State Key Laboratories
State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants (CUHK)
In November 2009, approval was given by the Ministry of Science and Technology to establish the State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants (The Chinese University of Hong Kong). The aim of the State Key Laboratory is to conduct research into the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine and the application of biotechnology in medical science. The Laboratory will draw on the expertise in research into Chinese medicinal plants developed both at CUHK and in the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Yunnan province. The Laboratory's researchers hope to win wider international acceptance for traditional Chinese medicinal remedies, by providing scientific proof of their efficacy and safety, and to explore how such remedies can be more widely applied for medicinal plants. Their research will focus on the photochemistry and sustainability of plant resources in west China, particularly in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular health, health supplements, authentication and DNA barcoding, and viral infection.