City Seminar - Biotechnology for better health

Titled Biotechnology for Better Health - from Human Genome to Precision Medicine, Prof Michael Yang Mengsu, Head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Chair Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences gave a dynamic lecture in the City Seminar held on 23rd June by the College of Business.

In the seminar, Prof Yang shared insights on “Precision Medicine” – a personalised approach for disease prevention and treatment that takes into account of people’s individual variations in genes, environment, and lifestyle.  He explained how the development of DNA sequencing technology, integration of biochemistry and nanotechnology, and invention of applying precision therapy can increase the effectiveness of treatments. 

Prof Yang obtained his PhD from University of Toronto, Canada, and received postdoctoral training in the Scripps Research Institute in the USA. Currently, Prof Yang and his team are working on research focuses on the development of biochip technology and nanotechnology for molecular diagnostics and therapeutic applications. Prof Yang has published over 260 peer-reviewed scientific papers and acquired 23 patents. He is a member of the Grant Review Boards of Hong Kong Healthcare and Medical Research Fund, and Innovation and Technology Fund, and served as the Technical Advisor for the Nanotechnology and Advanced Material Institute (NAMI) of Hong Kong. Prof Yang is also the co-founder of Genetel Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Prenetics Ltd (formerly named Multigene), CityU’s spin-off companies specialising in developing molecular diagnostic and therapeutic products for early detection and treatment of diseases.

About City Seminar
The City Seminar 香港席明納 was initiated by Prof Houmin Yan, Dean of the College, with an aim to discuss topics together (席Xí), to understand such topics in depth (明Míng), and to gain something of value from the discussions (納Nà). The College will be inviting a number of professors and/or scholars to explore various topics during the series.

To watch Prof Yang's speech in the City Seminar, please click here.
For more information about past and upcoming seminars, please visit the City Seminar website.