< PreviousWOW News 20Asia & Oceania CUHK discovers new forms of hydrogels to deliver drugs and heal injuries Hong Kong - Humans are made up of 70% water - but why does the liquid not evaporate or flow away? By studying how the human body and natural world retains that water in a functioning structure, Professor Bian Liming of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) established promising new implant materials to deliver drugs and heal injuries. Based on the way human soft tissue functions, Professor Bian discovered new properties for hydrogels, which are hydrated polymer networks that form permeable reservoirs to allow nutrients to move into and nourish the cells within. While being solid, hydrogels can act like a liquid to reshape and flow when needed. Professor Bian likened his new hydrogels to a ‘smart’ fishing net. Ordinarily the three-dimensional net keeps cells in place, but in the new hydrogel the connections where the knots of the net connect are dynamic. They are formed from links between molecules that bind and release, allowing the cells to expand the net or even push through it when necessary. Many drugs discovered in the lab can kill cancer cells on a Petri dish but failed to achieve the same effect when applied on the tumor itself. The reason? A Petri dish is a two-dimensional surface while a tumor is three-dimensional. Professor Bian said he hoped his dynamic hydrogels could be used in the lab to build 3D cancer models that would identify which drugs work in the real world to dramatically speed up and reduce the cost of drug discovery. The hydrogel can also be used to repair injured tissues by culturing stem cells within it and inserting it into the cartilage of a damaged knee for example, to repair it and encourage new cartilage growth. In older patients, for example, when the hip joint deteriorates, cells in the bone ‘‘neck’ at the very end of the femur, where the femur inserts into the hip, become dysfunctional, making it far easier for a patient to break his hip in a fall. The new hydrogel can be injected via keyhole surgery into the bone to fill the holes and cavities that have developed in the bone, as well as stimulate the growth of new bone. The treatment will help to either delay or obviate the need for a hip replacement. Professor Bian was excited for the new material to expedite the recovery of injuries and illnesses, while at the same time reducing the side effects of surgery. Universitas Diponegoro - Marine Science Techno Park for sustainable coastal region management Indonesia - Universitas Diponegoro joined with Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of Research and Technology of Indonesia to launch the First Marine Science Techno Park (MSTP) in South East Asia located in Teluk Awur Central Java, Indonesia. MSTP is a centre of research and technology development in the field of marine and fisheries and the incubation for start-up business in the fisheries and its product derivation. Indonesia’s vast coastal region of approximately 95,181 km shoreline and over 17,480 islands is the basis of this establishment as it provided a huge contribution to the Indonesia economic development. The region and its resources should be sustainably managed so that it will still be available in the future to support the country’s economic development which is part of the vision of MSTP. The MSTP has a training centre for sustainable marine biodiversity, aquaculture technology and its product processing technology. Research and development in Climate Change and Disaster Mitigation is also covered as part of the MSTP excellency. In addition, the centre helps the community and individual in the growth and development of small businesses. MSTP is also equipped with several facilities for laboratory testing, including: Processing Laboratory, Algae Unit Laboratory, Marine Ecology Laboratory, Marine Culture & Biotechnology Laboratory, Ocean Modelling and Remote Sensing Laboratory, and Marine Geology Laboratory. MSTP will open for international and domestic student internship for coastal rehabilitation in 2020. Professor Bian Liming Professor Bian Liming creates new forms of hydrogels to deliver drugs and heal injuries MSTP coral reef rehabilitationWOW News 22Asia & Oceania Cancers” was published in a top-tier scientific journal, Nature Communications on 16 July 2019. In addition to the unprecedent development, the research team discovered a new drug that inhibits the transfer of breast cancer. This new drug is also currently pending patent in several countries. Membrane proteins (MPs) are currently the most important target classes for disease diagnosis and treatment; and are becoming one of the most complex topics in medical research. Meanwhile, studies have shown a close relation between MPs and several types of cancers. If more studies were carried out on the mechanism of MPs and their regulated pathways, researchers would be able to form cancer cells, and in turn, identify corresponding treatments. This would have a major impact on cancer diagnosis and targeted therapies development. According to Professor Yuan-Soon Ho of TMU, breast cancer growth caused by smoking is related to nicotine receptors. This claim