The 1st Dr. Erwin Neher Biophysics and Innovative Drug Discovery Summit has been successfully launched on 14-16 October 2022 at the St. Regis Hotel, Londoner, Macao. This meeting is organized by Dr. Neher’s Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery (Neher’s Lab) of Macau University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.).
The opening ceremony was held on 15 October at the St. Regis Hotel, Londoner, Macao. Chair Prof. Joseph Hun-wei LEE, President of M.U.S.T.; Dr. Kuai Lam Ip, Committee Member of the Administrative Committee of the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT); Chair Prof. Liang Liu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Chair Prof. Paul Kwong Hang Tam, Vice President of M.U.S.T.; Chair Prof. Zhi-hong Jiang, Vice President of M.U.S.T.; Chair Prof. Yi-Zhun Zhu, Associate Vice President of M.U.S.T.; Mr. Kong On Chan, Senior Manager of the FDCT; Miss Li Guo, Head of Research and Technology Administration Office of M.U.S.T.; Prof. Vincent Kam Wai Wong, Executive Director of the Neher’s Lab and other honorable guests were invited to participate this event. There were over 80 participants joining this wonderful meeting on-site while the live broadcasting was available on different online platforms with over 12,000 views.
Chair Prof. Joseph Hun-wei LEE, President of M.U.S.T., denoted his sincere gratitude for the support of the FDCT for M.U.S.T. and Neher’s Lab in the opening ceremony. Dr. Neher’s Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery, a unique and the only laboratory named after a Nobel Laureate in Macao, was established in M.U.S.T. in 2016. President LEE, on behalf of M.U.S.T., expressed his most sincere appreciation to Prof. Erwin Neher for his great guidance in the development of cutting-edge biophysical research in novel drug discovery. M.U.S.T. will continue to provide support for Neher’s Lab, including laboratory infrastructure, developing world-class young talents, organizing research seminars, and translating research achievements. The ultimate goal is to promote the development of innovative medicines and research. He hoped that this summit and Neher’s Lab will assist in cultivating innovative manpower, facilitate cross-disciplinary co-operation, and promote the translational research of scientific and technological achievements – thus serving Macao society and the world. Finally, he appreciated the contributions of all speakers, as well as the colleagues of the Neher’s Lab.
Chair Prof. Joseph Hun-wei LEE, President of M.U.S.T., opening speech
Dr. Kuai Lam Ip, Committee Member of the Administrative Committee of the FDCT, on behalf of the FDCT, wished great success at the summit. He thanked the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Erwin Neher, for his continuous support and devoted contribution to the development of biomedical research in Macao. He also expressed his sincere congratulations on the establishment and development of Neher’s Lab. He said that FDCT has been long engaged in the continuous support of the research and development of Macao's medicine and health science research. Through the support of the international collaboration of research work, the FDCT hopes that more advanced techniques and platforms could be set up in Macao, not only by advancing pharmaceutical R&D and innovative drug discovery but also by fostering the development of higher education and culturing research talents in Macao. He hoped that Macao biomedical researchers can seize the opportunity from the policy advantages of the Greater Bay Area and Hengqin, thus developing the “big health” industry with traditional Chinese medicine as the starting point.
Dr. Kuai Lam Ip, Committee Member of the Administrative Committee of the FDCT, opening speech
Prof. Erwin Neher, Director of the Neher’s Lab, expressed his gratitude for the support of M.U.S.T. and the FDCT in his online speech. He also thanked the participation of speakers and guests.
Prof. Erwin Neher, Director of the Neher's Lab, opening speech
Officiating guests at the opening ceremony
This meeting included two sessions: (1) Recent advances in Biophysics and Structure Biology; (2) Innovation drug discovery of ion channel modulators from herbal medicine. International and national speakers were invited to deliver their presentations online or on-site, including Nobel Laureate Prof. Erwin Neher; Academician Wang, Luyang, University of Toronto; Academician Ding, Jian, The Chinese Academy of Engineering; Academician Yang, Baofeng, The Chinese Academy of Engineering; Academician Liu, Liang, The Chinese Academy of Engineering; Academician Xu, Tao, The Chinese Academy of Science; Prof. Ma, Yupo, Stony Brook University, USA; Prof. Andrea Fleig, The Queen’s Medical Center, USA; Prof. Mike Cahalan, University of California, Irvine; Chair Prof. Zhu, Yizhun, Macau University of Science and Technology; Prof. Zhu, Yingjie, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and other international and national distinguished professors.
Distinguished Prof. Erwin Neher
Throughout the summit, researchers and experts were actively involved and communicated with each other. The summit finally came to a successful end on 16 October.
Honorable guests at the summit