The University of Hong Kong (HKU) continues to outperform other institutions in the Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund and other grants for 2021/22.
HKU has maintained the leading position in the General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Program (ECS) by successfully securing both the highest number of approved projects and the highest share of funding in both programs.
For the GRF, 221 submitted proposals were approved with a funding amount of $ 178 million. Of the five panels, HKU ranks first out of two – the Biology and Medicine panel and the Humanities and Social Sciences panel, receiving the highest number of awarded projects. Young researchers from the University have obtained support for 43 projects for a total amount of $ 32 million. Our number of projects funded, our success rate and our share of funding are the highest among institutions.
Research Fellows Program (RFS) and Senior Research Fellows Program (SRFS)
HKU received three awards for the Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) and two awards for the Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS). The winners are:
Senior researchers
Professor Hongzhe SUN (Department of Chemistry)
Professor Wang YAO (Department of Physics)
Research fellows
Dr Kaibin HUANG (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
Dr Stéphanie KY MA (School of Biomedical Sciences)
Dr Jinyao TANG (Department of Chemistry)
Both programs aim to provide sustained support and a reduced burden of teaching and administration to exceptionally exceptional researchers. Each RFS scholar will receive a scholarship of approximately HK $ 5.2 million, and each SRFS scholar will receive a scholarship of approximately HK $ 7.8 million, both over a period of 60 months.
Thematic Research Scheme (TRS) 2021/22
In the 11th cycle of the thematic research program, among the eight funded projects, HKU participates in six and is the coordinating institution of three projects. The research coordinated by HKU is all under Theme 1: Promoting good health, namely:
Coordinator of the project “Virological, immunological and epidemiological characterization of COVID-19”: Professor Léo LM POON, School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine
“Ecology, molecular virology and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2: from bedside to bench and back”
Project coordinator: Professor Dong-Yan JIN, School of Biomedical Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine
“Translating the findings of the disease mechanism to improve the treatment of biliary atresia, an incurable liver disease in newborns”
Project coordinator: Dr Vincent CH HIM, Department of Surgery, LKS Faculty of Medicine
Under the Prestigious Fellowship Program in Humanities and Social Sciences (HSSPFS), HKU continues to dominate the others by receiving 3 of the 9 funded projects, which is a strong testament to the quality and caliber of our seasoned academics in the humanities and social sciences disciplines. The HKU winners are:
Professor David R. CARLESS (Faculty of Education)
Professor Julia C. KUEHN (Faculty of Arts) and
Dr Olga A. ZAYTS (Faculty of Arts).
HKU Vice President (Research) Professor Max Shen extended his warmest congratulations to the researchers and their research teams. He said: “These grants are a clear demonstration of the research competitiveness and academic excellence of our faculties and researchers. I wish them every success in the deliverables of these projects, exploring innovative ideas for unprecedented solutions in their respective fields. We will continue to improve the quality of our research, generate impact and contribute to society. “
More details on the results of the HKU funding can be found at: http://www.rss.hku.hk/funding/funding-results.
