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Inspiring a culture for sustainable innovation.

Pushing the boundaries of innovation, making new discoveries and establishing new research paradigms.

About the school
Committed to pursuing cutting-edge research, making groundbreaking discoveries and establishing new research paradigms.
Our quality and well-balanced education places particular emphasis on grit, curiosity and creativity…
At the School of Science, we promote a vibrant and dynamic environment that emphasizes academic excellence, scholarship, innovation and collaboration.
Yung Hou WONG
DEAN OF SCIENCE
Events
Seminar, Lecture, Talk | 18 Sep 2023
IAS / School of Science Joint Lecture - Location and Timing: When and Where is Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Needed to Improve Skeletal Muscle Regeneration
  Abstract Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) is a critical factor that facilitates mitotic and anabolic growth in all tissues. In skeletal muscle, IGF-I helps to resolve damage by promoting satellite cell proliferation and differentiation, suppressing inflammation, and enhancing fiber formation. The speaker’s research team has spent the last two decades focusing on the impact IGF-I has on skeletal muscle physiology and its therapeutic potential for enhancing regenerative capacity. Most recently, they have utilized tissue and cell specific ablation of IGF-I production to uncover important sources of this factor. Specifically, they have generated new mouse models with inducible deletion of Igfl from muscle fibers (MID), satellite cells (SID) and fibro-adipogenic progenitors or FAPs (FID), and they monitored mass, fiber properties, IGF-I levels, and function after acute injury. The most severe deficits in regenerative capacity occur in muscles from SID mice, demonstrating the importance of IGF-I from satellite cells for efficient repair. What was unanticipated was the need for IGF-I from FAPs: not only do FAPs provide up to 25% of total IGF-I during regeneration, but this source is also necessary to promote efficient regeneration. These findings suggest that satellite cells and FAPs may effectively boost IGF-I concentrations within a limited but sensitive spatial-temporal window during muscle regeneration, and that regenerative capacity is dependent upon what cell sources of IGF-I are available. While the most well-characterized form of IGF-I is the mature 7kD protein, alternative splicing and post-translational modification complexity lead to several additional forms of IGF-I. Previous studies have shown muscle efficiently stores glycosylated pro-IGF-I, which is one of the largest forms of the factor, but this form has reduced IGF-I. receptor activation. In contrast, non-glycosylated forms display more efficient receptor activation. To examine the functional significance of these forms, the speaker’s team employed CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to ablate IGF-I glycosylation sites or its cleavage site in mice. These studies support that glycosylation enhances growth factor storage, and that cleavage of the glycosylated portion of IGF-I is a necessary step to enable increased activity in muscle. Overall, the source, form, and timing of IGF-I production are important contributors to its benefits for skeletal muscle.   About the Speaker Prof. Elisabeth Barton earned her BS in Biophysics from Wellesley College in Massachusetts in 1987 and her PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Washington in 1996. She received postgraduate training and was the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 1997-2014. In 2015, she moved to the University of Florida and is currently a Professor in the Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology. Prof. Barton’s primary research interest is in skeletal muscle repair. Her work has broad applications including accelerating the resolution of muscle damage after acute injuries, altering the balance between damage and repair in chronic injury associated with neuromuscular disease, and enhancing the repair axis in aging muscle. She has spent the last 20 years studying insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), a key player in the muscle regeneration process. More recently, she has focused on how muscles sense load, and how these sensors become dysfunctional in muscle disease. She currently serves on the editorial board of Skeletal Muscle and Muscle and Nerve. Prof. Barton is a Member of the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Physiological Society, the Biophysical Society, and the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.   For Attendees' Attention Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
Seminar, Lecture, Talk | 25 Aug 2023
Department of Chemistry Seminar - Development of sp3C-H Bond Functionalization by Multiple Catalyst System
Speaker: Professor Harunobu MITSUNUMA Institution: Assistant Professor, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Hosted By: Professor Hugh NAKAMURA   Abstract sp3C-H bond functionalization reactions are important in a fine chemical synthesis and energy fields. Until now, most sp3C-H bond functionalization has required high temperatures and directing groups. Here, we developed mild sp3C-H bond functionalization by multiple catalyst system combining HAT catalyst, photocatalyst, and metal catalyst. In this talk, I would like to present the latest results of the catalytic Grignard reaction by using this system.   About the Speaker Dr. Harunobu Mitsunuma received his bachelor’s degree from The University of Tokyo in 2010 under the supervision of Prof. Masakatsu Shibasaki. Then he received Ph.D. of pharmaceutical science from The University of Tokyo in 2015 under the supervision of Professor Motomu Kanai. During his doctoral course, he joined Prof. John Hartwig's group at the University of California, Berkeley as a four-month visiting scholar. After getting Ph.D. he joined Dainippon Sumitomo Pharmaceutical Company in 2015. He studied as a medicinal chemist at the company. In 2017, he moved to Professor Motomu Kanai’s laboratory at the University of Tokyo as a post-doctoral fellow and became an assistant professor in 2018. He has also been JST PRESTO researcher since 2022. His research interest is the development of new synthetic methodology to accelerate drug development. Dr. Mitsunuma has been awarded Teijin Pharmaceutical Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry Japan, 2019) and JISEDAI Symposium Lectureship Award (The Pharmaceutical Society Japan, 2020).
