Bulletin Spring‧Summer, 2008

48   Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 2008 Honours and Recognition Medical Practitioners Recognized for Enhancing Human Wellness P rof. Chan Ying-yang Emily ( left ), assistant professor at the School of Public Health and the Department of Community and Family Medicine, and Prof. Dennis Lam Shun-chiu ( right , right), Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, have been selected for the Hong Kong Humanity Award 2007. Co-organized by the Hong Kong Red Cross and Radio Television Hong Kong, the award is the first of its kind in Hong Kong and is aimed at recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes, such as protecting human life and caring for the health of the vulnerable. Prof. Chan, a pioneer in Asia in providing medical humanitarian assistance, was the organizer of the first international medical assistance team to provide public health education to minority groups in Hong Kong. Prof. Lam is a strong advocate for blindness prevention and has been fully committed to helping patients see again. Gastrointestinal Research Group Wins State Progress Award T he gastrointestinal research group of the Faculty of Medicine has won the second-class award of the 2007 State Scientific and Technological Progress Award. The project entitled 'Innovative Non-surgical Treatments of Peptic Ulcer Bleeding' was conducted by Prof. Joseph Sung, Prof. James Lau, Prof. Francis Chan, Prof. Enders Ng, Prof. Philip Chiu and Prof. Lee Yuk-tong of the Faculty of Medicine, and former Dean of Medicine of CUHK, Prof. Sydney Chung. The research has led to major advancements and new medical standards in the treatment of peptic ulcer. With the development of novel non-surgical treatment of ulcer bleeding and pioneering use of anti-bacterial treatment in curing peptic ulcers without acid suppression, the peptic ulcer bleeding mortality rate has dropped from 10% to 4.4% over the past two decades and the need for surgery, blood transfusion and hospital stay, as well as ulcer occurrence and relapse, have gone down.