Date: 18 Nov 2026 (Wed)
Time: 2:00 pm -3:30 pm
Venue: Room 297, Science Centre (South Block), CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Heribert Hirt, Head of Darwin21 Desert Research Initiative, Center for Desert Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Sciences and Technology, Saudi Arabia

Date: 17 Nov 2026 (Tue)
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Venue: Rm 297, Science Centre (South Block), CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Jianping HU, Michigan State University

Date: 10 Nov 2026 (Thu)
Time: 3:00 pm
Venue: LT8, Yasumoto International Academic Park (YIA), CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Rumiana Dimova, Group leader, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany

Date: 5 Nov 2026 (Thu)
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 nn
Venue: Rm 297, Science Centre (South Block), CUHK

Speaker: Dr. Dragwidge Jonathan, INRAE, UMR 1332 Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie, Bordeaux, France

Seminar Report:

On 05 Nov 2026, School of Life Sciences organized the SLS seminar series presented by Dr Jonathan Dragwidge, the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE) Bordeaux in the department of plant virology, France. In the seminar, Dr Dragwidge shared his research experience from Australia, Germany, Belgium and now to France. He also introduced his latest findings in the roles of biomolecular condensates for the assembly of clathrin-coated vesicles in plant endocytosis, as well as the assembly of plant virus.  The students raised a lot of questions and had great discussions on the topics.

Date: 29 Oct 2026 (Thu)
Time: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Venue: Rm 297, Science Centre (South Block), CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Xia Pengfei, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, China

Seminar Report:

On 29 October 2026, the SLS Seminar Series was delivered by Prof. Peng-Fei Xia from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at Shandong University, China. The seminar was entitled “Repurposing Evolutionary Fitness for a More Sustainable Future”.

Prof. Xia is an established researcher in environmental biotechnology and synthetic biology, with a particular focus on microbial genome engineering, metabolic engineering, and artificial biological systems. His research explores the unique metabolic capabilities and evolutionary advantages of non-model microorganisms, particularly marine bacteria and cyanobacteria, to develop innovative biotechnological strategies for carbon recycling, waste biomass valorization, and sustainable biomanufacturing. His work has been published in leading journals, including Nature Communications, Metabolic Engineering, and ACS Synthetic Biology.

In the seminar, Prof. Xia presented his team’s recent advances in harnessing the intrinsic biological capabilities of non-model microorganisms for environmental applications. He highlighted three major research directions. First, he discussed the development of customized CRISPR-Cas systems, including non-killing genome-editing approaches, to overcome the genetic barriers that limit the engineering of non-model microbes. Second, he introduced strategies for deciphering and reprogramming microbial metabolic networks to balance engineered functions with cellular growth and inherent physiological traits, with examples involving the bioconversion of lignin-derived compounds by marine bacteria. Finally, he explored the rational design of artificial microbial communities, in which microorganisms with complementary evolutionary and metabolic advantages can be integrated to accomplish complex bioconversion tasks. Collectively, these studies demonstrated how integrating genome engineering, metabolic reprogramming, and microbial community design can unlock the potential of non-model microorganisms and provide innovative solutions for carbon and water conservation towards a more sustainable future.

Date: 23 Oct 2026 (Fri)
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Rm 297, Science Centre (South Block), CUHK

Speaker: Dr. Thaiza Serrano Pinheiro de Souza, Postdoctoral Research Fellow (FaBA), PhD in Food and Nutrition and Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Australia

Seminar Report:

Dr. Thaiza Serrano Pinheiro de Souza from the University of Queensland recently delivered a seminar on cereal β-glucans at CUHK on October 23, 2026. She explored the structure-function relationships of β-glucans from barley and oats, explaining how structural characteristics (such as glycosidic linkages and molecular weight) and processing/extraction conditions influence their recovery, gel-forming behavior, digestibility, and fermentability. She also discussed the potential to tailor processing conditions to modulate these properties, along with the application and associated challenges of incorporating β-glucans into food systems.

Date: 24 Sep 2026 (Thu)
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 nn
Venue: Rm 297, Science Centre (South Block), CUHK

Speaker: Professor JIANG, Haibo, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry; Director of the JC STEM Lab of Molecular Imaging, The University of Hong Kong

Seminar Report:

On 24 Sep 2026, School of Life Sciences organized the first SLS seminar series presented by Professor Haibo Jiang, Director of the JC STEM Lab of Molecular Imaging at The University of Hong Kong.
His research focuses on developing advanced bioimaging techniques to investigate mechanisms of lipid metabolism and interactions between therapeutics and biological systems. In the seminar, he gave a wonderful presentation about his latest work about bioimaging techniques in revealing how and where therapeutic drug in the cell. 

Date: 14 Aug 2026 (Fri)
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 3 (L3), Science Centre, CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Yunde Zhao, Global STEM Visiting Professor, CUHK; Professor of Cell and Development Biology, UC San Diego, USA.

