Area of Excellence

Project Title

Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development

Principal Investigator

Professor Ping-Chung Leung

Funding Source

University Grants Committee – Areas of Excellence Scheme

Collaboration

HKUST, PolyU, CityU

Background

In 2001, the project “Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development”, led by the Institute of Chinese Medicine of CUHK, was selected as an “Area of Excellence” by the University Grants Committee (UGC) and was awarded HK$25 million for research and development. This is a 5-year project targeting at areas where western medicine has no optimal solution, including viral infection, chronic disorder, degenerative disease, allergy and preventive therapy.

In 2007, the UGC has awarded a sustained funding for 3 years to the project for further development. Two priority projects on “diabetic foot ulcer” and “cardiovascular tonic” are to be further studied.

Problem

Researches on Chinese medicine as the alternative remedies complementary to conventional modern medicine have drawn increasing attention. Reports on anecdotal observations or pure laboratory-based studies on Chinese medicines are numerous.However, none of the studies has attempted to integrate the laboratory and clinical investigation of Chinese medicine. Example on objective evaluation of the therapeutical application of Chinese medicine remains lacking. To develop the Chinese medicine which is complex in nature into a modern science and art of healing, and to bring Chinese medicine into the international market, a comprehensive efficacy driven approach aiming at safety, quality control and objective proof of efficacy is necessary.

Innovation

A unique three-prong efficacy-driven approach is adopted for the research on Chinese medicine as the alternative adjuvant remedies to difficult areas in clinical practice. The unique approach emphasizes on the objective clinical proof of efficacy, while in parallel, understanding the mechanisms of action, quality control and safe applications. A vast inter-institutional collaboration is thus established with the participation of clinicians, biologists, biochemists, pharmacologists, pharmacists and chemists. The project features the integration of laboratory investigation and evidence-based clinical trial leading to a remarkable example of an objective evaluation of the therapeutical application of the Chinese medicine.

 

Major Events


UGC announced that the project “Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development” had been granted the AoE award at its press conference held on 26 September 2001.

 

The First Workshop on UGC-AoE Project “Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development” was held  on 18 January 2003. Six AoE-CMRFD Scientific Advisors, including Prof. XIE Pei-shan (謝培山教授) and Prof. XIAO Pei-gen (蕭培根教授) from the Mainland, attended the workshop to provide professional advice to the project team.

 

The Second Workshop on UGC-AoE project “Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development” was held on 26 February 2004, when the project was heading towards the end of the first stage research. A total of over 100 researchers participated in the workshop to exchange their views on the project and 8 overseas AoE-CMRFD Scientific Advisors attended the workshop.

 

The Third UGC-AoE Workshop on “Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development” was held on 2 November 2007 to summarize the achievements of the project team. Nearly 100 participants from the different collaborating institutions attended the workshop. Prof. SUN Hon-dong (孫漢董院士) and Prof. XIE Pei-shan (謝培山教授) were also invited to advise on the project and to deliver lectures in the workshop.

 

The AoE-CMRFD project team presented its research results in the International Conference & Exhibition of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine & Health Products. The exhibition was held on 11-15 August 2005 and attracted a large number of general public and researchers in the field to view the projects being displayed.

The UGC AoE members visited CUHK to review the project on 8 July 2003, 13 December 2004 and 24 April 2006.

 

In 2005, the project results were also  presented in another two large-scale exhibitions, namely  “Innovation Expo 2005” and “2005 TWGHs Eddie Wang Symposium on Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine”.