Taking a stand against the pandemic
By : Michael Gibb
The fight against Covid-19 has initiated a flurry of research activity at CityU. Across campus, our interdisciplinary faculty, specialising in fields such as veterinary medicine, biomedical sciences, engineering, data science, and building technology, are focusing on testing, detection and surveillance, and infection control and prevention in relation to the virus. Our intention is to contribute to the stand against the pandemic and thereby bring relief to communities around the world.
Controlling, predicting
Three projects led by CityU scholars were recognised for alleviating suffering around the world. The Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) granted $8.3 million in funding to work related to veterinary medicine and life sciences, infectious disease and public health, and biomedical sciences.
HMRF, which was established by the Food and Health Bureau in 2011, aims to encourage, facilitate and support health and medical research.
Two of the projects focus on more effective detection and surveillance of disease. Professor Vanessa Barrs, Associate Dean at the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, and Dr Li Jun, Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health (PH), are exploring the implications for controlling human infections through a system-level, multidimensional quantification and prediction of SARS-CoV-2 infections among animals. SARS-CoV-2 is the strain of coronavirus that causes Covid-19. (See sidebar)
(From left) Dr Ioannis Magouras, Dr Li Jun, Professor Vanessa Barrs and Dr Sean Yuan Hsiang-yu.
“We aim to develop predictive models for risk assessment and management of SARS-CoV-2 based on the microbial spectrum and other host features,” Dr Li says.
Dr Ioannis Magouras, Assistant Professor in PH, is also concentrating on detection and surveillance through a project based on sampling and detection procedures for possible SARS-CoV-2 in water sources.
A third HMRF project, led by Dr Sean Yuan Hsiang-yu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences (BMS), will try to improve current government intervention policies for preventing Covid-19 outbreaks by using an individual-based model that predicts the effects of quarantine, contact tracing and border control measures under different scenarios.
“The study aims for a better understanding of the potential impact of travel bubbles and the relaxation of social distancing,” Dr Yuan says.
Innovative Covid-19 research
Research into Covid-19 has also been recognised for its innovation, particularly in areas of prevention and control. Over $7.1 million in funding has been secured from the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) under the Innovation and Technology Commission.
A simple but rapid test for Covid-19 is the goal of a team led by Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Yeung Kin Man Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences in BMS. The CityU team proposes a molecular point-of-care testing procedure based on visual detection using a disposable lateral flow device, which includes a bio-sensor based on nano technology, and genetic biomarkers.
“The test will provide an alternative diagnostic approach for public health providers,” Professor Yang says.
A convenient and reliable method of keeping surfaces pathogen free has attracted interest from a team led by Professor Leung Kwok-wa of the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE). This project uses far-ultra violet light for disinfecting lift buttons, tables, fruit and other foods, boxes and bottles, among others.
Dr Katie Chan Kei-hang, Assistant Professor in both BMS and EE, brings to the table machine learning and deep learning techniques to predict infections and mortality.
“The prediction models classify people more prone to infection and/or death as well as co-morbidity conditions to streamline decision making on relevant treatments, and thus provide optimal care to help alleviate the clinical burden in Hong Kong,” Dr Chan says.
And Dr Steven Wang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is developing a prototype that limits the spread of the virus and restricts encounters between infected patients and medical workers.
He says the R&D outcomes will be ready for anti-epidemic purposes in all Hong Kong hospitals for the protection of medical workers and patients.
(From left) Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Professor Leung Kwok-wa, Dr Steven Wang, Dr Katie Chan Kei-hang.
More than merely a mask
Today, masks are a vital everyday accessory. Never leave home without one. But imagine a new kind of mask that has anti-bacterial properties. Dr Ye Ruquan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, and his team are fine-tuning a method for making anti-bacterial graphene masks quickly and cost effectively. Commonly used surgical masks cannot prevent harmful bacteria remaining active on a mask. Dr Ye’s suggestion is to manufacture masks out of a material such as graphene that is known for its anti-bacterial properties.
“We have coordinated with a company on making a prototype and have come up with some designs to integrate the graphene into the mask. It should be available on the market very soon,” says Dr Ye, explaining how he is working on improving the anti-viral and anti-bacterial activity of the mask.
“These advances will not only help to fight against the pandemic, but also be important in preparing for future outbreaks, especially at an early stage when vaccines are often not available. These masks should also provide better protection for doctors and nurses in hospitals beyond the pandemic,” he says.
Dr Ye Ruquan
Early intervention with wearable tech
Mobile health (mHealth) and wearable technologies have the potential to monitor and mitigate the effects of Covid-19, according to researchers from the Cerebro-Cardiovascular Health Engineering Team.
