The University of Hong Kong and the Harvard University will be collaborating and will set up a laboratory in Hong Kong for the first time in an attempt to make detection of disease faster, easier, and more precise. Both prestigious universities will use their talents in a bid to invent devices that can improve the diagnosis of diseases, allowing patients to receive treatment at an earlier phase and helping them improve the chance of recoveries.
Dr. Fawwaz Habbal, executive dean for education and research at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said the goal of their collaboration is to make sure their research will create a huge impact to improve and better the health of people.
He added that this collaboration allows talented scientists and engineers from both universities to make significant innovative instrumentations for precision medicine, and will also facilitate the design of devices and treatments that could impact the health care worldwide.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was at the ceremony and pointed out that her administration is committed to attracting world-leading research institutes in conducting a collaborative study.
The universities drafted a proposal which will be submitted to the government later this month for a fund to operate the Science Park laboratory, the South China Morning Post reported. Dr. Paddy Chan, who is part of the project and who's also from HKU's mechanical engineering department, wanted to find out whether it's possible to only run a test on bodily fluids - like saliva - in detecting certain diseases, so there's no need to extract a large amount of blood from patients.
Professor David Weitz from Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences responded to the controversial project of Chinese scientist He Jianku, saying they have no plans in conducting the same study and gene-editing isn't a part of their agenda. The two universities intend to study certain diseases, such as cancer, and how they can be detected at an earlier stage.
He claimed last week he had successfully created first gene-edited babies in the world, causing international experts and scientists to call for an independent assessment to confirm his claim that twin sisters (Lulu and Nana) were born in November from embryos modified to switch off a gene related to HIV infection. His controversial experiment was questioned by the scientific community, fuelling criticisms. He reportedly violated ethics, transparency of the work, as well as responsibility for the lives of the gene-edited children.
