Activities Summary 2015

I would like to summarize all quality related activities I participated in 2015 as follows:
Seminar x57, Training/Workshop x10 , Visit x7, Conference/Symposium/Forum x19,
Arrange visit to HKSTP x2, Invited Speaking x6, Teaching course x1 and Professional Gathering x25.
ASQ Influential Voice article x11

(Photo: My last lecture for BCH 6116 because of whole MSc course rearrangement)

Seminar:
(YYYYMMDD)
20150107: ESG Seminar – e-Business Strategy
20150116: HKSQ & ISI Seminar of Innovative Model - iTQI
20150121: HKSQ Seminar on Assuring Food Quality and Safety in the UK Food Industry
20150124: HKSTP & HKSQ Seminar on System Approach to Innovative Management
20150129: HKSTP & Alibaba B2B Export e-Commerce Business Seminar
20150131: ISI Innovation Sharing Seminar & Summer Networking 2015
20150202: An Evening with Jack Ma (馬雲與青年有約)
20150205: HKCTC & HKAS Seminar on Greenhouse Gas Validation & Verification
20150211: OUHK Technical Seminar on Methodology and Technology in Microbiology Testing
20150213: ESG Seminar – How Google Uses Its Culture to Motivate Post-80s Generation
20150306: SCL Talk on Photometric and Radiometric Measurement
20150309: HKCTC & HKAS Seminar on Healthy Life and Food Testing & Certification
20150310: PMI Seminar on DFSS to Project Management
20150313: ICT Seminar for Innovation and Technology Development
20150317: HKCTC & HKAS Seminar on Gold Testing & Gemstone Authentication
20150319: IIPCC-HK Seminar “OEM to ISP (Integrated Service Franchiser) Transformation”
20150320: HKSTP IP Seminar – Win the Patent Game
20150410: PolyU Public Seminar on Innovation and Patent
20150414: CityU Omni-Channel Retailing Innovation Seminar
20150428: ITC Enterprise Support Scheme (ESS) Briefing Session
20150513: Lab Test One in One Click Launching Ceremony cum Cutting Edge Testing Technologies Seminar
20150529: Seminar Celebrating the WMD, the WAD and the WSD 2015
20150608: Seminar on Enhancing Brands for Overseas Markets
20150626: HKSQ Seminar on Food Toxicity using Fish Embryos
20150706: HKCTC & HKAS Seminar on R&D Projects of Medical Testing
20150710: HKQAA Seminar on the Next Generation of Management System Standards (ISO 9001:2015)
20150713: HKCTC Seminar on Professional Integrity in Testing and Certification
20150713: Seminar on Insights and Breakthrough Concepts of TRIZ Systematic Innovation
20150721: CMATCL Seminar on Exploring New Business Opportunity for Proprietary Chinese Medicine (pCm) & Cosmetics Products entering into China
20150731: HKSQ Seminar on ASQ Certification Programs
20150831: HKSQ Seminar on ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 14001:2014 – Executive Overview
20150814: HKSQ Seminar on Strategic Energy Management (ISO 50001)
20150820: HKIE Seminar on Industry 4.0: The 4th Industrial Revolution
20150821: ESG Seminar – Crisis Management on Social Media
20150821: HKSQ Seminar on Big Data & Rapid Systematic Innovation Framework
20150822: HKSQ Seminar on Strategic Management by Policy (SMBP)
20150901: HKSTP Leadership Seminar – The 10 Innate Qualities of a Successful Leader
20150907: CityUES Seminar on “The Rise of China, One Belt and One Road, the China Dream”
20150909: HKSTP TecONE Seminar on Business Model
20150916: CityU Research Seminar on “How to write a Good Grant Application”
20151007: HKSTP TecONE Seminar on Risk Management
20151008: HKAS Seminar on Accreditation Service (AS) System
20151008: HKQAA Hong Kong Registration Ceremony of Recycling Services Pilot Program and Kickoff of Eco-friendly Series
20151009: HKSQ Seminar on Organization Development Study of the Impact of Cultural Factors on Six Sigma Implementation in Southern China
20151016: ESG Seminar – Persuasion Science to Influence Customers and Staff
20151110: HKSTP Design Thinking Seminar on Customer Services
20151113: HKSQ Seminar on Listening to the Voice of the Customer
20151119: HKSTP Seminar – Formulating Strategy for Sustainable Growth
20151120: HKSQ Seminar on ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & ISO/CD 45001 New Requirements & Implementation
20151123: HKSQ Seminar on the Impact of ISO 9001:2015 on Outsourcing
20151201: HKCTC Seminar on Quality Management and Quality Assurance
20151203: HKQAA Seminar on “A New Era of Management System Standard - ISO 9001:2015”
20151207: HKSTP Design Thinking Seminar on Management
20151221: ESG Seminar – Innovation Strategy on Sharing Economy
20151230: CMA Live Your Dream Seminar on Testing and Certification for Better Business Development