is confirmed by TMU Breast Cancer Translational Research Team in 2010 with the research published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, a leading medical journal. Therefore, the future research in breast cancer treatment will focus on developing high- efficiency drugs that can target nicotine receptors and HER-2 as they are two known MPs. Through this collaboration, research teams from TMU and NCTU developed prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic drugs using MPs. In addition, a type of antidepressant was found to be capable of inhibiting breast cancer metastasis. After carrying several tests on cultured cells and animals, the new drug was proven effective in inhibiting the transfer of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Taipei Medical University & National Chiao Tung University collaborate to discover new drugs for breast cancer Taiwan - For 37 consecutive years, cancer topped the list of the ten leading causes of death in Taiwan. To increase the effectiveness of targeted cancer therapies, Taipei Medical University (TMU) and National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) collaborated to develop the Cancer Membrane Protein-regulated Networks (CaMPNets), involving nearly 2000 membrane proteins and their interactions with 15 human cancers. The research titled “Membrane Protein- regulated Networks across Human Professor Yuan-Soon Ho (4th from right) and the research team at the press conference China - Urban transportation in China has been facing several challenges such as the mismatch between traffic and urban spatio-temporal forms, internal and external traffic congestion, and severe environmental noise pollution. Therefore, it is critical to not only promote coordinated development of transportation cities; but also, construct urban traffic patterns, strengthen comprehensive management of congestion, optimize urban traffic systems and achieve sustainable urban and urban transport development goals. As such, the seventh International Conference on Transportation and Space-Time Economics (TSTE 2019) themed “Sustainable Development of City Transportation” was held from 11 to 13 October 2019 at Beijing Jiaotong University. This international conference consists of a series of modules including keynote speeches, think tank forums, Editor-in- Chief meetings, training sessions, special issues and parallel sessions aimed at showcasing the fields of sustainable and intelligent transportation. The new achievements of scholars not only shed light on transportation research but also challenged the new problems encountered and explored diverse aspects of transportation research. The event witnessed the participation of scholars and economists of transportation economics from over 25 countries and regions. More than 210 scholars from various global universities such as the British Columbia University, National University of Singapore, Leeds University, Northwest University, China Railway Research Institute Group Co. Ltd., and over 300 researchers and students were part of this phenomenal conference. Outstanding papers presented at the conference received recommendation to be published in five SCI/SSCI international journals. Seven SCI / SSCI journals including Transportation Research Part A to F are also to be included in the conference’s supporting journals with the additional support from magazines such as Chinese Social Science, Journal of the China Railway Society, and Technology and Economy. The conference highlights included the High-End Think Tank Forum for Sustainable Development of Urban Transportation. The forum invited not only world-renowned scholars in transportation, but also representatives from the Ministry of Transportation, Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Municipal Transportation Committee, Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, Beijing Transportation Research Institute, Beijing Metro, Beijing Rail Transit Construction Management Company, Beijing Public Transport Group, AMap, Mobike, and other institutes and companies in public and private sector, to discuss topics including Urban reservation transportation system, urban rail transit system, artificial intelligence and big data support urban traffic efficiency, urban traffic decision-making system, urban traffic transferable license. Another highlight was the Editor-in-Chief Meeting. Ten editors-in-chief from the top nine transportation research journals worldwide were invited to participate in this conference. Journals such as Transportation Research: Part A to F, Journal of Transport Geography, Transport Policy and Economics of Transport serve as valuable channels for researchers to enter the frontier research field and expand international academic influence. The seventh Transportation and Space-Time Economics conference successfully held at Beijing Jiaotong University 10 Editors-in-Chief from Top 9 transportation research journals gathers in BJTU for 2019 TSTE International ConferenceAdvertorials Building a better future with nanotechnology When it comes to research that could help save the earth, nanotechnology is probably not the first field that comes to mind. But according to Yusuke