Seminar, Lecture, Talk | 25 Aug 2023
Department of Chemistry Seminar - Chemoselective Aerobic Alcohol Oxidation by Nitroxyl Radical/Copper Cooperative Catalysis
Speaker: Professor Yusuke Sasano Institution: Lecturer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan Hosted By: Professor Hugh NAKAMURA   Abstract The oxidation of alcohols into their corresponding carbonyl compounds is one of the most fundamental transformations in organic chemistry. Nevertheless, the direct oxidation of alcohols having unprotected amino groups to their corresponding amino carbonyl compounds often suffers from poor yield owing to either the non-productive or destructive interaction between an electronrich amino group and the oxidant, which reflects immature state-of-the-art of alcohol oxidation. Here, we disclose a highly chemoselective aerobic oxidation of unprotected amino alcohols featuring 2-azaadamantane N-oxyl (AZADO)/copper cooperative catalysis. In the presentation, if possible, anasymmetric aerobic oxidation of alcohols based on AZADO/copper catalysts will also be presented.   About the Speaker Dr Yusuke Sasano studied at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, where he obtained his B.S. degree in 2008 and his Ph.D. degree in 2014 under the supervision of Prof. Yoshiharu Iwabuchi. He was appointed a Research Instructor in Professor Iwabuchi’s laboratory at Tohoku University in 2012 and an Assistant Professor in the same laboratory in 2014. He worked as a Research Associate in Professor Ryan Shenvi’s laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute in 2014–2015. He was promoted to a Lecturer in Professor Iwabuchi’s laboratory at Tohoku University in 2020. His current research interest is the development of selective oxidation using his original catalysts as a synthetic methodology. Dr Sasano has been awarded several prizes such as The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award for Young Scientists (2022), JISEDAI Symposium Lectureship Award (The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, 2021), Shionogi Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan (The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan, 2013), etc.
No. 24
Science Focus
Science Focus is specially written and designed by HKUST science undergraduate students under the guidance of our faculty and staff. It aims to stimulate and nurture students’ interest in science and scientific research through interesting articles.
Study at the
School of Science
Undergraduate
Programs
Offering diverse, interdisciplinary and inquiry-driven undergraduate education in an intellectually stimulating environment.
Postgraduate
Programs
Providing students with exposure and hands-on training in innovative, cutting edge methodologies and technologies via research and taught postgraduate education.
Academic Units
Chemistry
Life Science
Mathematics
Ocean Science
Physics
Chemistry
The Department of Chemistry has dynamic, friendly and cooperative faculty members active in all areas of chemical research and whose research is internationally recognized.
Life Science
The mission of the Division of Life Science is to facilitate the advancement of both research and education in the field of biological sciences.
Mathematics
Excellence in research and a commitment to deliver effective and quality teaching programs, are the two pillars on which the Department of Mathematics is based.
Ocean Science
The Department of Ocean Science aims to lead in understanding ocean science and technology, marine conservation, global climate change, management of marine resources, socio-economy and sustainable development.
Physics
The mission of the Department of Physics is captured by the triangle of teaching, research and innovation.
Research
Pushing the boundaries of innovation, making new discoveries and establishing new research paradigms.