Training / Workshop:
20150203: Innovative Thinking Workshop – Thinkertoys
20150207: HKSQ & ISI Workshop of Innovative Total Quality Improvement (iTQI)
20150411: HKSQ Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Workshop
20150512: The 2nd Workshop on Advanced Methods in Food Microbiology and Chemistry
20150518-19&25-26: MA TRIZ Certification Level 2 Training
20150622: HKQAA CSR Strategic Planning and Reporting Workshop
20150714: Team Synergy and Creative Problem Solving Workshop
20151205: HKSTP DIY Marketing Workshop – Marketing Research
20151209-10: HKQAA ISO9001:2015 QMS Lead Auditor Transition Training Course
20151212: HKSQ Iberico Ham and Wine Pairing Workshop

Visit:
20150228: HKSQ QoL Walking Tour to Tai Ping Shan Medical
20150404: Visit to EWHA Womans University 2015
20150407: Visit to JEJU National University 2015
20150508: HKSQ Technical Visit to HKTDC
20150812: Visit to Hong Kong Precious Metals Assay Centre under CGSE
20150922: HKSQ pre-ANQ Congress Visit to Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
20151106: The 3rd Chinese Quality Forum – Day 3 Work Meeting & Visit TusPark

Conference / Symposium / Forum:
20150113: CityU Mobile Technology Festival 2015 (12 – 21 January 2015)
20150114: SME Cloud Promotion Campaign (HKSTP)
20150312: CityU Matchmaking Symposium for Innovation Projects
20150413: CAE-HKAES Joint Summit on Innovation and Technology Industry in Hong Kong and the PRD (13-14 Apr 2015)
20150416: IoT Symposium 2015
20150505: 2015 World Conference on Quality and Improvement (Albert & Fugee participated)
20150529: HKQAA Symposium 2015
20150624: HKSTP APAC Innovation Summit 2015 - Robotic
20150703: HKSTP Entrepreneurship Symposium 2015
20150715-17: The 6th International Conference on Systematic Innovation - ICSI 2015
20150721: The 1st Forum on Sustainable Development in Higher Education
20150923-24: ANQ Congress 2015 Taipei
20151017: CityU EngD Open Forum – Innovation and Entrepreneurship
20151025-27: IAQ World Quality Forum 2015, Hungary – Welcome Cocktail
20151104-05: The 15th China Quality Award cum Chinese Quality Forum
20151118: ASTRI Industry and University Consultation Forum 2015
20151125: ITC & HKCTC Conference on ISO 9001:2015
20151206: ASHK 1st Science and Technology Innovation Summit
20151220: HKSTP Hong Kong & Guangzhou International Conference on Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine

Visit to HKSTP: 
20150122: The Gulf Cooperation Council Accreditation Centre and Standardization Organization representatives visit to HKSTPC Laboratories
20151202: The Gulf Cooperation Council Accreditation Centre - Secretary-General Visit to HKSTP Laboratories

Invited Speaking: 
20150119: CUHK Guest Lecture for ISO Journey in Science Park Laboratory and HKSQ Membership Drive
20150424: PMI Seminar on QMS based Information Security Management
20150509: MoU Signing Ceremony & Technical Seminar on Testing and Certification 2015
20150619: HKCTC & HKAS Workshop on ISO 27001 ISMS Certification
20150730: Towngas CPD Seminar - Quality & Innovation Management System
20150801: HKQAA Risk Management Experience Sharing Talk

Teach courses in CityU:
1/09/15 to 30/12/15: BCH 6116 "Quality and Environmental Management for Laboratory"

