Newsletter No. 227

Australian Expert Exchanges Views with CUHK Reference Group on Institutional Integration The University Grants Committee (UGC) has established an Institutional Integration Working Party (IIWP) to consider the issue of institutional integration and requested that a Reference Group be appointed in CUHK and HKUST respectively to facilitate liaison with the IIWP. Prof. John Niland, convener of the IIWP, met with the University's Reference Group on Institutional Integration for the first time on 17th September. The IIWP aims at collecting views for the compilation of an Options Document which w i ll set out various scenarios and issues for further consideration, i n c l u d i ng the key po t en t i al benefits and drawbacks o f a merger between CUHK and HKUST. Prof. Niland stressed at the meeting that the IIWP had no pre-set position and would adopt an open-minded approach. He also invited the two institutions to examine and spell out the advantages and challenges of integration for themselves and for Hong Kong. The CUHK Reference Group made clarifications and supplementary remarks on the issues, concerns, and conditions relating to the proposed integration o f the two universities as set out in the Report o f the Task Force to Advise on Institutional Integration issued last March. Members reiterated the importance of thoroughly addressing those matters when the feasibility of any proposed integration is considered. The IIWP will conduct a second round of meetings with the reference groups of the two universities in November this year before drafting its report. Prof. Niland expects to consult further with representatives of staff, students and alumni before then. The IIWP also welcomes members of the University to express their views and raise matters of concern in writing to the Working Party. Prof. John Niland, chairman of Research Australia Ltd. and of the University of New South Wales Foundation Ltd. CUHK Leads Largest NIH-funded Research on Osteoporosis in Asia M edical researchers from the University were awarded a US National Institute of Health (NIH) grant of over US$2 million, the largest grant ever awarded to a research project located inAsia, to study osteoporosis inAsian men. The 'Mr. Os Hong Kong Study' is part of the first tripartite international study on osteoporosis in men. The CUHK team consists of Prof. Edith Lau Ming-chu, Prof. Leung Ping-chung, Prof. Jean Woo, and Prof. Samuel Wong from the Faculty of Medicine. International collaborators come from the University of California at San Francisco, the Oregon Health and Science University, and the University of Malmo in Sweden. Two thousand Hong Kong men aged 65 years and above w i ll be followed up for five years. They join 4,000 men in the US and 2,000 in Sweden for several years of examinations. The objective is to study how common osteoporosis is among Hong Kong men compared to American and Swedish men, what causes osteoporosis in men, which groups should be assessed for the condition, which genes are associated with osteoporosis in men, and how sex hormone deficiency in men causes the disease. Prof. Jack Cheng, pro-vice-chancellor, said that CUHK was selected as a study site among many Asian competitors due to its strong track record of research in osteoporosis, excellent research infrastructure, and close links with the leading groups in osteoporosis research in the US. 'This landmark international study with a strong Asian focus w i l l bring major breakthroughs to the field of osteoporosis research in men on a global basis ,' he said. In the past, osteoporosis was most common in Northern Europe, intermediate in the US, and low in Asia. However, research conducted by the University revealed that it has increased two fold in men in Hong Kong over the last decade, which may result in a rapid reversal of the international trend. This finding has alerted i n t e r n a t i o n al researchers to f ocus on osteoporosis in men and the N I H to target the problem as one of its priority areas. From left: Prof. Edith Lau Ming-chu, Prof. Jack Cheng, and Prof. T.K. Fok Getting to Know Your New Colleague Safety in the Lab and Beyond: Mr. Lam Shi Kai W hen Mr. Lam Shi Kai took up his job as the University's Chief Laboratory Safety Officer and Safety Manager (concurrent appointment) i n February 2003, he thought it wo u ld be a relatively uneven t f ul engagement r i d d en w i t h t r ad i t i onal safety concerns. Then three weeks after he reported to work, an anonymous disease which later came to be k n own as SARS broke out. He was appointed a member of the Campus SARS Task Force and his earliest duties at CUHK consisted of d r aw i ng up gu i de l i nes f or d i s i n f e c t i on, e n s u r i ng campus hygiene by collaborating w i t h staff from the Estates Management Office, and coordinating the testing of new masks and the disposal of used masks. SARS has u n d o u b t e d ly increased the already heavy w o r k l o ad of staff i n the Un i v e r s i ty Safety and Environment Office, and w i l l continue to do so as the University needs to be well prepared for another outbreak, but Mr. Lam sees hand l i ng unexpected events as part and parcel of his job. Increasing Staff's Versatility Clearly a man who takes his job very seriously, Mr. Lam aims to maintain the University's hygiene, safety and environmental standards consistently above legally required levels. He also hopes to i n t e g r a te t he areas of safety, h y g i e n e, a nd environmental protection for the sake of smoother and more cost-effective implementation. 'In the past staff were not required to be knowledgeable i n all three areas. This led to contradictions i n practice. For e x amp l e, w h e n o n l y safety issues we re considered i n the design of a lab, something i n the other areas might go w r ong after the facility came i n t o use. Th en the wh o le s i t u a t i on has to be reevaluated. This is a waste of time and resources. N ow very comprehensive considerations are made i n the planning stage,' Mr. Lam remarked. There are c u r r en t ly 13 staff members i n the University Laboratory Safety Office specializing i n construction, biological, and chemical safety, and radiation. He strongly encourages them to undergo t r a i n i ng i n another specialty so that they w o u l d become mo re p r o f ess i ona l ly versatile. A C U HK biochemistry graduate w i t h an M.Sc. i n o c c u p a t i o n al h y g i e ne f r om England, Mr. Lam 's career spans several industries and countries. He has wo r k ed i n l aw en f o r c ement f or H o n g K o n g ' s L a b o u r Department, i n Australia's h e a l t h c a re i n d u s t r y p r o v i d i n g o c c u p a t i o n al hygiene and safety services to over 300 public hospitals i n New South Wales, and in occupational safety for Canada's coal depot workers. Prior to joining CUHK, he wo r k ed as an occupational and environmental hygienist for Ho ng Kong Polytechnic Un i ve r s i t y, specializing i n chemical and biological hazards. Research Facility for SARS A t present there is not a single research facility i n the territory that meets international standards for Physical Containment 3 biological hazards (PC3). Mr. Lam hopes that such facilities w i l l be established at the Un i ve r s i ty i n the near future as they are very important for medical and scientific research i n the related areas, i n c l ud i ng SARS. The success of the project w i l l depend, however, on the availability of resources and the collaboration of units concerned, in particular the Campus Development Office and the Estates Management Office. Racing Against Dwindling Resources L i ke many department and u n it heads at the University, Mr. Lam's greatest headache is the budget cut. 'Nowadays new legislation relevant to our office is passed once every o n e or t wo years, far more rapidly than i n the past decades. This means that we always have to maintain our safety standards above the current requirement i n order not to fall beh i nd. This is v e ry d i f f i c u lt w h e n i n c om i ng resources are being reduced,' he observed. I n safety, just as i n health and environmental protection, it is only w i t h proper education that mindsets can be changed and problems prevented or solved i n the long run. Part of Mr. Lam's job is to nurture a safety culture on campus. 'Once such a culture is i n place,' he said, 'members of the CU community w i l l be sensitive to whether a facility or situation is safe or not. They w i l l be able to take on some of our responsibility while ensuring greater safety for themselves.' Such an ideal situation w i l l take time to f u l ly materialize, so i n the meantime, any member of the campus c ommu n i ty encountering a health and safety p r ob l em can call Mr. Lam. He is on d u ty round the clock. Piera Chen No. 227 4th October 2003