The Fifth Macau Symposium on Biomedical Sciences
The Fifth Macau Symposium on Biomedical Sciences, organised by the University of Macau (UM) Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), opened today (8 June) at UM. Nearly 300 experts, researchers and students in the field of biomedical sciences from at home and abroad attended the event. The theme of this year’s symposium is ‘Precision’. The talks covered a wide range of topics in biomedical sciences. Prof Ada Yonath, the 2009 Nobel laureate in chemistry, was one of the keynote speakers.
The two-day event was held in Anthony Lau Building, UM. Health Bureau Deputy Director Kuok Cheong U, UM Rector Yonghua Song, UM Vice Rector Rui Martins, Faculty of Health Sciences Dean Chuxia Deng, and other guests attended the opening ceremony. Prof Deng said in his speech that the FHS has made significant progress over the past five years since its founding, with a steady increase in the scale and number of participants of the symposiums organised by the faculty. He added that the FHS will continue to make contributions to society in the field of biomedical sciences.
Many world-renowned scholars and experts in the field attended the symposium and delivered speeches. The speakers included Prof Douglas Lowy from National Cancer Institute in the United States, Prof Kevin Struhl from Harvard Medical School, Prof Chen Huaguang from Tsinghua University, Prof Zhang Hongquan from Peking University, Prof Nancy Man from the University of Hong Kong, Prof Merja Heinaniemi from the University of Eastern Finland, Prof Mikaël Martino from Monash University, and Prof Yu Jun from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Tomorrow (9 June), UM will hold the Ceremony for the Conferment of Honorary Degrees and UM’s Doctor honoris causa Lecture. During the event, the university will confer the Doctor of Science honoris causa degree on the Nobel laureate Prof Ada Yonath, in recognition of her contributions to biomedical sciences. Prof Yonath will give a talk titled ‘Next Generation Species Specific Eco Friendly Antibiotics and Thoughts about Origin of Life’. Launched in 2014, the annual symposium aims to provide a platform for experts and scholars in the field of biomedical sciences to share their knowledge and latest research findings, so as to promote research collaboration and innovations in biomedical sciences.