Professional Gathering / Meeting:

20150123: CityU EngD Society AGM Seminar & Dinner 2014
20150203: HKSQ Support Shenzhen Quality City Promotion Association AGM 2015 (Aaron participated)
20150302: Focus Group Meeting for alignment of HKQF & EQF
20150307: CityU Eminence Society – The 3rd Exco Inauguration Ceremony & Annual Dinner 2015
20150314: HKSQ Student Project Competition 2015 – Presentation
20150315: HKFSTA AGM and Spring Dinner 2015
20150416: HKSTP MINGLE Luncheon with Mr. Shih Wing Ching (施永青)
20150425: HKIUR Inauguration Ceremony cum Networking Session
20150428: Dinner with Darrell Mann (Innovation Expert)
20150528: Meeting with CityU President and HeathBaby Group for Potential Collaboration
20150602: HKQF the 6th TIC-ITAC Meeting
20150611: AQBPA Award Ceremony Cum ISSC Annual Dinner 2015
20150710: Ceremony Dinner for the Launch of “Shanghai-Hong Kong Gold Connect”
20150718: HKSQ AGM 2015 and Zero Defect Strategy Seminar
20150804: The 1st Focus Group Meeting on Evaluating Impact of HKQF
20150822: HKSQ Strategy Meeting 2015
20150923: Pre-Chinese Quality Forum (華人品質論壇) Meeting & Dinner 2015
20151012: The 1st Hong Kong Precious Metals Assay Centre Steering Committee Meeting
20151121: CityU EngD Society 10th Anniversary Dinner 2015
20151122: CityU Inauguration of Institute for Advanced Study
20151123: CityU Innopreneurship Ecosystem Launch Ceremony 2015
20151123: ISO/TC 176 Meeting in Hong Kong – Welcome Reception
20151127: HKSQ Dinner with Mr. Juhani Anttila (Finnish Society for Quality)
20151208: HKTIC AGM and Annual Gathering 2015
20151216: Towngas Quality Day 2015

CMA Live Your Dream Seminar on Testing and Certification for Better Business Development

The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong (CMA) and CMA Testing and Certification Laboratories (CMATCL) co-organized Live Your Dream Youth Empowerment Seminar Series 「創．理想」系列講座 named “Testing and Certification for Better Business Development” 「利用檢測認證創商機」. In the beginning, Mr. Arthur SY Lam (General Manager, Business Development, CMATCL) gave a welcome speech. He said many quality issues happened recently that testing and certification (T&C) industry assisted to investigate the root problem. T&C was one of six potential industries in Hong Kong and it also supported the sustainable development such as carbon footprint label.

Group photo of all guests and speakers

Prof. Terence Lau (Programme Director, Executive Diploma in Intellectual Property Management; Director of Innovation and Technology Development, PolyU; Adjunct Professor, PolyU) was the first speaker and his topic named "The important of R&D on Testing and Certification Industry". Firstly, Prof. Lau said we had a very good T&C infrastructure provided by HKAS and those schemes were recognized worldwide.

Prof. Lau introduced that T&C global market was huge through new regulation and outsourcing as well as globalization supply chain. The prediction growth rate was 5% per year (from 2015 to 2020) and upto USD 50.60 Billion in 2020. He said Certification was horizontal (system) and Testing was vertical (product).

Then Prof. Lau introduced different food safety problems such as Food-borne Bacteria/Virus, Bio-toxins, Malachite Green, Cadmium Rice, Meat Additive, Tainted Milk, Gutter Oil, Fake Chicken Eggs, etc. However, one of his samples about transgene Salmon was found triple size of original. He asked how we know if the salmon became a can. Then he also shared news about a plan for cloned cattle as food in China!

Prof. Lau mentioned many organic foods that needed certification label for customer to identify them. Moreover, customer sometime was not able to identify the fraud food. The following fishes were used as an example to distinguish fraud fish that the confirmation obtained through testing. Sometime it needed to employ DNA testing and he introduced the website - Barcode of Life.

Finally, Prof. Lau briefed PolyU’s knowledge transfer system to translate academic researches into real-life applications. They also formed Food Safety Consortium and their researches including Food Virus Testing, GMO Testing, Novel Biological, Chemical and Physical Testing Technologies, etc. At the end, he stated some challenges such as small local market, competition from international brands, and insufficient investment of R&D.

