Supporting CUHK budding researchers to gain international exposure
Dr. WANG Yu-meng receives hands-on training to obtain peripheral retina images using a confocal microscope.
With an aim to support professional development and career advancement of CUHK early-career researchers, the newly established Dr. Barbara Kwok Young Postdoctoral Researcher Travel Grants, made possible with the generous donation from alumna Dr. Barbara Pik-lin Kwok, provide financial support to CUHK researchers to attend conferences, seminars, and short-term training outside of Hong Kong. Dr. MENG Fanbao from the Earth System Science Programme and Dr. WANG Yu-meng from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences are among the first awardees of the scheme.
With a research focus on rock mechanics and engineering, Dr. Meng attended the meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco in the US last December. In addition to hosting a poster presentation on effective stress behaviour of clayey sandstones, Dr. Meng also took the opportunity to visit the US Geological Survey Earthquake Science Center and met with its geologists to exchange views and discuss possible collaborations.
Dr. MENG Fanbao (right) presents his research work on rock mechanics to the meeting participants.
To bridge the gap between laboratory studies and clinical research in ophthalmology, Dr. Wang participated in a 2-week workshop on retinal degeneration and glaucoma at the Inter-disciplinary Center for Neurosciences of Heidelberg University in Germany in March. In particular, the workshop provided hands-on training for developing gene-therapy for target genetic and sporadic retinal disease using the recombinant adeno-associated virus. This experience has broadened Dr. Wang’s horizon in developing novel therapeutic methods for treating glaucoma on cellular and molecular levels.
Dr. WANG Yu-meng (right) meets with Prof. Hilmar Bading (left), Professor of Neurobiology at Heidelberg University.
The Dr. Barbara Kwok Young Postdoctoral Researcher Travel Grants support eligible CUHK researchers with an award of up to HK$25,000 for each successful application. The next round of applications will open in September. Researchers with doctoral degrees who are in the positions of Research Associate, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Fellow, and Senior Research Fellow are encouraged to make use of the funding opportunity to develop and expand their international networks. For more details about the scheme, please visit the webpage.