Major Research Areas

Biochemical genetics:
Chromosome sorting and karyotyping; DNA fingerprinting in herbal medicine identification; population biology of wild orchids.

Cell biology :
Neuroscience and whole cell patch clamping; transmembrane and secondary messenger signaling; mammalian cell/tissue culture; insect cell line production; cell proliferation and apoptosis; chromosome mapping by fluorescence in situ hybridization; laser confocal microscopy and flow cytometry applications in cell biology and TCM screening; cancer biology, cell adhesion and signaling, tumour migration and invasion.

Endocrinology :
Paracrine interaction in the testis; receptor tyrosine kinases; brain-gut peptides and receptors; neural regulation of gonadotropin releasing hormone; neuroendocrine regulation and signal transduction of growth hormone release and gene expression; regulation of Stanniocalcin gene expression in neuroblastema cells; endocrine regulation in ovarian physiology and pathology.

Food and nutritional science :
Neurochemistry of appetite control; obesity, adipocyte-derived hormones and thermogenesis; human energy metabolism; nutritional status assessment; dietary fat and cancer interrelationship; diet and immunity; milk-borne growth promoting peptides; nutrition survey; meat quality and texture; developmental gastrointestinal physiology; nutrigenomics; bioactive food ingredients; Chinese medical foods.

Immunology and immunological techniques :
Novel complement proteins in man; chicken and pig virus vaccine development; ELISA and DEFIA diagnostic assay development; monoclonal antibody production; molecular diagnosis; development of diagnostic kits; DNA based diagnostic assays for veterinary infectious diseases.

Molecular biology :
Cloning, sequencing and expression of genes for tyrosine kinase receptors, GH/PRL gene and their receptors family, gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor, growth hormone releasing hormone receptor and secretin receptor; population genetics and conservation biology; shrimp vitellogenesis inhibitory hormone; insertion of foreign genes into shrimp genome; direct protein sequencing and genetic engineering of androgen-binding protein; ophiobolin and calmodulin interaction; chicken and fish genomes DNA finger printing; comparative sequences of Stanniocalcin genes in fish and mammals; comparative genome analysis; proteomic analysis of ovarian cancer.

Plant evolutionary biology :
Plant population structure and reproductive strategies; conservation genetics; speciation and phylogenetics; crop genetic resources: characterization, conservation, and utilization.

Reproductive biology :
Specialized cell junctions in the testis; protein purification and gene cloning of germ cell growth factors; male contraceptive design and delivery.

Scientific aquaculture :
Osmoregulation and reproduction of eel and marine fish; improvement of shrimp culture technique; reproduction in shrimps; feed formulation for marine fishes; gene silencing; functional genomics.

Transgenic biotechnology :
Transgenic fish as models for genetic engineering, transgenic chicken as biorector; cell-specific gene knock-out transgenic mice.

Virus:
Genomics, bioinformatics and vaccine development on infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV); avian influenza virus; and SARS.