27 Septermber 2006

Outstanding CUHK Biochemistry Students Awarded Doctoral Training at NIHs

Two brilliant MPhil graduates of the Department of Biochemistry of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) will join The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of The National Institutes of Health (NIHs), USA this autumn for their doctoral training and be involving in frontier biomedical research.

Kit-man Tsang and Albert Cheung, both having received their Master of Philosophy degree this summer, were selected for a Graduate Partnership Program (GPP) leading to a PhD degree to be awarded by CUHK in Hong Kong. The GPP is a joint program offered by NIHs and CUHK. Students will spend roughly one year at CUHK for course work and three years at NICHD to conduct research. NICHD will sponsor their stay in the United States.

NIHs is the world’s premier biomedical research organization. Thousands of first-rate scientists, among them many Noble laureates, at the NIHs conduct research in basic and clinical biomedical sciences in more than 23 Institutes and Centers (e.g. NICHD and National Cancer Institute). At the moment, over 200 graduate students from prestigious universities worldwide such as John Hopkins University and Oxford University are now working in NIHs laboratories. In Asia, CUHK is NIHs’ first partner to provide such training. The first CUHK PhD candidate under the Program, Ms Jenny Cheung is expected to receive her PhD next year.

Since its inception in 1971, the Department of Biochemistry of CUHK has striven for excellence in teaching and research. In the past 35 years, the Biochemistry Department trained more than 400 MPhil and PhD graduates.

Professor Fung Kwok-pui, Chairman of Biochemistry, said the selection of candidates to join the GPP is very strict and competitive. Candidates should have a solid background on the knowledge and experimental skills of their research projects, good academic achievements and recommendations, and outstanding performance during the selection interview. Other than providing quality training for our students, the Department stands to gain in this Program by having a closer relationship with one of the world's most prestigious biomedical research establishment.

Kit-man Tsang (2nd from the right) and Albert Cheung (1st from the left) will join NIHs for doctoral training this autumn. Jenny Cheung (2nd from the left) is the first CUHK PhD candidate under the Graduate Partnership Program offered by NIHs and CUHK. On the right is Professor Fung Kwok-pui, Chairman of Biochemistry, CUHK.