Mr. Y.Y. Tsang (Food Safety Specialist, Food & Pharmaceutical Division, CMATCL) was the second speaker and his presentation entitled "Food Safety: Think which you hadn’t think".

Mr. Tsang introduced the food hazard classified as three types and they were Chemical, Biological and Physical.

Then Mr. Tsang reviewed different food safety problems including artificial pigment, additive, food preservative, anti-oxidant, heavy metals, etc. He said almost 80% food toxic come from bacteria. Moreover, one of the key problems was not enough supervision on supplier.

Finally, Mr. Tsang shared McDonald’s supply criteria as follows:
- Good Reputation
- Same Value (Safety First)
- Reliable
- Management Capability of Food Quality, Safety and Risk
- Staff Competence
- Food Safety Management System
- Contract and Legal Requirement
He also shared METRO group supplier and product risk assessment at the end.

The third speaker was Mr. Joseph Chiu (Certification Manager, CMATCL) and his topic named “Product Certification Help Your Product Outstanding”. He said food safety management was like a football team. One role was Goalkeeper and the other role was Forward. Then he briefed local regulation such as Cap 132 (Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance), Cap 362 (Trade Descriptions Ordinance) and Cap 231 (Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance).

Mr. Chiu said China was the main food import to Hong Kong upto 23.9% (2015). He shared some news from mainland that local people dare to eat the food product they made! Therefore, Mr. Xi Jinping (President of the People's Republic of China) visited milk industries on 28 Jan 2014 and enforced food product safety.

Then Mr. Chiu introduced different tests in food and food container. He used rice as example to demonstrate how many test it should be done.

After that Mr. Chiu briefed how they perform the hygiene surveillance on-site and food sampling for test off-site.

Some surveillance findings were shared as following diagrams.

Finally, Mr. Chiu introduced CMA fresh label for food in which the top level named “Sashimi Grade”. Another certification was CMA-Carbon Trust which used for calculating the carbon footprint.

Q&A Session
I asked how to measure the transgene Salmon. Prof. Lau said using DNA testing could be found but the most difficult was to find the reference material. Mr. YY Tsang said Hong Kong was no legal requirement for banning Genetically Modified (GM) food but we had guideline that it should be label if more than 5% were transgene / GM. However, it was tighter in EU that label needed if more than 1%.

Reference:
CMATCL - http://www.cmatcl.com/en/index.html
Barcode of Life - http://www.barcodeoflife.org/

退休的最大問題！

要做到全民退保，首先要解決退休的最大問題，即「醫療問題」。
我問過家中的老人家，如果政府每月給三千多元，你們會怎樣用？
當初想他們的答案是用來飲下茶，買東西給孫兒。但他們不約而同說儲起來以備不時之需，特別是為了醫療。如白內障手術要約萬四元，通波仔約三萬八千元（傳統金屬支架）及六萬三千元（滲藥性支架）。
所以全民退保，首先要做到醫保。沒有醫保，根本一般老人家不會過到社工所說有尊嚴的老年生活。解決了醫保，才能出現全民退保的經濟效益。如增加本地消費，青年或中年，即使老年都敢創業或去做自己想做的事；有助創新文化在港紮根。

（在歐洲，一些老人還可以表演娛己娛人。）

全民退保的第二個大問題是可持續性。以2015年預算估計，教育開支多達793億，醫療開支470多億，福利開支增至597億。如加上「不論貧富」方案的全民退保新增的開支達479億元，總計是2339多億。正所謂食得咸魚抵得渴，首先是以後沒有糖派，跟著很大可能加稅。（這和基建沒有衝突，基建是投資及一次性支出，現在有工開，將來有回報的。）

可否參考國內的社會保障制度呢？（１）我的公公，舅父及阿姨們在國內每月都有3000至4000元人民幣，又有醫保。他們工作時都需要買社保。不過國內同樣遇到持續性的問題。如下：
社會保障制度面臨兩個基本的現實條件：一是人口老齡化問題；一是歷史債務問題。以下只說人口老齡化問題：（２）
人口老齡化是指老年人口在總人口中所佔比重不斷增高的趨勢。 21世紀，我國已步入老齡化社會，而且老齡化程度正在加劇，養老保險基金負擔係數逐漸提高，養老保險金支付將進入高峰期。在確保離退休人員養老金及時足額發放的同時，養老保險基金收不抵支、資金短缺的現像日益突出，養老保險基金進入緊張運行狀態，一些地區甚至出現了基金赤字運轉的局面。再加上企業改制實行提前退休，使這一問題更加嚴重，直接影響著我國養老保險制度的運行及作用發揮。

