OUR PEOPLE

People Portrait - Prof. Yin XIA, Assistant Professor

1.  Why did you choose Hong Kong as your base for career development?

Hong Kong is an international city and the heart of Asia, with a mixture of Western and Chinese cultures. The higher education institutes in Hong Kong are of world-class standing, and they have excellent infrastructures for innovative, high-impact and leading-edge research.

2. Would you share with us the most interesting part of your research?

We use a wide spectrum of approaches, ranging from conventional physiological methods to modern molecular and genetic techniques, to study a number of biological processes including ovarian follicle development, embryonic kidney development, adipogenesis, regulation of iron metabolism, and growth hormone resistance and insulin resistance. We are really fascinated with the intricate molecular networks in these processes.

3. What are the challenges or difficulties that you are facing at work?  And, how have you overcome them?

Thanks to the startup funding offered by the University and the great help from my colleagues and lab members, my laboratory was set up very quickly and smoothly.  Basically, everything goes well in the laboratory although sometimes I am a bit frustrated by the fact that some of the high quality reagents from overseas are very expensive, and it takes a long time to get them. So, we have to spend a lot of time finding cheaper alternatives to the products that we used to use. These difficulties can be solved, to a certain extent, by increasing the current funding level, if financially allowed. Also, we have to make plans way before we start the experiments.

Brief Biosketch of Prof. Yin Xia

Prof. Xia currently works as an Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences. He is also a member of the "Reproduction, Development and Endocrinology" program of the School. Before joining us, he was an Instructor of Medicine in Harvard Medical School. Prof. Xia received his Ph.D. from The University of New England in Australia. He finished his postdoctoral training in Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Prof. Xia focused his research on the mechanisms of BMP signal transduction, and the biological function in ovarian follicle development, embryonic kidney development, adipogenesis and iron metabolism. His research was supported by NIH K01 and R03 grants, and is also supported by RGC grants.


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MAJOR PAST EVENTS

School of Biomedical Sciences Research Day 2011
Symposium organized by the Stem Cell and Regeneration Center
Inauguration Ceremony of "The CUHK-BGI Innovation Institute of Trans-omics"
Inauguration Ceremony of the Executive Committee of Postgraduate Student Association of the School of Biomedical Sciences
Orientation Ceremony for the freshmen of the Division of Biomedical Sciences, SBS
New SBS Flyer
AWARDS AND HONOURS

Appointments of Prof. Wai-Yee Chan as Founding Director and Prof. Stephen K.W. Tsui as Associate Director (Education) of "The CUHK-BGI Innovation Institute of Trans-omics"
Appointment of Prof. David Yew as Core Member of the Research Advisory Group (RAG) of the Narcotics Division, the Security Bureau, HKSAR
The NSFC Grants 2011 obtained by School members
RGC GRF 2011-12 obtained by School members
Prof. Hsiao-Chang Chan being awarded the National Major Basic Research Program (973 funding program)
ACADEMIC LINKS

The 13th International Symposium of the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America
Conference on "Stem Cell, Regenerative Medicine and Cancer"
Visit of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
Visit of the Vice-Minister of The Ministry of Education of China
OUR PEOPLE

People Portrait - Prof. Yin XIA, Assistant Professor
People Portrait - Miss Shen GU, Ph.D. Student
People Portrait - Miss Jielin CHEN, Ph.D. Student
New Faces - Mr. TING James Wai Ming, Dissecting Laboratory Manager
Announcements - Retirement and New Capacities of Prof. David Yew and Prof. W. H. Kwong
Announcements - Promotion of Mr. Eugene Wong to Laboratory Technologist
UPCOMING EVENTS

School of Biomedical Sciences Postgraduate Research Day 2011

Past Issue