavior, neuro-degeneration, and regeneration after injury. Two keynote lectures were scheduled at the conference. Prof. Thomas Südhof, from Stanford University and the 2013 Nobel Laureate in Medicine, delivered a talk on “Neurexin Diversity and Synapse Specification”. Prof. Mu-ming Poo, from the University of California Berkeley and the Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a talk on “BDNF and Synaptic Plasticity”. Their participation highlights the first-rate international standing of the conference.

The SKL held the second Members Retreat from 30 March to 1 April 2013 in Shanghai. The retreat offered members the opportunity to come together to re-examine the goals, objectives, and activities of the SKL, and drive our mission forward more effectively in the coming year.  The retreat was held in conjunction with the Annual Joint Meeting with the SKL of Neuroscience, Shanghai. This is the second Joint Meeting between the SKL of Molecular Neuroscience in Hong Kong and the SKL of Neuroscience in Shanghai. Over twenty-five researchers from the two partner SKLs joined the meeting. Through a program of presentations and panel discussions, the joint meeting offered the ideal environment for scientific exchange. It also laid down the foundation for research excellence and strengthened collaborative efforts between the two SKLs.

The SKL held the first Academic Advisory Committee on 22 June 2012. Five advisors, including two Nobel Laureates, attended the meeting. They are: Dr. Aaron Ciechanover (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel), Dr. Martha Constantine-Paton (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Dr. Shumin Duan (Zhejiang University, PRC), Dr. Robert Horvitz (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), and Dr. Ronald Lindsay (Sequenom Inc. USA). During the one-day review meeting, SKL team presented their latest research findings to the Committee. The advisors provided strategic and scientific guidance to the SKL team, and evaluated the scientific merits of the research programs.