Professor Zhang Yuanting, coordinator of the team and Chair Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, believes such wearable technology can mitigate and control Covid-19 and other conditions such as cardio-vascular disease.
“It is critically important that we develop a precise and rapid response system integrating wearables, mHealth, biosensing, medical imaging and AI that enables early detection, predication, prevention, diagnosis and intervention,” he says.
Professor Zhang Yuanting
The team participated in a project with researchers at Harvard Medical School and co-published a study “Can mHealth Technology Help Mitigate the Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic?” in IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology last year.
The study found that wearable-based mHealth technologies are viable options for monitoring Covid-19 patients and can be used to predict symptom escalation for earlier intervention.
Integration of mHealth technologies (left side; drawing courtesy of all.health) and Covid-19 diagnostic tests (right side). Data collected using mHealth technologies is used to feed a probabilistic model developed to estimate the probability of Covid-19 infection, thus allowing public health officials to prioritise testing.
Collaborative research
Funding for research into Covid-19 has been secured for highly competitive collaborative projects led by CityU scholars. The funding comes from the One-off CRF Coronavirus Disease and Novel Infectious Disease Research Exercise of the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) under the University Grants Committee in support of research into any field related to Covid-19.
The total amount of funding specifically for CityU-led projects is nearly HK$19 million. Altogether, CityU is involved in 25 funded collaborations under this CRF initiative.
Dr Carol Lin Sze-ki, Associate Professor of the School of Energy and Environment, is coordinating a project on reducing the transmission of the novel coronavirus and other infectious diseases using food waste-derived medical textiles via electrospinning for healthcare apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE); while Professor Wan Wai-yee of the School of Law is investigating with her collaborators insolvency and restructuring aspects of law and policy in response to Covid-19.
Turning to robotics and automation, Professor Sun Dong of the Department of Biomedical Engineering is spearheading a project for developing a novel vaccination strategy that uses a microrobot platform for DNA vaccine delivery and antigen presentation. His team will develop hydrogel-based degradable microrobots capable of sustained and controlled drug release for the provision of safe, accurate, and quantitative vaccines to control Covid-19.
Professor Yan Houmin of the Department of Management Sciences and his fellow collaborators are exploring resilient PPE supply chains for Hong Kong health systems, both for now and in the post Covid-19 era.
This project calls to treat PPE as a supply chain management matter rather than a procurement issue. It will study topics such as predicting PPE demands for conventional, contingent, and critical healthcare needs; conducting PPE supply chain characterisation and stress tests; and providing data-driven predictive insights to combat current and future pandemics.
(From left) Dr Carol Lin Sze-ki, Professor Wan Wai-yee, Professor Sun Dong, Professor Yan Houmin.
Q&A with Professor Vanessa Barrs
CityU Today chatted with Professor Barrs about her HMRF-funded project.
Professor Vanessa Barrs
Q: Are you and Dr Li co-leading this HMRF-funded project?
Professor Barrs: Yes, we are leading different aspects of the project. Our external collaborators include researchers from the University of Hong Kong and Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou East Campus.
Q: How will the project evolve?
Professor Barrs: There are two parts to this study. The first part is a surveillance study to determine the proportion of dogs and cats in Hong Kong and South Korea that have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. We are taking nasal swabs and blood samples from study participants: nasal swabs to identify active viral infections, and a blood sample to measure levels of anti-bodies, which would indicate previous infection.
The second part is an in-depth analysis of the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the “good bugs” (bacteria and viruses) that usually colonise or inhabit the gut and respiratory tract. These are known as the microbiome.
Q: What do you expect to find out?
Professor Barrs: We hypothesise that the interactions between SARS-CoV-2, the respiratory microbiome and the gut microbiome influence the infection processes and the genome variation of SARS-CoV-2. A better understanding on how the host commensal bacteria, i.e. bacteria that act on the host’s immune system to induce protective responses that prevent colonisation and invasion by pathogens, interact with viral infections and influence the molecular evolution of SARS-CoV-2 may promote the development of novel anti-viral strategies and lead to better treatment outcomes.
Q: Is it a common practice in public health and infectious diseases to look at infections among animals and then after reflecting on the results, consider the implications for humans?
Professor Barrs: Sadly, it is not common enough. We know that over 70% of all new infectious diseases in humans arise from animals, but research is often only focused on human infections and not on animals. By concentrating only on infections in one species, it is not possible to determine a complete understanding of animal to human or human to animal transmission, or of their evolution.