我個人是支持全民退保。但要解決可持續的財政問題，這要看大家是否同意共同承擔。

Reference:
20101029: 貧富懸殊：香港貧窮問題的成因與出路 - http://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2011/10/lecture-7.html
（１）国家社会保障制度 - http://baike.baidu.com/view/281380.htm
（２）社保制度存在问题 - http://baike.baidu.com/view/788244.htm

ESG Seminar – Innovation Strategy on Sharing Economy

The Executive Study Group (ESG) seminar Topic in December entitled “Innovation Strategy – How to Use “Sharing Economy” to Attract More Customers and Transform Your Business” was held by the ESG, Asia Pacific Institute for Strategy Limited (APIFS) and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp (HKSTP) on 21st Dec 2015 in Grand Hall at Phase III. I would like to summarize the seminar for sharing below.

In the beginning, Dr. Mark Lee introduced the aims of Executive Study Group which formed in 2008 (Financial Tsunami). Since the ESG seminar series was very success and he transferred a new form of EMBA for Lifelong Learning through Alumni Club 100. He introduced his strategic consultancy flow as following diagram.

Then Dr. Mark Lee briefed Mega Trend of Sharing Economy. He quoted TIME article talking about different habits on Ownership (traditional concept). In Sharing Economy, share products and services rather than buy or own them. Moreover, PricewaterhouseCoopers had estimated that five main sectors of the sharing economy represented USD 335 billion in revenue worldwide by 2025.

Dr. Lee arose some examples such as “Airbnb” to explain different values created by Sharing Economy that the central conceit of collaborative consumption to obtain value from untapped potential residing in goods that were not entirely exploited by their owners. There were three main types of Collaborative Consumption included (1) Product Service Systems, (2) Reownership of a Product and (3) Collaborative Lifestyles.

Another case was Zipcar. Traditional rental car charged by day but Zipcar charged by hour. Their dynamic relationship among People and Resource was demonstrated in the following diagram. Other cases included Zilok.com, NeighborGoods.net, theredUP.com, Landshare.net and Taskrabbit.com, etc.

After that Dr. Lee introduced six strategies to capitalize “Sharing Economy”.

1. Sell the “Use”, Not the Product
Dr. Lee used different examples to explain selling the “Use” and one of examples was very common in our office that was Photocopier which switched the selling machines to per page cost.

Then he quoted Prof. Theodore Levitt (Harvard Business School) famous statement that “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”

2. Support Your Customers in Their Attempts to Resell
Dr. Lee pointed out IKEA Family which launched an online platform in Sweden in 2010 that allowed customers to resell their used IKEA goods. Then he asked audience why IKEA did it seems no revenue. One of responder said it could build their brand to be Sustainability and customer loyalty. When customer stayed in IKEA online platform, cross-selling could happen. It was one way to change ownership in Sharing Economic. Another example was Patagonia “The Stories We Wear”. Dr. Lee said that emotion factors could increase brand loyalty.

3. Take Advantage of Unused Resources and Capacities
One of example was unused office space to be rental through LiquidSpace. This platform connected Supply and Demand through virtual marketplaces. Moreover, Marriott (hotel) also rental all their meeting rooms through LiquidSpace. It was not only increase revenue, but also increase exposure to Marriott properties/services (lunch, dinner, etc.)

4. Provide Expertise Services for Repair and Maintenance
Dr. Lee said companies had expertise (such as FedEx’s TechConnect expertise for repair and maintenance) could participate in the sharing economy by “renting” their expertise to consumers.

5. Align with Collaborative Consumption to Target New Customers
It was another approach to align with peer-to-peer sharing as a platform to promote one’s products and services to potential customers such as Pepsi NEXT: The Extra Hour which was cooperated with taskrabbit.

