Leaders of six HKU research projects: (upper row from left) Professor Victor O.K. Li, Professor Barbara Chan, Dr Wei-Ning Lee; (second row from left) Dr Chenshu Wu, Professor Liu Pengtao, Professor Billy Chow
Six research teams from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) were awarded the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards (Hong Kong) 2022 in the Healthy Longevity Global Competition.
The competition is held by the United States National Academy of Medicine (NAM) with the Research Grants Council as its Hong Kong sponsor. A total of ten research teams from Hong Kong were awarded this year.
Launched in 2019, the Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge offers opportunities for innovators, scientists, and entrepreneurs to catalyse breakthrough discoveries and innovations that could leapfrog existing barriers and jumpstart new solutions, thereby propelling the field of ageing research and improving the health of persons as they age. The competition composed three phases of Awards- Catalyst Award, Accelerator Award and the Grand Prize.
The Catalyst Awards reward bold, new, potentially transformative ideas from fields such as biomedicine, behavioural science, sociology, engineering and infrastructure, technology, policy, to improve the physical, mental, or social well-being for people as they age, and in a measurable and equitable way. In particular, NAM seeks ideas that will extend the human health span through innovations in disease prevention, biology, mobility and function, social connectedness, productive longevity and more. Ideas could focus on early-, mid-, or late-life, as long as it ultimately promotes health as people age.
Of the ten Catalyst Awards in Hong Kong this year, each includes a US$50,000 (approx. HK$389,000) cash prize at a maximum for a period of 12 months and travel subsidies (HK$30,000 per person; max. 6 persons per team) for awarded teams to attend an Innovator Summit in 2023.
Project from the Faculty of Science: Development of Small-Molecule Modulators of the Secretin Receptor as Novel Anti-Hypertensive Agents
Project leader: Professor Billy CHOW, Chair of Endocrinology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science
About the project: Large segments of ageing hypertensive patients are resistant to a wide range of conventional drugs and hence there is an urgent need for new initiatives to develop alternative treatments. The research team developed the first small molecule-based Secretin receptor modulator (KSD179019), which not only has a similar blood pressure lowering effect as SCT peptide but, more importantly, has a much longer half-life (~8 hours). The development of KSD179019 as a novel class of oral anti-hypertensive drug can be of critical importance, as it could tackle resistant hypertension. This project could potentially provide an important advancement in finding novel small molecule drugs for resistant hypertension by targeting Secretin receptor.
The Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards (Hong Kong) 2022
Research Grants Council webpage
The US NAM Healthy Longevity Challenge
為鼓勵科學家們開展具創意的研究項目，以實現人類健康長壽的目標，美國國家醫學院早前頒發健康長壽催化創新獎（香港）2022。十個得獎項目當中，六項來自香港大學，香港中文大學有三項，一項由理大學者獲得。每個獲獎項目可獲為期最多12個月共5萬美元（約港幣39萬元）資助，以及團隊成員（最多6位）每位3萬元津貼，出席2023年的創新高峰會。
健康長壽催化創新獎鼓勵大膽、新穎以及具有前瞻性的項目，來自生物醫學、行為科學、社會學、工程和基礎設施、技術以及政策等多元化領域，以改善人們隨着年齡增長對生理、心理的影響或為社會謀福祉。項目可以集中在早年、中年或晚年研究，其終極目標是促進樂齡人士的健康發展。
香港大學發言人介紹，是次獲獎的六個項目中，四個來自工程學院，包括「利用嶄新人工智能因果模型技術加速發掘有效治療阿茲海默症的藥物」，由工程學院電機電子工程系講座教授李安國負責；「骨軟骨組織工程（eOCT）作為骨關節炎（OA）的先進治療方法」，由工程學院機械工程系教授陳佩主導；「基於普通音頻設備智能聲學感知的非接觸式老年人跌倒檢測」，首席研究員為工程學院計算機科學系助理教授吳陳沭；「實現健康老齡化之智能超聲肌肉評測方法研究」，由工程學院電機電子工程系副教授李維寧主理。
另外兩項來自醫學院和理學院，分別是「用於研究正常衰老及篩選抗衰老藥物的新型人體細胞系統」，首席研究員為李嘉誠醫學院生物醫學學院教授劉澎濤；「新型抗高血壓藥的分泌素受體小分子調節劑的開發」，由理學院生物科學學院講座教授鄒國昌負責，項目可望大幅改良該小分子藥物的藥效，為尋找治療高齡族群頑固性高血壓的新療法帶來重要進展。