Date: 29 Jun 2026 (Mon)
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: L2, Science Centre, CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Nicholas Provart, PhD, Professor, Plant Cyberinfrastructure & Systems Biology; Director, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Program; Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Canada

Date: 23 June 2026 (Tue)
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Venue: L3, Science Centre, CUHK

Speaker: Dr. Nils Rädecker, Focus Group Leader, Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), University of Oldenberg, Germany

Seminar Report:

On 23 June 2026, SLS seminar series was delivered by Dr. Nils Rädecker, from the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) at the University of Oldenburg, Germany.

Dr. Nils Rädecker is a leading researcher in the field of coral reef ecology and physiology, with a particular focus on the metabolic interactions within cnidarian-algal symbioses. He is a pioneer in using high-resolution analytical techniques, such as NanoSIMS, to track nutrient cycling at the subcellular level. His research is dedicated to understanding how environmental changes and metabolic dynamics influence the stability of coral reefs. The impact of his work is reflected in numerous high-impact publications in prestigious journals, including PNAS and Nature Communications. 

In the seminar, he delivered a very fabulous presentation to introduce the cellular and metabolic mechanisms underlying coral bleaching. Specifically, he discussed how combining physiological measurements with Raman microscopy and a newly developed CryoNanoSIMS workflow can characterize the heat-stress response in the Aiptasia model system at subcellular resolution. He shared insightful findings on how nitrogen availability and the formation of crystalline guanine stores within symbiont vacuoles act as critical mechanisms in the breakdown and potential recovery of coral-algal partnerships during bleaching events.

Date: 29 May 2026 (Friday)
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Science Centre, CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Kim Jong Seung, Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry (College of Science), Korea University, Seoul, Korea

Seminar Report:

Last Friday (29 May 2026), Prof. Kim Jong Seung (member of Korea Academy of Science Technology) from Korea University visited our school to deliver an inspiring talk on photodynamic therapy (PDT). He shared how to develop new photosensitizers for PDT and also introduced us to Korean culture. Following the insightful presentation, students and postdocs engaged deeply in the discussion, generating a vibrant Q&A session.

Date: 14 April 2026 (Tue)
Time: 11:00AM – 12:00NN
Venue: SC 297

Speaker:
Prof. Michael Lazarou, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Australia

Organizer:
School of Life Sciences [SLS Seminar Series]

Seminar Report:

As the powerhouse in the cells, mitochondria provide energy in the form of ATP to support various cellular activities. These are also crucial to keep the neuron healthy in the brain, and defective mitochondrial function will lead to many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease.  Therefore, understating the mechanisms for mitochondrial quality control is essential to find new therapeutic strategies.

On 14 April 2026, School of Life Sciences organized the SLS seminar series presented by Professor Michael Lazarou, from Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute in Monash University, Australia.

Professor Michael Lazarou is a leading expert in mitochondrial quality control, with a focus on how mitophagy regulates Parkinson’s disease. In the seminar, he gave a very nice presentation to introduce how mitophagy in neuron regulate Parkinson’s disease, as well as their latest findings in identifying new drug that might help in the treatment.

Date: 10 March 2026 (Tue)
Time: 11:00AM – 12:00NN
Venue: SC L4

Speaker:
Prof. David Rubinsztein, Professor of Molecular Neurogenetics & UK Dementia Research Institute Group Leader & Deputy Director, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research & Honorary Consultant in Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK

Organizer:
School of Life Sciences [SLS Seminar Series]

Seminar Report:

On 10 March 2026, School of Life Sciences organized the SLS seminar series presented by Professor David Rubinsztein, from UK Dementia Research Institute Group Leader at the University of Cambridge.

Professor Rubinsztein is a leading pioneer in autophagy field, particularly in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. He has made contributions that reveal the relevance of autophagy defects as a disease mechanism and to the basic cell biology of this important catabolic process.  In the seminar, he gave a wonderful presentation about how to apply the strategy of autophagy upregulation as a possible therapeutic approach in various neurodegenerative diseases, and has identified drugs and novel pathways that may be exploited for this objective.

Date: 9 February 2026 (Mon)
Time: 11:30AM – 12:30PM
Venue: SC L4

Speaker:
Professor Shin-ichi Arimura, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Organizer:
School of Life Sciences [SLS Seminar Series]

Date: 22 January 2026 (Thu)
Time: 10:00AM
Venue: LSK LT2

Speaker:
Prof. Chen Xiaowei, Boya Distinguished Professor, College of Future Technology, Peking University, China

Organizer:
School of Life Sciences [SLS Seminar Series]

Seminar Report:

On 22 Jan 2026, Prof. Chen Xiaowei, from College of Future Technology in Peking University, visited School of Life Sciences in CUHK and delivered a seminar to our students.

Professor Chen is currently the Boya Distinguished Professor. His group focuses on the genetics and cell biology of lipoprotein biology and lipid homeostasis, particularly by elucidating a receptor mediated export program for the lipoproteins. He is the recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the Chinese American Diabetes Association and Special Recognition Award from the Society of Heart and Vascular Metabolism, as well as the Earl Stadtman Scholar finalist from the National Institute of Health, USA and the Distinguished Young Scholar Award from the National Natural Science Foundation, China. In the seminar He nicely introduced his recent research in discovering new mechanisms in governing secretory proteins for lipid metabolism and uncovered the long-sought signal in linking to mitochondrial function.