The Department of Biochemistry of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of The National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, jointly offer a Graduate Partnership Program (GPP) leading to a PhD degree awarded by CUHK in Hong Kong. Students enrolled in GPP will spend one year at CUHK for work and three years at NICHD, participating in research work in the center. CUHK is NIH's first partner in Asia of the program.

　　NIH is a world's premier biomedical research organization. Thousands of investigators at the NIH conduct research in basic and clinical biomedical sciences in more than 20 NIH Institutes and Centers such as NICHD and National Cancer Institute. These investigators including many Nobel laureates work in unparalleled research facilities on cutting edge projects. NIH has partnered with many notable institutes such as Boston University, John Hopkins University and Oxford University and been training over 200 graduates in NIH laboratories. In Asia, CUHK is the only partner to provide such training to our graduate students, which is a recognition of the excellence in research and teaching of the Department of the Biochemistry, CUHK.

　　Professor Walter Ho, Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry, said the selection of candidates to join the GPP is very strict. Candidates should have a solid background on the knowledge and experimental skills of their project; good academic achievements and recommendations, and have shown outstanding performance during interview. This year, two candidates will be sent to NICHD. The Program not only provides excellent training for our students, but also gains the Department a closer relationship with the world most prestigious biomedical research establishment.

　　Since its inception in 1971, the Department of Biochemistry of CUHK has striven for excellence in teaching and research. In the past 32 years, the Department trained more than 300 MPhil and PhD graduates. In recent years, the number of postgraduate students has increased over two-folds. There were about 10 MPhil students each year before 1997. Now the number has doubled. The spectrum of careers is also very wide. Some will join prestigious institutes as teachers or post-doctorals. Some will join the industry or government, continuing their biomedical research. Last year, our research on 'Traditional Chinese Medicine' was chosen by the University Grant Council, HKSAR, as an area of excellence in research. In addition, 'Genomics' and 'Fish Molecular Biology' are also recognized as strategic research areas in the Department.

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