6. Find New Business Models Based on the Sharing Economy

Dr. Lee said apart from Hong Kong cows those nothing to do, cows in Swiss also the same situation. A Swiss farmer started leasing his cows to customers instead of solely selling the cheese. Lessees paid a fee to sponsor a cow for a season and some new offerings included photo of the cow & certificate plus the option to visit the farm and to watch the daily farm work. (Kuhleasing.ch)

Make your Offering “Sharing Economy” Enabled
It was the last topic Dr. Lee introduced to us. Sharing Economy had altering how people own and consume fundamentally. It was a mega trend in internet age and both threat and opportunity existed at the same time. The most important thing was to support customer needs said by Dr. Lee.
There were five common threads initiative of Sharing Economy.
- REDUCE: We make useful gear that lasts a long time You don’t buy what you don’t need
- REPAIR: We help you repair your Patagonia gear You pledge to fix what’s broken
- REUSE: We help find a home for Patagonia gear you no longer need You sell or pass it on
- RECYCLE: We will take back your Patagonia gear that is worn out You pledge to keep your stuff out of the landfill and incinerator
- REIMAGINE: Togenther we reimagine a world where we take only what nature can replace

Lastly, Dr. Lee showed Patagonia video and asked us two questions:
1. What are you afterthoughts about the video?
2. What are your views about the Patagonia?

Reference:
HKSTP - www.hkstp.org
Asia Pacific Institute for Strategy Limited (亞太策略研究所有限公司) – www.apifs.org

HKSTP Hong Kong & Guangzhou International Conference on Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) co-organized a satellite event – Hong Kong & Guangzhou International Conference on Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine that was held on 20 December 2015. Keynote speakers from global renowned institutes, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) and Karolinska Institutet researchers, covered topics on stem cell research and applications. Government representatives and academics discussed on the policies for regulating stem cell research and therapeutic applications. I was lucky to have chance to take a photo with Keynote speaker – Prof. E. Peter Greenberg who was the Shaw Laureate (The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine 2015).

In the beginning, Mrs Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, GBS, JP (Chairperson, HKSTP) gave welcome speech. She said Hong Kong to be an ideal gateway of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine in the world as the role of super-connector.

The Honourable C.Y. Leung (Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) gave an opening remark. He emphasized Hong Kong’s super-connector role to employ the advantage of “One Country Two System” to link up the scientific research inside and outside China. For example, stem cell research center of Karolinska Institutet established in Hong Kong in this year. Finally, He said government supported stem cell research to enhancing quality of life of people that “Change Life and Make it Better!”

Prof. Ruiming Xu (Director for Bureau of Frontier Sciences and Education, Chinese Academy of Sciences) was our Guest of Honour and gave a guest speech. He said Hong Kong & Guangzhou International Conference on Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine was the new platform for different scientists to communication on stem cell research.

Then Prof. Urban Lendahi (Representative of Karolinska Institutet (KI)) introduced the “Ming-Wai Lau Center for Regenerative Medicine” which was established in 2015 based on Mr. Ming-Wai Lau 50M USD donation. The Ming Wai Lau Center would have two nodes that one was in Biomedicum (KI) and the other was in HKSTP.

Prof. Lendahi said their strong technology focused on establishing laboratories in HKSTP and international recruitment of four junior group leaders. He stated the Ming-Wai Lau Center - KI and Hong Kong as gateways to Europe and China. This unique scientific link would be:
- Creating a leading technology hub in stem cell research
- Fostering the next-generation science leaders
- Forging new interactions between Hong Kong and KI
- Providing new gateways to Europe and China

Then all guests and keynote speakers were took a group photo.

The first keynote speaker was Prof. E. Peter Greenberg (The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine 2015 – Shaw Laureate; Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Washington) and his presentation topic entitled “The Social Lives of Bacteria & Does this have Anything to Do with Stem Cell?” Firstly, he introduced the “new” science of Sociomicrobiology to us. He quoted Prof. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937 – Nobel Laureate) that “Research is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought.”

