The grand opening of the Lo Kwee-Seong Integrated Biomedical Sciences Building at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was held on 29 August, 2012. Officiating guests included Dr. the Honourable KO Wing-man, Secretary for Food and Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr. WANG Zhutian, Assistant Director, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment; Dr. LO Tak-shing, Peter, Chairman, K.S. Lo Foundation; Mr. LO Yau-lai, Winston, Executive Chairman, Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd.; and Prof. Joseph J. Y. SUNG, Vice-Chancellor and President, CUHK. The building was named after the late Dr. K.S. LO, Founder of the Vitasoy Group and the K.S. Lo Foundation, in recognition of the Foundation's support of the University's development, including its research in biomedical sciences. Over 150 distinguished guests and members of the University attended the ceremony.

	The erection of the Lo Kwee-Seong Integrated Biomedical Sciences Building marks a new chapter in the University's research and evelopment.
	Prof. Joseph J. Y. SUNG, Vice-Chancellor and President, CUHK

Officiating guests unveil the plaque of the building: (from left) Prof. FOK Tai-fai, Dean of Medicine, CUHK; Mrs. CHAN LO Mo-lin, Irene, Trustee, K. S. Lo Foundation; Mr. LO Kai-tun, Trustee, K. S. Lo Foundation; Dr. LO Tak-shing, Peter, Chairman, K. S. Lo Foundation; Dr. the Honorable KO Wing-man, Secretary for Food and Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr. WANG Zhutian, Assistant Director, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment; Mr. LO Yau-lai, Winston, Executive Chairman, Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd.; Prof. Joseph J. Y. SUNG, Vice-Chancellor and President, CUHK; Ms. LO Mo-ching, Myrna, Trustee, K. S. Lo Foundation; and Ms. LO Mo-ling, Yvonne, Trustee, K. S. Lo Foundation.

CUHK excels as a comprehensive research university in the international arena, with remarkable achievements in education and research. In line with the University's Campus Master Plan in cultivating clustered and zoned development for disciplinary teaching and research activities, Area 39 is being developed in phases into a key research hub, where the Lo Kwee-Seong Integrated Biomedical Sciences Building is situated. The nine-storey building with a gross floor area of 18,264 m² has been functional since the first quarter of 2012. It houses various facilities including theme-based laboratories with an open-laboratory format, a demonstration laboratory, seminar rooms, research commons, meeting rooms, breakout areas and administrative offices.

Dr. KO Wing-man complimented CUHK on its rapid development in the past years, "I am very honoured to witness the opening of the Lo Kwee-Seong Integrated Biomedical Sciences Building, an important milestone of the University's research development. I am pleased to learn that the School of Biomedical Sciences at CUHK shares the vision of the Government's Theme-Based Research Scheme by actively pursuing five Thematic Research Programmes, facilitating translational and interdisciplinary research and promoting the long-term development of Hong Kong. I am confident that CUHK will scale new heights in its research and development, lifting the quality of life in Hong Kong, the region and the world."

In 2010, the K.S. Lo Foundation made a magnanimous donation of HKD150 million to CUHK, a third of which was assigned to establish an endowment fund named the Lo Kwee-Seong Biomedical Research Fund for supporting biomedical research in agriculture, including research on soybeans and other staple foods. 

Dr. Peter LO, Chairman of the K.S. Lo Foundation said, "The Foundation, the Lo family and I are very pleased to have built a close partnership with CUHK. We hope that this infrastructure will further strengthen interdisciplinary research in biomedical sciences, and we all wish the University the best to continue breaking new ground and advancing human knowledge for society."

	We hope this infrastructure will further strengthen interdisciplinary research in biomedical sciences, and we all wish the University the best to continue breaking new ground and advancing human knowledge for society.
	Dr. Peter LO, Chairman of the K.S. Lo Foundation

Mr. Winston LO, Executive Chairman of Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd. said, “Vitasoy celebrated its 72^nd anniversary this year, and my father would be very proud to know that the enterprise he founded still puts quality, public health and affordable nutrition at the forefront of its business. We hope that this new building will become the cradle to nurture young scientists in biomedical sciences with the ultimate aim of the betterment of mankind.”

Over 150 distinguished guests and members of the University attend the ceremony.

Prof. CHAN Wai-yee, Director of School of Biomedical Sciences, CUHK, introduces the state-of-the-art facilities of the building.

 

State-of-the-art Facilities for Advanced Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research

The School of Biomedical Sciences is the main occupant of the building. Equipped with state-of-the-art biomedical equipment, the building allows researchers to use cutting-edge technologies in various fields including genetics, genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics, to study the basic mechanism of human diseases with the goal of understanding the pathogenesis and improvement of the diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses. The five key research areas of the School include cancer and inflammation; neuro-degeneration, development and repair; reproduction, development and endocrinology; stem cells and regeneration; as well as vascular and metabolic biology. The open-lab design ensures effective communication among researchers and facilitates interdisciplinary research, strengthening CUHK's leading position in biomedical research.

The School of Pharmacy occupies the 8^th floor of the building which houses the most advanced equipment to allow professional pharmacists and researchers to develop new drug products, striving to treat diseases that still lack effective therapy, and assuring the safety and quality of existing pharmaceutical products.

Novel Animal Holding Core

The innovative Animal Holding Core includes dedicated procedure rooms, a surgical operating suite, several special rooms for animal behavioural experimentation, and quality caging with automated washing and sterilisation equipment. All rooms have independent controls for temperature, lighting, humidity and air management to provide greater flexibility for the researchers. A professionally managed aquatic zone with an on-site microinjection room is also available.

A Safe, Energy-efficient Research Space

With its outstanding energy efficient features, the building is rated at the Platinum Standard by the BEAM Society, its highest rating. Its main facades face north and south, and are installed with sunshades that move in accordance with the intensity and the angle of the penetrating sun-rays to minimise heat. A cost-effective and environmentally-friendly centralised district cooling system has also been set up to serve the building as well as other research buildings to be constructed in the Area. Other sustainable features include vertical greening, motion sensors for lighting, and carbon dioxide sensors for regulating fresh air inflow.

To provide a safe teaching and research environment, the building has a dedicated laboratory control system and an emergency ventilation control system. Once activated, the emergency system will run in full fresh air mode, and an alarm will sound to warn people against entering the laboratories affected. Different zones of the building have independent pressure control systems to keep the laboratories at a negative pressure to prevent any airborne hazards from spreading to public areas. Laboratories are equipped with over 80 bio-safety cabinets and fume cupboards, while special fume exhaust fans are provided on the roof for safe discharge of chemical fumes.

Please visit Press Releases and Event Recap for the corresponding press release as well as the photos taken and the video of the new building shown during this event.

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