News & Stories

A landmark study conducted by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has demonstrated that a genetic variant, TREM2 H157Y, significantly increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in individuals of ethnic Chinese descent. The research reveals that this variant confers a risk level comparable to that of the strongest known genetic risk factor for AD, APOE-ε4, and is associated with more rapid clinical progression and more severe neurodegeneration.This is the first in the field to conduct an in-depth family-based clinical case study on a Chinese-enriched genetic risk factor for AD, the TREM2 H157Y variant. The findings, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, have profound implications for disease monitoring and patient management.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) held a flag-raising ceremony on campus this morning to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.The University was honored to have Ms. ZHOU Qian, Counselor of the Department of Treaty and Law at the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR, preside over the ceremony. She was joined by Dr. John CHAN, HKUST Pro-Chancellor; Dr. the Hon. Andrew LIAO Cheung-Sing, HKUST Court Chairman; and Prof. Nancy IP, HKUST President. The event was attended by over 400 members of the HKUST community and generated more than 10,000 online views via live stream.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Sino Group successfully concluded the Hong Kong finale of the "HKUST-SINO One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition 2025" today at the HKUST Clear Water Bay campus. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the competition this year attracted 348 teams from around the world to compete for awards and exchange innovative ideas to develop practical solutions for a sustainable future. The team Stellerus Technology Limited claimed the top Platinum Award for their Feilian Constellation.The award presentation ceremony was officiated by Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mr. David NG from Sino Group, with HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP and HKUST Vice-President for Research and Development Prof. Tim CHENG in attendance. Finalist teams presented their pioneering projects to a distinguished audience of industry partners, investors, and academic leaders.

How will our collective future take shape? Our students may have the answer. To empower global citizens to build a safer, more resilient world, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) joins hands with Stanford University as a founding partner to launch the Global Sustainability Challenge.This competition represents a powerful collaboration between sustainability and education experts.  By pooling experience and expertise, the competition was shaped by founding partners from prestigious institutions as founding universities, such as Imperial College London, Zhejiang University, Technical University of Munich, and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Prof. George Smoot, IAS Professor-at-Large and Professor Emeritus of Physics, who left us at his home in Paris on September 24, 2025. Prof. Smoot was not only an exceptional educator and researcher but also a mentor and friend to many. His absence is felt profoundly by all who had the privilege to know him, learn from him, and collaborate with him.

Membrane proteins are crucial for numerous biological processes and serve as important drug targets. For decades, scientists have relied on detergents to extract membrane proteins from cell membranes for structural studies. While detergent-based approaches have significantly advanced our understanding of membrane protein structures, they present certain limitations, such as resource-intensive detergent screening and the absence of native membrane lipids, which can hinder investigations into lipid-mediated regulation. To address these challenges, a research team led by Prof. DANG Shangyu from the Division of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a novel vesicle-based method that preserves the native lipid environment of membrane proteins, which can advance structural and functional studies.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the Education Bureau (EDB), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CAS-TECSU) jointly organized the Hong Kong Secondary Student Space Station Popular Science Payload and Science Experiment Design Challenge. An award ceremony was held at HKUST on September 21 to commend the outstanding student teams for their excellent designs and recognize their achievements in space science.

Prof. Angela WU, Associate Professor in the Division of Life Science and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has been named a 2025 Schmidt Polymath, a prestigious recognition celebrating transformative research across disciplines.