Prof. Greenberg discussed Darwin’s Dilemma that “Cheats should have a fitness advantage. Cooperation should be selected against.” Then he explained some definitions below:
Cooperation – A behavior that provides a benefit to another individual (recipient)
Cheater (freeloader) – An individual who does not cooperate or who cooperates less than their fair share, but who can gain benefit of others cooperating. Cheaters have a fitness advantage over cooperators.
Restrain – A self-imposed cost to cheating.
Tragedy of the commons – Depletion of a common resource by acting rationally in ones self interest (Hardin 1968). Also the commons dilemma, a social dilemma, a tragedy of the fisheries.
He found that “the light of a single bacterium is invisible to the unaided eye, but when enough luminescent bacteria cooperatively secrete a chemical, they make a quorum and create a light that people can see.”

It was Quorum Sensing (Bacterial Cell-to-Cell Signaling” used to control specific genes that allowed coordination of group activities. The mechanism of Quorum Sensing in Vibrio fischeri was explained in the following diagram. He concluded that “If cooperation is too expensive the incentive to cheat increases and a tragedy ensues.” Finally, he asked a question “By learning about communication and control of cooperation can we devise ways to induce a tragedy of the commons to resolve inflections?”

The second keynote speaker was Prof. Wise Young (Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology & Neuroscience; Rutger, State University of New Jersey) and his presentation topic named “Umbilical Cord Blood Mononuclear Cell Therapy of Spinal Cord Injury”

Firstly, Prof. Young introduced Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and how to regenerate it in which injected stem cells to build a bridge.

Then Prof. Young briefed different China SCI Net Trials and showed some successful cases in Kunming. He summarized that “a 6-week course of oral lithium carbonate is safe, does not change neurological scores, but appears to reduce severe neuropathic pain in chronic SCI. Moreover, phase II trials are planned in US & India to confirm safety and feasibility of Umbilical Cord Blood Mononuclear Cells (UCBMNC) transplants, intensive locomotor training, and whether lithium is beneficial combined with UCBMNC transplants.”

The third speaker was Prof. Lee L. Rubin (Professor; Director of Translational Medicine Harvard University and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute) and his topic was “Identifying Processes that Regulate Cell-Type Specific Neurodegeneration”. In the beginning, Prof. Rubin briefed the history of stem cells and therapeutics. He said stem cell might offer the unique opportunity to model human disease, to discover previously unrecognized aspects of disease and to discover subtypes of each disease.

Then Prof. Rubin introduced some diseases of interest included Autism Spectrum Discorders (自閉症譜系障礙), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (肌萎縮性脊髓側索硬化症), Parkinson’s Disease (柏金遜症) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) (脊髓肌肉萎縮症). After that Prof. Rubin focused on SMA for discussion and he summarized that it was possible to use induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) to model a neurological disorder (reproduced known properties of SMA).

Networking Coffee Break / Academic and Company Showcases
I visited HealthBaby Biotech (HK) Co., Ltd. showcase and took a photo with my boss.
(Left: I, Ms. Circle Yuen (COO, HeathBaby) and Ms. Freda Wu (COO, HKSTP))

Then we met Dr. Ali and took a photo for memory.

Group photo of HealthBaby
(Left: Ms. Minda Chiang, Ms. Circle Yuen and Mr. Victor Ma)

Minda and I also took a photo in front of HeathBaby booth.

Prof. Duanqing Pei (Professor and Director General, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH), Chinese Academy of Sciences) was the fourth speaker and his topic named “Cell Fate Decisions during Somatic Cell Reprogramming”. His content included “Cell and Cell Fate”, “Reprogramming Cell Fate with defined factors” and “Potential Application of Reprogramming”. Prof. Pei said cell fate decisions during development and cancer.

Then Prof. Pei shared his paper named “A Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition Initiates and Is Required for the Nuclear Reprogramming of Mouse Fibroblasts” and explained how vitamin C affected somatic reprogramming which demonstrated in the following diagram.

The most important concept of Prof. Pei’s talk was the routes to Pluripotent fates from skin (or Epithelial cells from human urine as ideal starting cells).