Yamauchi, a Professor in Chemical Engineering at The University of Queensland (UQ), it could be key to addressing the most significant challenge humanity has ever faced: the warming of our planet. As a professor at UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and School of Chemical Engineering, he leads a team of 30 researchers who are building the nanocrystals and nanoporous materials of the future. He says the potential impact of these materials, particularly nanoporous metals, is “huge”, with practical applications aiming to boost energy efficiency while reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. “Those tiny materials still produce a huge reactive surface area,” he explains. “For example, if you have a one gram sample of a powder, that powder could create a 1000 square metre surface area. “That is the beauty in nano.” Professor Yamauchi likens his work to LEGO, his favourite activity as a child, where his inquisitive mind was piqued by the construction of things on a small scale. “Nanomaterial is such that we’re always constructing hybrids; composites where three or four or five small specimens can be combined together – much like LEGO,” he says. “If you think about how you make LEGO, you use your hands. But with nanomaterials, we need inorganic chemistry to construct the target material. “I love that my favourite childhood activity is almost a match for how nanomaterials work.” Professor Yamauchi says nanoporous metallic frameworks not only have high surface areas, but high electroconductivity, holding promise for a range of electrochemical applications. For example, batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, catalysts, chemical sensors, field emitters and photonic devices could all be fitted with the technology, increasing efficiency without compromising the environment. But he says while the potential applications are exciting, his team’s focus is on building these new materials that have the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. “Many people focus on the applications, but without new materials, we cannot expect huge breakthroughs in energy storage and environmental remediation,” he says. “There is a huge potential to create some target applications, and maybe after 10, 20 years we will see them commercialized in the market and industry. “This is my dream.” This potential has been recognized by global giant Rio Tinto, which in January 2019 awarded Professor Yamauchi and his colleague from the University of Tokyo the first grant under the Rio Tinto Australia-Japan Collaborative Program. The University of Queensland’s youngest Professor – and one of Australia’s Top 40 researchers to watch – has a big vision for the impact tiny nanoporous materials could make.The $150,000 grant is focused on chemically converting carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide into useful chemicals through nanostructured adsorbent and catalyst, thereby taking the problematic greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and turning them into the building blocks of petroleum and natural gas fuels. This is one of many industry collaborations Professor Yamauchi has been involved in, having previously established partnerships with Toyota Motor, NBC Meshtec, Kuraray Co., TPR Co., Advanced Ricoh, and The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. He has successfully secured over AU$12 million in funding, including Australian Research Council and overseas government funding (Japan Science and Technology Agency, Korean Institute of Materials Science, and Korean Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning). Professor Yamauchi is particularly passionate about collaboration between Australia and Japan, including encouraging more researchers from his homeland to move overseas. “I’ve created bilateral programs between UQ and Tokyo University, as well as the National Institute of Material Science (NIMS) in Japan,” he says. “To link in and bridge to Japan is very important to Australia, and it’s beneficial to Japan as well given Australia’s natural resources.” Professor Yamauchi is also increasing collaboration with other countries, including Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UK and US. In October 2019, he organized the International Conference on Nanospace Materials, held at UQ’s St Lucia campus. The conference brought together top-level scientists from multiple disciplines along with rising star researchers, with topics including metal-organic frameworks, mesoporous materials, zeolites, layered materials, carbon materials and hybrid materials. It’s an impressive feat for the 39-year-old, who in September 2019 was named by The Australian newspaper as one of Australia’s Top 40 researchers to watch. Before joining UQ in 2017, he led a team at the University of Wollongong that developed a nanomaterial that could be used to make markedly more effective catalytic converters for cars, dramatically improving air pollution in cities around the world. Since achieving a PhD from Waseda University in Tokyo in 2007, Professor Yamauchi has published more than 750 papers in international refereed journals with more than 35,000 citations (h-index 95), and has been named