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On 11 August, the School of Chinese Medicine (SCM) and the Institute of Creativity at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) jointly hosted a landmark academic lecture to explore novel strategies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.  The event featured a dialogue between Professor Noboru Mizushima, a world-renowned autophagy scientist from the University of Tokyo, and Professor Li Min, Dean of Chinese Medicine, on how autophagy can unlock new therapeutic possibilities.

The event was a resounding success, graced by the presence of Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor and Professor Lyu Aiping, Vice-President (Research & Development) of HKBU. The lecture drew a capacity audience of over 120 scholars, experts and students from leading institutions worldwide, including Imperial College London and Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

A protégé of 2016 Nobel laureate Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi, Professor Mizushima is a pioneer to visualise the process of autophagy in cells. He delivered an overview of the field’s cutting-edge advances and introduced the concept that restoring the cell’s self-cleaning function could help reverse neurological dysfunction.

The focus then pivoted to the vast potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), as Professor Li Min showcased her team’s research, elucidating how active compounds from herbs like Uncaria rhynchophylla (Gouteng) can regulate autophagy.  The findings presented new hope for treating conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, demonstrating a powerful fusion of traditional wisdom and modern science.

The culminating panel discussion, moderated by Professor Shen Hanming, Interim Associate Dean (Teaching) of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Macau, delved further into the clinical applications of autophagy.  The panellists agreed that the roles of autophagy in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases are highly complex. Professor Li remarked, “A single compound is unlikely to cure a complex disease. The wisdom of Chinese medicine lies in its multi-herb formulae (複方), which leverage the synergistic effects of combining active ingredients for superior therapeutic effects and provide an invaluable model for new drug development.”

This high-level dialogue underscores the School’s unwavering commitment to translating cutting-edge research into viable medicines and clinical solutions. The event was made possible through the support of HKBU’s Research Office and the SCM’s three flagship research centres, namely HKBU Musketeers Foundation Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute for Age-related Diseases, Mr. and Mrs. Ko Chi Ming Centre for Parkinson’s Disease Research, and Golden Meditech Centre for NeuroRegeneration Sciences.