Bulletin No. 1, 2019

Research Centre for Parkinson’s Disease Established The Faculty of Medicine established the Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism on 11 April with a generous donation from Ms. Cheung Kam-ling Margaret (6th from left). The centre aims at unravelling disease mechanisms, and predicting and monitoring disease progression from early stages. It would establish registries for early-stage Parkinson’s disease and cerebral small vessel disease in Chinese subjects and collect data for identifying biomarkers and diagnostics. With the data, the centre would look for novel therapeutics that can delay the progression of cerebral small vessel disease. Promoting Sign and Speech New Training Station for Chinese Medicine Students The School of Chinese Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine collaborates with the Community Med Care (The Clinic) and the Hong Kong T.C.M. Orthopaedic & Traumatic Association to provide residents clinical services. The Clinic will also offer clinical practicum and training based on syndrome differentiation for Chinese Medicine students. The Clinic, which was open on 22 June, provides free traditional Chinese medicine services for disabled children. Promoting Mindfulness Research and Training The Faculty of Medicine established the CUHK Thomas Jing Centre for Mindfulness Research and Training in December 2018, aiming to promote health and well-being by fostering mindfulness through education, research and training. CUHK has been working on different studies on mindfulness as an intervention since 2006. They include chronic pain, generalised anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, chronic stress and insomnia. These studies have projected a positive outcome from mindfulness practice which improves patients’ psychological condition and alleviates suffering. Future projects include investigations on how mindfulness can become a health intervention for cancer patients and for people with substance use disorders. The Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies of CUHK and Bilingualism Matters of The University of Edinburgh set up the first Asia Branch of Bilingualism Matters at CUHK on 18 April. Bilingualism Matters, a network of 25 higher institutions across Europe and the US, aims to promote bilingualism education and study of its effect on speech and cognitive development. As the first Asian member promoting bimodal bilingual education in the network, the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies will be the core member to lead the study and promotion of sign language. A ctivities and E vents 43 News in Brief