Liver diseases, including hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, remain one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Hong Kong and around the region including Mainland China. Among the around 290 million hepatitis B carriers in the world, Chinese people account for 75%. Many of them may eventually develop chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and/or liver cancer. Healthcare costs for conventional treatments of HBV and liver diseases (medical regimens using expensive nucleoside analogues and aggressive surgical procedures by hepatectomy and liver transplantation) are enormous, posting serious financial burden to our society’s economy.

With the approval of the Ministry of Science & Technology, China and funding from The Innovation and Technology Commission, HKSAR, State Key Laboratory of Liver Research (SKLLR) was founded in June 2010. We partnered with the State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes (SKLORG) which is affiliated with Shanghai Cancer Institute and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The establishment of SKLLR aimed to reduce the incidence and mortality of hepatitis and liver diseases in Hong Kong, Mainland China and around the region by offering our patients the best possible management and treatments through vigorous basic and translational research programs and meticulous clinical care.

To strengthen the management and guide the positioning & development of Partner State Key Laboratories (PSKLs), PSKLs are required to be assessed periodically. SKLLR was one of the PSKLs included in the first round of re-assessment in 2017. Comprehensive assessment on our work was based on three indicators: i) Research Standard and Contribution; ii) Staff Establishment and Nurturing of Talents; and iii) Open Exchange and Operation Management. SKLLR has been graded “Outstanding” in the Assessment.

Recommended by The Innovation and Technology Commission and approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology, all the Partner State Laboratories in Hong Kong were renamed with affiliations with the host universities. A Plaque Awarding Ceremony was held in the Government House on September 20, 2018. Our laboratory was renamed as State Key Laboratory of Liver Research (The University of Hong Kong).

Paving the Way to New Liver Cancer Treatments

Video Source: ResearchatHKU