Facts and Figures 2012

Areas of Excellence The University Grants Committee (UGC)* has provided preferential funding to the local tertiary institutions to conduct research into 15 selected Areas of Excellence (AoEs). Three ongoing projects are led by researchers at CUHK: Centre for Research into Circulating Fetal Nucleic Acids The project team discovered the presence of cell-free fetal DNA in the plasma of pregnant women, offering new possibilities for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. The team continues to address a number of high-profile unsolved questions in the field of circulating fetal nucleic acids, including non-invasive molecular methods for the diagnosis of fetal Down syndrome. Institute of Network Coding With an aim to making Hong Kong a major centre of network coding, the world-leading Institute of Network Coding conducts forefront research on the theory of network coding and its various applications on the Internet, wireless communications, information security, data storage and bioinformatics. The Historical Anthropology of Chinese Society This project studies 15 geographic areas in China to recover the history of both how local society acquired its own characteristics, and was incorporated into the broad expanse of a unified culture. Local ritual traditions, including architectual features, literal traditions, the hagiography of local deities, and village ceremonies are documented to reconstruct the histroy of the local institutions in which they were employed. By comparing the time frame of separate local histories, this project will construct a history of China from the bottom up. * UGC is an advisory body responsible for advising the HKSAR government on the development and funding needs of the higher learning institutions in Hong Kong Research Institutes • The Asia-Pacific Institute of Business • CAS–CUHK Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Integration Technology • Hong Kong Cancer Institute • Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies • Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity • Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research • Institute of Biotechnology • Institute of Chinese Medicine • Institute of Chinese Studies • Institute of Digestive Disease • Institute of Economics and Finance Research 23