Memorandum of Intent Signed for Establishment of Neuroscience Alliance

Dr William Ho (left) and Prof Chia-Wei Woo sign the Memorandum of Intent for the establishment of the Neuroscience Alliance of Hong Kong.

A Memorandum of Intent was signed between the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) for the establishment of the Neuroscience Alliance of Hong Kong which strives to bring together the latest advancements in diagnostics and therapeutics to benefit patients suffering from neurological diseases.

The establishment of the Neuroscience Alliance of Hong Kong represents the uniting of resources and expertise of the HA and the HKUST. The Kwong Wah Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital of HA and the Molecular Neuroscience Centre of HKUST will form the core of the Alliance that will in turn provide scientists and clinicians with outstanding educational, training, research and clinical practice opportunities to advance the quality of HK's neurological health care system.

At a ceremony to mark the collaboration, the Memorandum of Intent was signed by the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr William Ho, and the President of the HKUST, Professor Chia-Wei Woo. This signing ceremony was attended by representatives of the participating organisations, including neurosurgeons, neurologists and neuroscientists.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Chia-Wei Woo said the Alliance will provide a forum for innovative biomedical and clinical neuroscience research.

"Through this collaboration, Hong Kong can play an important role in the training of neuroscientists, advancement of neuroscience research and the development of clinically-relevant therapeutics and diagnostics to improve the quality of life, not only for our citizens but also for those in other parts of the world," he said.

Also addressing the ceremony, Dr William Ho pointed out that there is a growing need to have better understanding of the neurological disease process such as dementia and cerebrovascular disease for better health care management.

" This includes local research and exploration of new treatment modalities. We support the idea that clinicians and scientists should work hand in hand with a common goal to research into the disease process. We believe that their efforts shall bring forth new knowledge in the management of diseases and that such concerted efforts can improve our neurological service delivery system."

Utilising a multidisciplinary approach, the Neuroscience Alliance will initiate basic and clinical research projects targeting areas of neuroscience currently at the forefront of science. In establishing these projects, the Alliance will seek to develop parallel scientific and medical programmes to ensure the buildup of a local critical mass of highly trained neuroscientists and neurologists.

In terms of neuropathologies, the Alliance will mainly focus its research and development activities towards several major neurological conditions such as stroke; epilepsy; Alzheimer's disease; Parkinson's disease; neural tumours; and ageing.

It is envisioned that this combination of research and training will lead to the development of novel therapies and diagnostics for advancing the state-of-the-art of neurological healthcare and innovative pharmaceutical products possessing the potential for investment, both locally and abroad.

In recognition of the importance of basic neuroscience research and its potential economic impact to Hong Kong, HKUST established the Molecular Neuroscience Centre (MNC) in April this year. The mission of the MNC is to facilitate the advancement of neuroscience in the areas of brain function, mechanisms of disease, and neuro-drug discovery. The MNC provides the necessary leadership required to organise the critical expertise within HKUST into a consolidated and cohesive multidisciplinary research team.