Newsletter No. 159

2 No. 159 19th February 2000 CUHK Newsletter Top Material s Scientis t Visit s Chung Chi P r o f . Ro b e rt P . H . Ch a n g, director of the Materials Research Center at Northwestern University i n the US, visited Chung Chi College as Sill Lien Ling Wong Visiting Fellow 1999-2000 from 16th to 28th January. During hi s visit, Prof. Chang addressed students and staff on various occasions, and participated i n Chung Chi's annual education conference o n 'Science Education: Problems an d Prospects i n a n I nno v a t i on an d Knowledge-based Society' held on 22nd January. Born i n China, Prof. Chang received his BS in physics from the Massachusetts Institute o f Technology, and his Ph.D. i n astrophysics from Princeton University. He then wo r k ed f o r Be ll Laboratories, becoming a pioneer i n the field o f low- temperature plasma synthesis and thin-film processing. I n 1986, Prof. Chang joined the Fa c u l ty o f Ma t e r i a ls Science an d Engineering Department at Northwestern University a s a full professor. H e wa s elected Director o f its Materials Research Center i n 1989. Since hi s j o i n i ng o f the Materials Research Society (MRS) i n 1984, he has helped seven countries, namely, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, and Australia, t o establish their own MRS, which, together w i th four other such societies i n th e wo r l d, f o rmed th e International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS). Telemedicine Course for Mainland Health Professionals A delegation from th e Faculty o f Medicine, led b y Prof. Sydney S.C. Chung an d Prof. Jack Cheng, visited Tongji Medical University i n Wuhan f r om 10t h t o 12t h January 2000 t o conduct a telemedicine course fo r about 80 health professionals from al l over ma i n l a nd Ch i na. Th e p r og r amme, sponsored b y the Ministry o f Health o f Ch i na an d suppo r t ed b y Hu a X i a Foundation, wa s part o f a n ongoing project between the faculty and Hua Xia Foundation. Dr . Pan Yu, Vice-Minister of Health o f China, an d Prof. Chung officiated a t the opening ceremony. During th e three days, live video- conferencing and lectures linking Wuhan and the Prince o f Wales Hospital were conducted on a wide range of topics: teleendoscopy, tele-orthopaedics, tele- de rma t o l ogy, t e l e - pa t ho l ogy, tele- neuroradiology, tele-geriatrics, an d telemedicine in general. Technical support of the project was given b y the Faculty Computer Services Unit and the Medical Media Services Unit, and logistical support by the Clinical Sciences Administration o f the Faculty of Medicine. Free Clinic for Pap Tests C ervical cancer i s a common cancer and a to p k i l l er among Chinese women. Studies in Western countries show that, with a good screening programme, 90 per cent o f the deaths associated with the disease and new cases can be prevented. H o w e v er t h is k i n d o f s c r een i ng programme does not exist i n Hong Kong, where only 30 per cent of women have ever been tested. To promote th e smear test among Hong Kong women, th e Sha Tin Community Clinic for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer was set u p o n 14th January b y th e Department o f Anatomical an d Ce l l u l ar Pathology w i t h th e sponsorship o f the Hong Kong Cancer Fund. This i s a totally free clinic fo r women o f all ages who have never been tested. The clinic is equipped w i th th e territory's first AutoPap computer-screening instrument which can screen problem samples quickly and accurately. The department has also established the China-Hong Kong Telecytology Linkage with the People's Liberation Army 301 General Hospital w i th th e ai m o f improving cytology standards o n th e mainland. HK's First Drug Evaluation Lab T he first drug evaluation laboratory i n the territory was established b y th e Department o f Pharmacy t o carry ou t safety studies o n drug products and t o certify drug efficacy. Established with a grant from the Industrial Support Fund, the laboratory will help ensure drug products meet internationally recognized standards of quality and conduct pharmacokinetic studies t o gain better knowledge o f drug therapy i n different diseases. As the only tertiary institution in Hong Kong with a pharmacy department staffed by experts i n all aspects o f d r ug e v a l u a t i o n, t h e University believes that the D r u g E v a l u a t i o n Laboratory w i ll boost the l o c a l p h a r ma c e u t i c al industry by helping them to establish the credibility o f their products. I t w i ll also help improve patient care i n Hong Kong and benefit the development of new drugs from traditional Chinese medicine. Officiating a t the opening ceremony of the laboratory o n 27th January were Prof. Arthur K.C. Li, vice-chancellor of the University, Prof. Sydney Chung, dean o f the Faculty o f Medicine, Prof. Moses Chow, chairman o f the Department o f Pharmacy, Mr . Francis Ho , Director- General o f Industry o f the HKSAR, Dr . Mak Sin-ping, assistant director (special health services) o f the Department o f Health, an d Dr . L o Su-vui, executive manager (professional services) o f the Hospital Authority. Dons Honoured by Their Students E leven dedicated teachers from th e Faculty o f Medicine were honoured by their students o n 26th January a t the presentation ceremony o f th e Most Outstanding Teachers of the Year Awards 1998-99. The students made their choices based on how well the teacher had facilitated their learning in the medical and health sciences as well as their application of knowledge to clinical practice. Criteria for judgment included the ability t o enable thorough understanding o f important concepts and principles and t o deepen interest i n th e subject matter, good organization skills and clear objectives, and an appropriate level o f d i f f i c u l t y f o r t ea c h i ng ma t e r i a ls formulated. For the Medicine a n d N u r s i n g programmes, winners were selected f r om each undergraduate year while one teacher was selected fo r th e e n t i r e t h r e e - y e ar u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m m e f o r Pharmacy. The winners were: Nursing Year 1 Prof. Janita P.C. Chau Nursing Year 2 Prof. Yvonne S.L. Wootton Prof. Ann T.Y. Shiu Nursing Year 3 Prof. Yvonne S.L. Wootton Nursing Year 4 Prof. Diana T.F. Le e Pharmacy Prof. Susan S.S. H o Medical Year 1 Prof. Tzi Bun Ng ( B i o c h e m i s t r y ) Medical Year 2 Prof. John H.K. Yeung ( P h a r m a c o l o g y ) Prof. Sun O n Chan ( A n a t o m y ) Medical Year 3 Prof. Mamie Hu i ( M i c r o b i o l o g y ) Medical Year 4 Prof. Gary W.K. Wong ( P a e d i a t r i c s ) Medical Year 5 Prof. Sing Fai Leung ( C l i n i c a l O n c o l o g y ) Chinese Opera Information Centre Opens T he Chinese Opera Information Centre, managed b y the Cantonese Opera Research Programme of the Department of Music, was officially opened on 1st February 2000. Set up with an allocation ofHK$300,000 from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the centre houses a large amount of Chinese opera research materials, most of which are related t o Cantonese opera, including musical instruments, programme notes, leaflets, posters, scripts, scores, books, newspaper clippings, videotapes, audio cassette tapes, compact disks, photographs, slides, and artefacts. The centre i s initially open t o the public b y appointment. For security and royalty reasons, all reference materials must be used within the centre. Interested parties may call 2609 6715 o r 2603 5098 for appointment o r enquiries, o r visit the centre's office a t Room 215, Hui Yeung Shing Building.