Our School members including Prof. Chan Wai-Yee, SBS Director, Prof. Kenneth K.H. Lee, Chief of Stem Cell and Regeneration (SCR) Program, Prof. Feng Bo, Prof. Lee Tin-Lap, Prof. Wan Chao, Prof. Xia Yin, Prof. Zhao Hui, Dr. Chen Xiao, Dr. Stanton Kok and Ms. Gu Shen, together with Prof. Vincent Wong of Department of Medicine and Therapeutics attended the 4th Guangzhou International Conference on Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine co-organized by the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) and the Chinese Society for Cell Biology between 17 and 19 December 2011 at Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center. Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Overseas Innovation Team on stem cells and cloning, expert panel members of the national key project on Development and Procreation, the nation's 973 Project chief scientists and other professionals of the related fields from all over the world (including Germany, Korea, Singapore, U.K., and U.S.A.) were invited to give keynote speeches and talks during the Conference.

On the second day of the Conference, a special session on "Stem Cell Research in CUHK" was held to showcase stem cell research in Hong Kong. This session was chaired by Prof. Chan Wai-Yee. During this session, Prof. Kenneth Lee, Prof. Wan Chao, and Prof. Feng Bo delivered respectively the following talks addressing different areas of stem cell and regenerative medicine:

• Programin, a small molecule, can inhibit liver fibrosis – by Prof. Kenneth Lee
• Oxygen sensing in regulation of mesenchymal stem cell self-renewal and tissue regeneration – by Prof. Wan Chao
• Nuclear receptor Esrrb and Nr5a2 promote the reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts into pluripotent stem cells – by Prof. Feng Bo

The Conference provided an effective platform for participants to exchange views and ideas on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. In addition, our participation further enhanced the overall collaboration and academic ties between our School and the GIBH, subsequent to the signing of the collaborative agreement earlier in November 2011. 

Prof. Chan Wai-Yee (2nd back row; 5th from left,), Prof. Kenneth K.H. Lee (2nd from left, front row), Prof. Feng Bo (2nd front row; 1st from left) and Prof. Wan Chao (back row; 5th from right), together with members of the organizing committee and the invited speakers

(From left) Dr. Chen Xiao, Prof. Kenneth K.H. Lee, Dr. Stanton Kok, Prof. Zhao Hui, Prof. Chan Wai-Yee, Prof. Xia Yin, Prof. Lee Tin-Lap, Prof. Wan Chao, Prof. Feng Bo, and Ms. Gu Shen