(1) Proteomics Proteomics, a powerful emerging technology for new biomarkers and drugs discovery, presents promising breakthroughs in diseases prevention and treatment. We apply proteomic techniques for search of disease biomarkers in the following: renal disease, liver cancer, necrotizing enterocolitis, diet-induced obesity as well as Chinese medicinal mushroom and toxic marine algae.

(2) Chinese Medicine Chinese herbal medicines have been used to treat cancer, infection, inflammation, diabetes, heart disease etc for more than three thousand years in China. Until now, their efficacy has not been systematically reviewed. Our team has been working on Chinese medicine since 1997 with research focus on certain bioactive metabolites extract from some Chinese medicinal mushroom. Genomic, proteomic and flow cytometry techniques are used to investigate their anticancer, anti-inflammatory and immune function. We were the first to publish the detailed anticancer mechanisms of polysaccharide peptide (PSP), an extract of the Chinese Medicinal mushroom Yun zhi (Coriolus versicolor, spp).  Flow cytometry and cDNA arrays technology were used to identify the cell cycle kinetics, cell death and apoptotic pathways in which PSP exhibits its treatment effect on human leukemia. PSP is currently used in China as adjuvant therapy. Our data show that PSP does not exert cytotoxic effect on normal healthy human cells thus further supports its potential development as chemotherapeutic drug in the west.

(3) Nutrition Research Nutrition is closely linked to health and disease. At the genetic level (nutrigenomics), certain nutrients can upset genes-balance leading to diseases such as cancer, obesity and diabetes etc.  Significant nutrition research contributions are in the following areas: (i) Specific nutrients for hospital nutrition, (ii) oxidative stress and dietary antioxidant  (ii) dietary lipids and cancer, (iii) dietary lipids and immune function;  (iii) shock and burn;  (iv) nutrition and cytokines etc.

Research Links and Current Collaborators:

1. Professor Per Sanglid, Department of Human Nutrition, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark.
2. Professor M Wang, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu.
3. Professor ST Fan, Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong.
4. Professor CM, Che, Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong.
5. Dr. LL Chan, Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong.
6. Dr. Y. Sadovy, Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong.
7. Professor B Bistrain, Cancer Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, USA. Departments of Medicine and Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong.
8. Dr. Yang Q Y. Department of Microbiology, Shanghai Teachers University, Shanghai.

International/Special Recognition:

1. Invited Plenary Lecture Speaker, The International Symposium on Bioinformatics and ChineseMedicine, organized by the Chengdu TCM University, Chengdu, China in 2004; Topic – Anti-inflammatory effect of Denshen”.
2. Invited Plenary Lecture Speaker, The 10th World Congress on Advances in Oncology and the 8th International Symposium on Molecular Medicine, Crete, Greece, 2005; Topic - The anticancer mechanisms of Yun Zhi polysaccharide peptides.
3. Invited Symposium lecture Speaker and Chairperson: During the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 10th Annual General Scientific Meeting of the Hong Kong Society of Flow Cytometry, Hong Kong in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005; Topic areas: flow cytometry technology, Chinese medicine and cancer.
4. Invited Symposium Lecture Speaker and Chairperson: International Symposium on Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong in 1996, 1999; organized by The University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Association for Health Care.
5. Invited Symposium Lecture Speaker: The Hong Kong Society of Immunology 2005, HK.

Organizing Conferences:

1. Organizing committee member and co-chairperson on ” First International symposium in Chinese Medicine” jointly organized by the University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Association for Health Care Ltd. HK in 1996.
2. Organizing committee member and co-chairperson on ” International Conference on Polysaccharide peptide Research” organized by the Hong Kong Association for Health Care Ltd. HK in 1996.
3. Organizing committee member on “Hong Kong – the Centre for Chinese Medicine Development?”, organized by the Hong Kong Society of Traditional Medicine and Natural Products (1999).