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HKUST 2014-2015
Annual Report
DEVELOPMENT OF A MOUSE MODEL
FOR AUTISM RESEARCH
Prof Nancy Ip (Life Science), The Morningside Professor of Life
Science, and her research team established a mouse model,
which exhibited autistic-like features. Their work showed
that injection of a specific chemical into the fetal mouse
brain triggered the overproduction of excitatory neurons in
the cerebral cortex resulting in increased brain size, a feature
which was observed in some autistic children. These mice
also exhibited abnormal circuit formation and dysregulation
in neural communication. More importantly, in the adult
stage, they displayed abnormalities in behavioral tests that
are reminiscent of human autism. Thus, establishment of
this mouse model was a significant breakthrough as it
could be used in studies of neurodevelopmental disorders,
in particular autism. This exciting discovery was published
in
Cell Reports
.
ENZYMES AND EVOLUTION
A team led by scientists at the HKUST Jockey Club Institute
for Advanced Study, and The Scripps Research Institute
R&D Laboratory and aTyr Pharma has found that ancient
enzymes, known for their fundamental role in translating
genetic information into proteins, evolved a myriad of other
functions in humans. The surprising discovery of 250 new
proteins with previously unidentified activities, spanning
stem cell biology to immunology, represents a new area of
biology and an opportunity to develop protein-based drugs
for human diseases associated with malfunctions of the
newly discovered proteins. The findings, co-authored by IAS
Senior Fellow and Kerry Holdings Professor of Science, Prof
Mingjie Zhang (Life Science), appeared in
Science
.
POLYMER SOLAR CELL EFFICIENCY
Prof Henry He Yan (Chemistry) and his research group
developed single-junction organic solar cells that achieved
an officially certified world record efficiency of 11.5%. The
team discovered a material design motif that led to new
polymers and high-performance material combinations
yielding high solar cell efficiencies. This major technological
breakthrough marked the first time that research generated
from Hong Kong researchers was included in the renowned
US National Renewable Energy Laboratory chart of “best
research cell efficiencies”, and greatly increased the visibility
of Hong Kong and HKUST in the global solar cell research
world and industry sector. Polymer solar cell technology is
low cost and environmentally friendly. The previous record
efficiency (10.8%) was also achieved by Prof Yan’s group in
2014 and published in
Nature Communications.
P-FIELD THEORY IN PRACTICE
Prof Huai Liang Chang (Mathematics) developed a highly
effective new methodology in deformation theory, in
conjunction with Prof Jun Li from Stanford University.
P-field theory has assisted with many previously unsolvable
problems and become one of the mostly used methods in
this area. Using this method, Prof Chang, Prof Li and Prof
Wei Ping Li (Mathematics) were able to give an algebraic
geometric definition of FJRW theory, which was published in
the top mathematics journal
Invent Math
.
TWO-STEP PHASE TRANSITION
Prof Yilong Han (Physics) and his research group directly
HKUST faculty continued to make fresh discoveries,
originated new knowledge, and pioneered leading technologies
RESEARCHHIGHLIGHTS
RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