a Highly Cited Researcher in chemistry by the Web of Science Group every year since 2016. As UQ’s youngest Professor, Professor Yamauchi believes his age helps foster close collaboration with early and mid-career researchers within its world-class facilities. “This close communication with the students creates more frequent conversations about the research, producing motivated researchers,” he says. “The environment in the laboratory is everything for creative research, and I try to create that.” The Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at The University of Queensland (UQ).WOW News 26Asia & Oceania Researchers in UI National Stem Cell Center UI National Center of Stem Cell Production and Metabolite Product Indonesia - In December 2019, the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology/Head of National Research and Innovation Agency, Professor Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro, PhD, launched the National Centre of Stem Cell Production and Metabolite Product (PPSPPMN) at FKUI, Jakarta. This is a result of the collaboration between Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia (FKUI) and PT. Kimia Farma (Persero), Tbk. The ceremony was attended by UI Rector Professor Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D, Dean of FKUI Professor Dr dr Ari Fahrial Syam, SpPD-KGEH, MMB, Main Director of RSUPN Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo dr Lies Dina Liastuti, SpJP(K), MARS, FIHA and Main Director of PT. Kimia Farma (Persero), Tbk Verdi Budidarmo. Demography bonus in 2020 is a result of the prevailing improvement in degenerative diseases. Some of the degenerative diseases are known to be chronic and progressive which can result in a massive negative socio-economy impact. At present, the degenerative disease therapies available only aim to reduce the symptoms rather than stop the degenerative process altogether. In addition, other conditions such as trauma, autoimmune and violence either have terminal characteristics or do not respond to conventional or end stage medication. Until today, no cure nor medication have been found. Therefore, stem cells were looked at as the alternative. Stem cells have the potential to be developed into various specific cell types; thereby creating various body systems. The cell can change into various differentiating cells, has a self-regeneration ability and serves as building blocks on human body. In different systems, stem cells also act as an internal repair system. As such, stem cells are believed to be able to fill in and renew the damaged system cells because of various diseases. Other than the stem cell, metabolite product is also believed to have content of several growth factors that can support system regeneration and organ function. Therefore, the stem cell research team from Stem Cell Cluster and Tissue Engineering IMERI-FKUI and Integrated Service Unit of Medical Technology (UPTTK) Stem Cell RSCM-FKUI have been collaborating with PT. Kimia Farma (Persero) Tbk since 2010 in the development of stem cell production and expansion laboratory at UPTTK Stem Cell RSCM-FKUI. This collaboration is strengthened through the achievement of the Higher Education Innovation Incentive from Kemenristekdikti since 2017 due to the proposed establishment of project “PPSPPMN”. Until today, people who need stem cell therapy opt for an overseas treatment which is of a higher cost because Indonesia does not have a stem cell production center able to produce massive stem cells of competitive price and quality. Therefore, Tbk established PPSPPMN as the solution of Indonesian people’s needs of stem cell application and medication and its metabolite product. PPSPPMN is expected to produce various stem cells that are either autogenic or autologous, metabolite product and registered stem cells which can be produced massively and commercialized. Young engineers of Volgograd State University help people to get a charming smile Russian Federation - First year Master’s Degree students of Volgograd State University (VolSU) recently presented their unique Southern Federal District of Russian project at the CAD/CAM dentistry. The TeleNovo Engineering Center of VolSU has exclusive 3D metal and polymer printers used in designing models of dental prostheses including crowns and bridges and manufacturing dental implants and dentures. The exchange of innovative ideas was the starting point of cooperation between young researchers and the medical community of Volgograd region. CAD/CAM technology allows the delivery of well-fitting, aesthetic and durable prostheses for patients. The main advantages are high speed design and creation, convenience and simplicity of insertion processes, low manufacturing cost and affordable restorations. All Volgograd citizens can also benefit from this special offer - test drive of future digital smile. At the request of the patient, a model of teeth is printed on a 3D printer in just a single day. Thus, it is possible to see how the smile will look like even before the start of treatment. In the field of CAD/CAM dentistry, several contracts have already been established between dental hospitals and the VolSU Engineering Center.WOW News 28Asia & Oceania Lebanon - Hepatitis C, an infectious disease caused by the HCV virus, affects an estimated 143 million people worldwide. Because the initial symptoms are mild, the disease often remains untreated in its early stages, possibly leading to complications such as liver failure or cancer. However, “the availability of innovative therapy has significantly improved the outcome of patients with hepatitis C infection when diagnosed at an early stage,” said Dr Soumana Nasser, Clinical Associate Professor and Chair of Pharmacy Practice at Lebanese American University (LAU). Dr Nasser took the lead in seeking cost- effective means of treating hepatitis C by serving as the principal investigator of a research project that resulted in a peer- reviewed article titled “Cost-Effectiveness of Novel Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus in Lebanese Patients”, published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy. The pharmacoeconomics study provides policymakers with evidence that the initial expense of providing early- stage patients access to innovative but expensive therapy will, in the long-term, prove to be cost-efficient because this will help save on the cost of treatment at the advanced stages of the disease. Pharmacoeconomics (PE) is a field dedicated to evaluating the cost and effects of pharmaceutical products or therapies, in terms of monetary outlay, Japan - The Waseda University has officially launched a virtual tour for its Toyama Campus in English. The virtual tour not only introduces the facilities available to students of the university; but also includes narrations to provide users with an overview of the campus’s efficacy or enhanced quality of life. ““Worldwide, health professional bodies increasingly use outcomes-based and PE/ health economics data to support their decision-making on guidelines/choice of therapies in the healthcare system,” she said. For example, hepatitis C treatment in Lebanon is currently constrained because modern treatments for early stages of the affliction is costly. The study led by Dr Nasser aimed at resolving this challenge. ““The data obtained should alleviate the pressure that Lebanese policymakers are dealing with when addressing patients’ access to innovative therapy despite the scarcity of resources and budget constraints.” According to the Dean of LAU’s School of Pharmacy, Dr Imad Btaiche, “The financial implications of medication therapy are an important consideration in pharmacy practice.” Indeed, he said, “with escalating healthcare costs, pharmacoeconomic analysis balances medication cost containment with treatment benefits and patient outcomes.” In another recent PE study, accepted for publication in the regional issue of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research’s (ISPOR) official journal Value in Health, Dr Nasser looked at the current challenges and long-term history and other interesting facts about the facilities. Visitors can also catch a better glimpse of student life at Waseda University by viewing the photo gallery. The online virtual tour was created with the objective of providing potential impact of cost-sharing and risk-sharing arrangements between third-party payers and pharmaceutical companies in the MENA region. “Agreements of this type are aimed at providing patient access to innovative therapies despite their high costs,” explained Dr Nasser. Throughout her career, Dr Nasser has sought to apply her PE research and pharmacy practice in assisting healthcare policymakers, in line with LAU faculty’s general mission to produce research that has a positive impact on society outside the university’s walls. Current research plans include measuring the impact of patients’ treatment on their quality of life. ““This is an essential outcome measure used in health economics in addition to clinical and cost-effectiveness data,” Dr Nasser concluded. Official launch of Waseda University’s online virtual campus tour Cutting-edge research in Pharmacoeconomics Hepatitis C international students with a better idea of what the campuses at Waseda University are like without having to travel. In recent years, there has also been a steady annual increment in the number of international students opting to study at the Waseda University. In 2018, the university welcomed close to 8000 international students to the campus - the highest number of international students among the universities in Japan. To further diversify its student body, the university aims to increase the number of international students to 10,000 by 2032. WOW News 29Asia & Oceania Nasser aimed at resolving this challenge. AMRITA University student team wins IEEE Asia-Pacific region Humanitarian Technology Project Competition India - Team Bend, a student team from Amrita University’s Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore campus in South India won the IEEE Region 10 (Asia-Pacific region) Humanitarian Technology Project Competition 2019. The team developed a Virtual Reality (VR) game to reduce lower back pain, which is rampant among young professionals especially those working long hours at IT and software companies, to win the competition held at University of Indonesia, Depok