Advances in precision and regenerative medicines are providing new insights and directions for disease diagnosis and treatment. By integrating the cross-disciplinary advantages, the clinical foundation in western and Chinese medicines and the emphasis on translation, the MUST Medical Science Division (MSD) has established the "MUST - Precision Regenerative Medicine Research Centre (PRMRC)" to coordinate the basic clinical scientific research and innovative application of precision regenerative medicine. The team consisting of prominent scientists led by Chair Professor Paul Tam aims to solve some of the major health and society needs of Macau and the country through internationally recognized discoveries and talent-nurturing.
The centre will provide an array of frontier and beyond-cutting-edge technology platforms for wide-ranging novel regenerative medicine studies within and outside MUST. A prioritized direction of the Centre targets chronic fibrotic liver disease that has a wide impact on human health. Based on the team's long-term research in regenerative medicine including stem cells and organoids development, the Centre has identified chronic fibrotic liver disease in children (with biliary atresia as an example) and adults (with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as an example) as its initial goals. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the regulation of differentiation and proliferation of dual-potential hepatic stem cells (HSCs), which play a central role in repairing liver damage and promoting regeneration, with the expectation that the new knowledge can be applied in the treatment of chronic liver fibrosis and liver regeneration.
The research areas of the team include
- Regulation of differentiation and proliferation of HSCs in chronic fibrosis
- Effects of liver, immune system changes on differentiation and proliferation of HSCs
- Effect of hepatic stellate cell activation on differentiation and proliferation of HSCs
- Small molecules isolated from traditional Chinese medicine can inhibit the immune system and promote the differentiation and proliferation of HSCs
- Artificial intelligence assisted drug design and synthesis of novel small molecules for improving and reversing damage HSCs
Team leader： Professor PKH Tam