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Professor Han Quanbin Simon from the Teaching and Research Division receives the Excellent Research Award at Health Research Symposium 2024 by the HKSAR Health Bureau. He is one of the five awardees honored at the event

Professor Han’s awarded research project is titled “Application of polysaccharide as chemical marker in quality control of saccharide-dominant Chinese medicines: Cordyceps sinensis, a case study”. This project was awarded HKD 1.2 million from the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) several years ago. Besides Professor Han, the project team was composed of Professor Zhao Zhongzhen, Professor Emeritus and Dr. LI Lifeng Cherry, Research Assistant Professor at SCM; Professor Sun Handong and Professor Pema-Tenzin Puno at Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor Tsim Wah Keung, Karl, at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Professor Shaw Pang Chui at The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Professor Cao Hui at Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc., and Professor Bai Suping at Xinxiang Medical University.

This project successfully developed a specific and bioactive marker for Cordyceps. This marker was identified to be a 1,4-α-glucan which induces immune responses of macrophages via the TLR4/MyD88/p38 pathway as verified on TLR4-/- mice. Its content could be associated with Cordyceps’ traditional grading criteria. These results were published in Carbohydrate Polymers, 2021, 118343 & 118443. The related US patent (No. US 10,359,407) was successfully granted and commercialised via the startup company Hong Kong Authentication Centre of Valuable Chinese Medicines Limited. This technology has been adopted by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department.

The School extends its heartfelt congratulations to Professor Han’s team for their esteemed recognition, which highlights his excellent research efforts and exceptional contributions in the areas of medicine and health.