on 12 November 2019. With the tagline, ““Gaming is not an addiction but a therapy”, Team Bend competed against student innovators from countries including Japan, China, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia to emerge on top of this Engineering Festival for Humanity. Dr Sasangan Ramanathan, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham said, “In 2019, Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore (ASE-C) has witnessed substantial achievements by our students in premier international and national competitions, and hackathons like HackHarvard Global Hackathon, USA; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) EngiNX Digital eminence challenge and Smart India Hackathon - resonating the fact that the next generation is gearing up to tackle future challenges. The students, guided by their faculty, have worked together in pursuit of solutions, proving that the University is on the right path of innovative teaching-learning process. This victory is even more special as the student innovation addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Health, true to our Chancellor and world-renowned humanitarian leader, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi’s vision of compassion-driven research.” Team Bend members were Kishore Ramesh, Mohan Karthik V., Nehal Ram Surya B. and Ragul P., students of B.Tech Computer Science & Engineering (CSE). They were mentored by Professor Prashant R. Nair, associate professor-CSE, Amrita University. Earlier, Team Bend was ranked among the top 15 teams in the Cisco ThingQbator IoT makerspace community program for universities in India. Another AMRITA student team, Team Unorthodox Inc, mentored by Professor Prashant, participated in the finals and were ranked among the top five for the project competition. Team members for this team were Rajasekar M., Manojkumar VK., Ragul SV, Sudharshan S. and Udhay Aakash R., students of B.Tech CSE. Hong Kong - A research team from the School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) successfully developed a novel aptamer, a single- stranded piece of DNA, for the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle bone disease, with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Around the world, around six to seven people out of every 100,000 suffer from OI. Genetic studies have demonstrated inhibition of sclerostin, a protein which regulates bone formation, can improve the clinical presentation of OI. Monoclonal antibodies, a type of biological therapy has been used previously to inhibit sclerostin, but clinical evidence suggests their use can lead to increased cardiovascular risk. In a bid to develop a new approach to treating the disease, the HKBU research team - led by Professor Zhang Ge, Associate Director of HKBU’s Law Sau Fai Institute for Advancing Translational Medicine in Bone & Joint Diseases, and Professor Lyu Aiping, Dean of Chinese Medicine - strategically screened and optimized a new class of molecule-nucleic acid aptamers against the sclerostin protein, which significantly promotes bone formation in mice with OI. In addition, they found it does not affect the cardiovascular protection function of sclerostin and hence will not increase cardiovascular risk, a major benefit over monoclonal antibody treatments. Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules regarded as an alternative to antibodies. They can bind to and inhibit specific targets, such as sclerostin, with their three-dimensional structures. However, in a random single-stranded DNA library with more than 1015 sequences, identifying the most optimal molecule for the treatment of OI is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Aptamers can be selected, amplified and enriched through a process called Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX). Traditionally, SELEX is done manually and is very time-consuming. However, the HKBU team succeeded in substantially raising screening efficiency by using a microfluidic system designed by the researchers to screen the aptamers. Microfluidics is a technique which can be used to precisely control and manipulate fluid in the microlitre range (one-millionth of a litre). After screening out tens of thousands of aptamers against sclerostin using the microfluidic system, the team then applied AI technology to further identify the optimal molecules. “AI technology saves manpower, shortens screening time, and reduces reagent consumption. It also avoids the loss of potentially promising candidates which happens frequently when using traditional analytical methods,” said Professor Zhang. This novel aptamer is also the first drug in Hong Kong to receive orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. Success in obtaining orphan drug designation will bring a series of benefits to the subsequent research and development of the drug, including speeding up of the review process, a waiver of the marketing authorization fee, and seven years of market exclusivity for the approved product. Novel aptamer found by HKBU helps cure brittle bone disease Professor Zhang Ge and members of his research team Team Bend recieving the top prize for IEEE HTC project competitionNext >