Newsletter No. 111

CUHK Newsletter No. 111 4th September 1997 3 An Eventful Summer for the Faculty of Medicine During the summer months of June, July, and August, the Faculty of Medicine was bustling with activities which had the dual effects of disseminating knowledge and enhancing friendship and cooperation with medical institutions on the mainland and overseas. Asia n Pacifi c Cardiovascula r Updat e 199 7 Symposiu m A symposium on the integrated approach to the management of heart failure andmyocardial ischaemia was organized by the Divisions of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Cardiology at the Prince of Wales Hospital on 5th and 6th June. Fourteen internationally renowned experts from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, UK, US, and New Zealand gave lectures on a variety of topics ranging from the pathophysiology of heart failure to minimally invasive coronary surgery. The symposium was attended by 328 delegates from 17 countries. Globa l Telemedicin e Conferenc e A 24-hour global telemedicine conference 'Moving with the Sun' was organized from 30th June to 1st July by the Faculty of Medicine. Fifteen medical centres of excellence in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia were linked up in a live interactive platform held at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Each centre was allocated an hour to introduce itself and its telemedicine expertise. Clinical demonstrations and telemedicine applications at the Faculty of Medicine were also broadcast to the several thousand audience all over the world. Symposiu m o n Oesophagea l Cance r Close to 100 experts from 18 countries attended a clinical symposium on oesophageal cancer held at the Prince of Wales Hospital on 30th June. Jointly organized by the Faculty of Medicine and the Hong Kong Society of Digestive Endoscopy, the symposium featured multimodality treatment of oesophageal cancer. There were also live demonstrations, transmitted by closed circuit television, of techniques such as staining, EUS and mucosectomy, stenting, laser and alcohol injection. Contribution s t o Mainlan d Medica l Magazin e To commemorate the reversion ofHong Kong to Chinese sovereignty, staffofthe Faculty ofMedicine were invited by the Office of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Affairs of the Ministry of Health to make contributions to Medical and Health Developments in Hong Kong, a special supplement to AppliedMedicalScience ofToday, a general medical magazine circulated in China. Among the 20 papers published i n the issue, 18 were contributions from staff of the faculty. The supplement was also published in celebration of the launch ofthe Lifelive Express, a train running the Beijing-Hong Kong Railway to providemedical services to patients along its route. Sixth-Former s Visi t th e Teachin g Hospita l Over 600 local Secondary Six science students visited the Prince of Wales Hospital in a three-day programme in mid-July organized by the Faculty of Medicine to introduce them to the undergraduate programme offered by the faculty. There were live demonstrations of endoscopy and a cataract operation besides visits to the Cancer Centre, the Endoscopy Centre, the Pathology Teaching Laboratory, Skin Banks, the Medical Library and other units of the teaching hospital, led by clinical students of the faculty. In the discussion session, Prof. Joseph C.K. Lee and Prof. Sydney S.C. Chung, dean and associate dean of the Faculty of Medicine, answered questions raised by the students. Telemedicin e Cooperatio n wit h Xinjian g Explore d A four-member delegation from the medical school of Shihezi University in Xinjiang visited the Faculty of Medicine in mid-July. Headed by Prof. Wang Gui Sheng, dean of the school, the delegation visited the Prince of Wales Hospital, Lek Yuen Health Centre, the Department of Nursing, as well as the Department of Biochemistry. During the visit, Prof. Wang discussed with Prof. Joseph C.K. Lee, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Prof. Magnus Hjelm, chair of the CUHK Task Force on Telemedicine and the Hong Kong Telemedicine Association, the possibility of further cooperation in telemedicine. Second Medical Educatio n Conference and Launch o f Medica l Educatio Associatio n Welcoming note by Prof. Joseph C.K. Lee, chair of the organizing committee of the Second Medical Education Conference Close to 200 representatives from 33 medical institutions participated i n the Second Medical Education Conference for China Mainland, Taiwan, and the Hong Kong Region, organized by the Faculty of Medicine on 1 St and 2nd August. The themes ofthis year's conference were 'Harmonization of Medical Curricula' and 'Impact of Advanced Technology on Medical Education'. The discussions were expected t o lead t o a better understanding ofthe undergraduatemedical programmes in different Chinese communities and ultimately improve these programmes. This is believed to be important in contributing to the recognition of medical qualifications in the three regions. The conference also marked the establishment of theMedical Education Association for China Mainland, Taiwan, and the Hong Kong Region. With a membership consisting of24 medical institutions from the three areas, the association aims at formulating the medical education system for the Chinese in the 21st Century, based on an understanding ofthe traditional Chinese medical system and experience gathered from modern medical education. Service to the Community and International Organizations • Prof. Chan Wing-wah, professor in the Department of Music, has been appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR to be a member of the Provisional Regional Council from 1st July 1997. • Prof. Daniel Shek Tan-lei, professor in the Department of Social Work, has been re-appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR to be a social work member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for two years from 1st July 1997. • Prof. Kenneth Young, pro-vice-chancellor, has been reappointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Radiological Protection Advisory Group for two years from 1 st June 1997. • Prof. P.C. Ching, professor i n the Department o f Electronic Engineering, has been appointed by the Secretary for Education and Manpower as a member of the Committee on Technical Education of the Vocational Training Council until 31st September 1997. • Dr. Chin-chin Wan, director of the School of Continuing Studies, has been appointed by the Secretary for Education and Manpower as a member of the Committee on Management and Supervisory Training of the Vocational Training Council until 31st September 1997. • Prof. Walter Ho Kwok-keung, professor in the Department of Biochemistry, has been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Radiological Protection Advisory Group for two years from 1st June 1997. • Prof. Wong Tze-wai, professor in the Department o f Community and Family Medicine, has been appointed as a member of the Working Group on the Health Effects of A ir Pollution o f the government's Environmental Protection Department in February 1997. Prof. Wong has also been appointed by the Commissioner for Labour as a member of the Labour Advisory Board Committee on Occupational Safety and Health for two years until 31st December 1998. • Dr. W.W. Tso, senior lecturer in the Department o f Biochemistry, has been appointed as an honorary adviser to the Hong Kong Science Museum and Hong Kong Space Museum from 21st February 1997 to 14th January 1998. • Prof. Jiang Zhaodong, associate professor in the School of Accountancy, has been appointed as a member of the panel of the Inland Revenue Board of Review for three years from 5th May 1997. • Prof. Chan Kai-ming, professor of orthopaedics and traumatology, has been elected treasurer o f the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine until 1999. • Prof. David Y.H. Wu, professor in the Department of Anthropology, has been appointed international adviser to the official journal of the Society for Applied Anthropology (Human Organization) in the US until 2000. • Prof. Yeung Yue-man, professor of geography, has been appointed as honorary professor of Zhejiang Industrial University from August 1997, honorary professor o f Henan University, and distinguished visiting professor of Nanchang University. Prof. Yeung has also been invited to serve as a member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Urban Sciences of South Korea. • Prof. John C. Jamieson, director of the New Asia Yale- in-China Chinese Language Centre, was invited by The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters to give a series of lectures in May on the Manchurian Plain as a corridor for cultural transmission during the Tang and Song dynasties, and on comparative Chinese-Korean historiography. Honours • Prof. Charles K. Kao, honorary professor of engineering, was awarded Laurea honoris causa in Telecommunications Engineering by the University of Padova in Italy last April.