PolyU secures HK$32.6 million research funding from Research Impact Fund

HUNG HOM, Hong Kong - June 9, 2020 - PRLog -- Five research projects led by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have secured HK$32.6 million funding from the Research Impact Fund (RIF) under Research Grants Council (RGC) in the 2019/20 round of funding. For the second year running, PolyU obtained the largest amount of funding support among local universities in terms of the dollar amount and the total number of funded projects.

The five projects awarded funding represent 45% of both funding and number of projects of the RIF in 2019/20. The funding will be used to advance a variety of research areas in data storage technology, space exploration, edge learning, glaucoma treatment and ultrasound imaging technology for assessing cardiovascular diseases.

The projects, led by PolyU as the "coordinating university", are as follows, which details are listed in the Appendix.

- Data Storage and Retrieval Using Peptides and Tandem Mass Spectrometry Sequencing (HK$9.7 million) - Dr YAO Zhongping, Associate Professor
- Forward-looking Intravascular Photoacoustic/Ultrasound Imaging Technology for the Asssessment and Guidance of Cardiovascular Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention (HK$4.3 million) - Dr LAM Kwok-ho, Associate Professor & Associate Head
- Mapping and characterization for optimized evaluation of potential landing sites on the Moon and Mars to support future missions (HK$4.5 million) - Dr WU Bo, Associate Professor
- Improving Vision and Quality of Life in Patients with Glaucoma Using Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Perceptual Learning: A Randomized Clinical Trial (HK$8.8 million) - Dr CHEONG Ming Yan Allen, Associate Professor
- Edge Learning: the Enabling Technology for Distributed Big Data Analytics in Cloud-Edge Environment (HK$5.3 million) - Professor GUO Song, Professor & Associate Head

Professor Alexander Wai, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU, said, "This is testimony to the University's capacity in undertaking impactful and translational research projects, as well as a recognition to our efforts in promoting knowledge advancement.  PolyU will continue to leverage our strengths to foster strategic collaboration and partnerships across disciplines and institutions. We look forward to the fruitful results of the research teams' research and their contributions to the well-being of humankind. "

The RIF, established by the University Grants Committee and administered by the RGC, aims to encourage universities in Hong Kong to conduct more collaborative research projects that may help meet Hong Kong's strategic and societal needs, and foster more collaborative efforts with stakeholders beyond academia.

PolyU media release: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/media/media-releases/