Convocation Newsletter, Spring 2019

13 Ovarian Cancer Treatment Medical researchers discovered a new genetic marker to guide targeted therapy for ovarian cancer patients, a major discovery that could lead to new treatment opportunities. The findings were published in Nature Communications . Ovarian cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Hong Kong, and is one of the most challenging cancers to treat. Tumour DNA sequencing enables doctors to customise treatment based on each patient’s unique genetic makeup. This is called precision medicine, in which genetic markers can help predict an effective drug to kill tumour cells. The research was conducted by Dr Lydia Cheung 張慧婷 (BSc 2004; PhD 2009), Assistant Professor of the School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor Annie Cheung 張雅賢 (MBBS 1985; MD 1999; PhD 2011), Laurence LT Hou Professor in Anatomical Molecular Pathology at the Department of Pathology. International collaborators included researchers at the Knight Cancer Institute of Oregon Health & Science University, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Fudan University. The Origin of Feathers Pterosaurs had at least four types of feathers in common with their close relatives the dinosaurs, pushing back the origin of feathers by some 70 million years, according to an international team led by Professor Baoyu Jiang of Nanjing University and including Dr Michael Pittman of the HKU Department of Earth Sciences. The study was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution . Reptiles are generally known for their scales, but pterosaurs evolved a furry covering — often called “pycnofibres” — that was presumed to be fundamentally different from the feathers of birds and other dinosaurs, until now. Dr Pittman, who leads the HKU Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, said: “These exceptional pterosaur specimens were imaged by myself and Tom Kaye of the Foundation for Scientific Advancement using Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence (LSF), a technique we co-developed. The LSF images vividly revealed the form of the wing membrane, demonstrating that its generally ginger-coloured feathers were preserved in place.” Dr Lydia Cheung (left) and Professor Annie Cheung. CONVOCATION NEWSLETTER