Professor Ken Yung Kin Lam is Professor of the Department of Biology and Executive Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). He is also the founder and Director of the Golden Meditech Center for NeuroRegeneration Sciences. Professor Yung received his doctoral degree at the University of Oxford and returned to his alma mater HKBU to embark on his prolific and fruitful career in transdisciplinary research, focusing on the causes and innovative treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
The research carried out by Professor Yung has been extensive and all-encompassing, ranging from the causes of neurodegenerative diseases to advancements in innovative treatments for these diseases. He has published more than 170 international journal articles in high impact SCI journals. Among Professor Yung’s eminent research works is a published research paper that pinpointed exposures to PM2.5, a key air pollutant, as a key culprit causing neurodegenerative diseases. The paper was recognised by the Web of Science as the top 1% cited paper within the first year in the field in 2019.
In addition, Professor Yung and his collaborators have established a full series of the transdisciplinary biomedical technology of neural stem cell therapy for individual subjects, the first of its kind in the scientific world. Among these achievements, Professor Yung and his team also pioneered the integration of nanotechnology and neuroscience to accomplish a harvest of autologous (“self”) neural stem cells from individual brains, which was published in Angewandte Chemie in 2013. This is the first-ever technology that can safely harvest neural stem cells from individual subjects and deliver a replacement of neurons to subjects with neurodegeneration. The findings proved that these individualised neural stem cells after harvesting, culturing and engineering can provide ultimate treatments for Parkinson’s disease in animal models. By implementing the concept of “using one’s own body parts to repair oneself”, this technology is groundbreaking in the sense that it has great potential for translation from bench to bed, having great impact on future therapy for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. This technology has gained over thirteen patents in China, the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong.
Professor Yung has also engaged in advancements of stem cell engineering with application of inorganic nanomatrices. This nanomatrix technology, first-known to science with the concept published in Advanced Science in 2019, is capable of transforming neural stem cells to mature functional neurons without using hazardous chemicals. This technology revolutionises traditional cell culture methods into a safer, swifter and more efficient path for stem cell engineering. It has been awarded over three patents in China, US and Hong Kong.
Integrating these two new technologies and the advancements in neural stem cell replacement therapy not only helps to pave the way for translation and future human applications, but brings new hope of curative treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. With these trailblazing inventions, Professor Yung and his collaborators have won over 40 international and national invention and innovation awards. They include Gold Medals from the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva in 2016 and 2018, and Gold Prize in the Technology Start-up Award under the Fifth Bank of China (HK) FITMI Achievement Award organised by Hong Kong Federation of Innovative Technologies and Manufacturing Industries Ltd (FITMI) and Bank of China (HK) in 2015.
Professor Yung has proactively engaged with the broader international scientific community and with community affairs. He was a member of the International Brain Research Organization and sat on the expert panel of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. He is past President of the Hong Kong Movement Disorder Society and advisor for Hong Kong Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.
翁建霖教授現為香港浸會大學（浸大）生物系教授，同時擔任研究院常務副院長。他亦是金衛醫療神經再生研究中心的創辦人和主任。翁教授在英國牛津大學獲取哲學博士學位後，即回母校浸大開展其成果豐碩的跨學科學術生涯，專注研究神經退行性疾病的成因及創新治療方法。
翁建霖教授的研究領域廣泛，涵蓋神經退行性疾病的成因及創新治療方法，並於國際具高度影響力的科學學術期刊發表了超過170篇文章。翁教授和他的團隊確定了空氣污染物有可能是神經退化的關鍵元凶，並發表了一篇學術論文指出暴露於PM2.5中與一系列神經退行性疾病的重要關係，論文出版後首年於2019年獲科睿唯安(Web of Science - Clarivate) 定為領域中全球最高1%徵引的文章。
此外，翁教授與合作伙伴建立了一套完整的跨學科神經幹細胞生物醫學技術，全是科學界首創的技術，其中一項重要發明就是結合納米科技和神經科學而成的「自體神經幹細胞分離技術」，於2013年在Angewandte Chemie發表，該首創技術可以安全地從患者身上採集神經幹細胞，為患者提供自體細胞替代治療方案 ; 翁教授的發現證實自體神經幹細胞經採集、培養和工程改造後，可以在動物身上有效地治療柏金遜症，通過貫徹「用自己的身體部位來修復自己」的關鍵理念，有如「百川歸海」的巨大潛力，為生物醫學界創先河，對未來神經退行性疾病的治療產生重大影響。這項技術已於中國、美國、歐洲及香港取得共13項專利。
翁教授還致力推動在幹細胞工程上應用無機納米基質；利用納米基質技術，無需使用有害的化學品便可將神經幹細胞轉化為成熟的功能性神經元，是首創科學技術，於2019年在Advanced Science發表。此技術突破傳統的細胞培養方法，提供更安全、快捷和有效的幹細胞工程方法，並獲得超過三項中國、美國和香港專利。
以上兩項關鍵技術結合起來，提供完整系列的神經幹細胞替代療法，為日後轉化作臨床應用開闢道路，也為破壞性神經退行性疾病的患者帶來希望。翁教授及合作伙伴的開創性發明獲得了40多個國際性和國家級發明和創新獎項，包括2016及2018年日內瓦國際發明展金獎、香港創新科技及製造業聯合總會及中國銀行（香港）第五屆中銀香港「初創科技」潛能大獎金獎。
翁建霖教授積極投入國際科學界及社會事務，包括出任國際腦研究組織的委員會成員及中國國家科學技術部評審團專家。翁教授亦曾出任香港運動障礙學會主席及香港柏金遜症基金顧問。
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