Stem Cell Regulatory Panel Discussion:
Prof. Kenneth Lee (Professor and Chief of Stem Cell and Regeneration Thematic Research Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, CUHK) was the moderator and the Panel Members were Prof. Martin Pera (Professor of Stem Cell Science, University of Melbourne), Prof. Wise Young, Dr. Jacqueline Barry (Head of Regulatory, Cell Therapy Catapult, UK), Prof. Marc Turner (Medical Director, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Scotland) and Mr. Henry Yau (Managing Director and Honorary Assistant Professor, Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong)

During the discussion, Prof. Wise Young mentioned the important of product (stem cell) quality and safety such as following cGMP, etc. Mr. Henry Yau focused on ethic of research. Dr. Jacqueline Barry concerned regulation on clinical trial. Then Dr. Ali asked a question if many regulations set in early stage, many court cases would be happened like USA.

Dr. Ola Hermanson (Associate Professor, Karolinska Institutet) was the fifth speaker and his topic entitled “Transcriptional and Epigenetic Regulation of Neural Stem Cell State and Fate”. Dr. Hermanson asked how to control the size of the brain. He said we studied epigenetic mechanisms regulating neural stem cell characteristics assisted us in developing new understanding for and treatments of psychiatric diseases as well as neurodevelopmental, neurological and cancer disease.

Then Dr. Hermanson introduced their different stem cell research and the most interest was “a role for NCoR in controlling the factors implicated in the evolution of the brain – The Zweden model” which was like a music conductor using baton.

Dr. Jacob Hanna (Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biochemistry Weizmann Institute of Science) was the sixth speaker and his topic named “Principles and Implications of Regulating Distinct Naïve and Primed Pluripotent States”. Dr. Hanna found that the developing mouse embryo in two distinct states: naïve – in the blastocyst (胚泡), and primed – in the post-implantation epiblast (外胚層).

The comparison of naïve and Primed in different characteristics such as Morphology, Growth properties, Pluripotency gene marker, X inactivation and Epigenome were showed in the following diagram.

Dr. Hanna told us two key remaining challenges in Primordial Germ Cell-like Cells (PGCLC) Technology. One was complete in vitro reconstitution of sperm and oocytes from rodent iPSCs and the other was reproducibility with Human iPSCs / embryonic stem cells (ESCs).

Dr. Liangxue Lai (Principal Investigator, Deputy Director of Southern China Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, GIBH, Chinese Academy of Sciences) was the seventh speaker and his presentation entitled “Genetically Modified Pig Models for Stem Cell Research”. Firstly, he told us some advantages of Pig models below.
1. The physiology and size of most organs are similar in pigs and man.
2. Easy availability – easy to breed and large litters
3. No ethical argument – a food source
4. Longer life span

Dr. Lai’s study focused on Huntington Disease (亨丁頓舞蹈症) through pig model. Another his study was Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (漸凍人症) and the famous case was Stephen Hawking (霍金). The following table showed different application using pig model.

The last keynote speaker was Dr. Stefano Pluchino (University Lecturer in Brain Repair and Honorary Consultant in Neurology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences – Division of Stem Cell Neurobiology; Wellcome Trust – Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge) and his presentation was “How Stem Cells Signal to the Host Immune System”. Dr. Pluchino briefed the background of the impact of neural stem cell transplants in experimental Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders.

Dr. Pluchino stated the strengths and limitation of Neural Stem Cell (NSC) therapies in CNS diseases. Finally, he pointed out four key challenges to Stem Cell Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) (多發性硬化症) below:
1. Stem Cells – scale-up of safe stem cells under standardized conditions (i.e., autologous / non-immunogenic, non-teratogenic / tumorigenic);
2. Route of cell injection – preclinical evidence of efficacy after focal, intravenous, and intrathecal cell injection (i.e., feasibility in humans);
3. Cell dose and cell type/stage – experimental work informative / predictive for bench-to-bedside translation (i.e., number of cells / unit of body weight);
4. Biomarkers – cell survival, distribution, functional effects.

At the end of conference, Prof. Wai-Yee Chan (Director of School of Biomedical Science, CUHK) gave closing remarks. He said stem cell industry was future industry in Hong Kong and academic research in stem cell was popular in Hong Kong. Five universities displayed their achievement in showcase area. Finally, he appreciated Mrs Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun fully support.

I had took a photo in front of CityU booth. The poster I taken was Prof. Cheng’s recently study named “Zebrafish heart regeneration: an animal model of “to scar or not to scar”.

Reference:
HKSTP - http://www.hkstp.org
HK&Guangzhou International Conference on Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine - http://events.hkstp.org/events/2015/StemCellConference/