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When most people think of medical careers, the life of a practicing doctor immediately come to mind. However, there is also a very different option in the medical field which involves an alternative pathway: be a medical researcher.

30 students who are newly admitted to the HKU Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Programme (MBBS) this year visited HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre on July 8, 2019. An information session introducing the concepts of clinical research was delivered by Dr. Creany Wong, Associate Director of HKU-CTC, followed by a tour around the Centre.

The students reflected that it was an eye-opening experience as they had never thought of the possibility of entering the research field after the completion of a medical degree. Some considered that it could also be another way to contribute to the society and to the betterment of mankind.

National Medical Products Administration (NMPA, previously called China Food and Drug Administration) visited Queen Mary Hospital on 29th April, 2019 for re-inspection on 14 clinical specialties (including HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre, cardiology, endocrinology & metabolism, respiratory medicine, hepatobiliary & pancreatic surgery and liver transplantation, obstetrics & gynaecology, haematology & bone marrow transplantation, neurology, nephrology, clinical immunology, orthopaedics & traumatology, gastroenterology & hepatology, oncology and paediatrics & adolescent medicine). The overall inspection result was satisfactory and the said specialties successfully received the continuing accreditation by the NMPA, meaning that the clinical drug trial data from these specialties are acceptable by the NMPA for evaluation of new drug approval applications.

HKU/QMH has been accredited by the NMPA for conducting clinical drug trials in six clinical specialties since 2006. HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre and seven additional clinical specialties were further accredited in July 2016.

HKU-CTC set up a Chinese New Year Booth at Queen Mary Hospital on 30th January, 2019 to share the joy and happiness with the public. Information panels with introduction of clinical trials were displayed. Other than that, Dr. Hong, one of the CTC Panda Ambassadors, visited the booth on that day. He gave out red packets and fai-chuns to the supporters. It attracted many visitors to come and learn more about clinical trials. Here are some highlights of the event:

HKU-CTC’s 20th Anniversary Ceremony and Gala Dinner was successfully held on 7th November, 2018. The event was the grand finale of a series of anniversary activities during 2018. Some 200 prominent officials, academia, healthcare practitioners, clinical research professionals and industrial representatives joined us in reviewing HKU-CTC’s 20 years of ground-breaking journey in clinical research and gave their heartfelt greetings in Loke Yew Hall, a historic landmark of HKU.

Professor Karen Lam, Chairman of HKU-CTC, kick-started the ceremony by expressing her gratitude to all the stakeholders in clinical research during the welcoming address. Our guests of honour, Professor Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health of the HKSAR Government, and Professor Paul Tam, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of HKU, highlighted the importance of clinical research to healthcare and scientific advancement and congratulated HKU-CTC’s contributions to the Hong Kong society and worldwide over the past 20 years.

A highlight of the evening was the interactive and interesting panel discussion featured by five distinguished HKU clinical researchers including (by alphabetical order of their last names) Professor Tak-Mao Chan, Professor Bernard Cheung, Professor Ching-Lung Lai, Professor Yu-Lung Lau and Professor Hextan Ngan, who together reviewed the history of clinical research over the past decades and shared their insights on the future research trends and opportunities for Hong Kong.

The society’s support is the key to the success of clinical research. We want to express our sincere gratitude to Baron Junior Music Academy, Theatre Cokida and Gingko House’s The Beginners Band – who showed their strong support to clinical research on behalf of different generations of Hong Kong people.

HKU Clinical Trials Centre was established in 1998 and it is our 20th anniversary this year!

We are proud to host the 20th Anniversary Ceremony at Loke Yew Hall, one of the most iconic buildings of HKU, on Wednesday, 7th November, 2018 to celebrate this remarkable milestone. It is our honour to have Professor Sophia Chan, JP, Secretary for Food and Health, and Professor Paul Tam, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, to be our Guests of Honour.

The theme of the celebration event is "Two Decades of Clinical Trials: Convergence of Talents". We hope to express our gratitude to all the organizations and practitioners in clinical trials for their contribution to the industry. What's more, to give our deepest appreciation to the volunteers who participated in the clinical studies. Their generous support over the years is crucial to the advancement of medical innovation.

A big thanks to all the sponsors for their support to the success of this event.

The 4th ICN symposium was successful held in Istanbul, Turkey on 13 September 2018 by one the founding members, Center of Excellence for Clinical Research of University of Istanbul. The symposium highlighted in investigator-initiated clinical research and data sharing. Representatives of ICN shared their local laws, regulations, as well as institutional policies relating to data sharing across countries.

Followed by the symposium, the 4th annual steering board meeting was successfully held at a beautiful off-site venue of Istanbul University on 14 September 2018. Representative of HKU-CTC was invited to do an opening remark by sharing its insights, experiences and current interactions with partners in Mainland China. Various topics, including overview of ICN memberships and operations team, legal and governance aspects, future ICN strategies and ICN outlooks were discussed. In addition, Dr. Thomas Hiemstra of Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit was elected as the new ICN Vice-Chairman during the meeting.

In a recent survey “2017 Best 50 Hospitals in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area” conducted by Asclepious Healthcare consultant, Queen Mary Hospital (“QMH”), a teaching hospital of The University of Hong Kong (“HKU”), ranked first amongst the rest! The ranking was carried out among comprehensive hospitals and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in nine cities and two special administrative regions in the Greater Bay Area. The assessment criteria of the survey covered four aspects, including medical expertise, resources, hospital operation and academic impact. QMH’s application of advanced medical technologies and its active participation in research are important factors for QMH to gain its first place. In addition, QMH is also ranked a top-3 hospital in the Chinese Community in Asclepious survey “2017 Best 100 hospitals in the Chinese Community”.

HKU-CTC has a long history of collaboration with QMH. Since our establishment in 1998, we have been supporting the professional research teams of HKU and QMH in managing their clinical research projects in QMH. With this encouraging recognition as the best hospital in the area, HKU-CTC will continue to strive in advancing human healthcare by promoting, attracting and facilitating clinical studies at the highest professional standards.

http://hd.stheadline.com/news/realtime/hk/1264107/
(From "Headline Daily")

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