Address

(Office): Room E109, Science Center East Block

(Lab): Room LG106 & 108, Run Run Shaw Science Building

 People KBH

Phone

(Office): (852) 3943 6101

(Lab): (852) 3943 8039
Fax

(852) 2603 7246
Email

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web -

Education

2003 Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison
1998 M.Sc. Seoul National University
1994 B.Sc. Seoul National University

Position

  • 2024                 Professor, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • 2015 - 2024      Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • 2013 - 2015      Associate Professor, Microbiology and Cell Sciences, University of Florida
  • 2007 - 2013      Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Cell Sciences, University of Florida

Research Interests

  • Plant Cell Biology – We examine biogenesis and functions of secretory organelles and plastids in plant cells using molecular biological tools and multiple microscopy methods.
  • 3D electron microscopy – We utilize electron tomography to investigate membranous organelles of eukaryotic cells. This advanced electron microscopy technique visualizes organelle structures at nanometer level resolutions in 3D.


Representative Publications

  1. Wang, P., Chen, X., Goldbeck, C., Chung, E., & Kang, B.-H. (2017). A distinct class of vesicles derived from the trans-Golgi mediates secretion of xylogalacturonan in the root border cell. The Plant Journal, 92 (4), 596–610. http://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.13704
  2. Kim, E.-D., Xiong, Y., Pyo, Y., Kim, D.-H., Kang, B.-H., & Sung, S. (2017). Spatio-temporal analysis of coding and long noncoding transcripts during maize endosperm development. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1383–14. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03878-4
  3. Mai, K. K. K., Kang, M. J., & Kang, B.-H. (2017). 3D Printing of Plant Golgi Stacks from Their Electron Tomographic Models. In Plant Cell Morphogenesis (Vol. 1662, pp. 105–113). New York, NY: Springer New York. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7262-3_9
  4. Gu, Y., Zebell, S. G., Liang, Z., Wang, S., Kang, B.-H., & Dong, X. (2016). Nuclear Pore Permeabilization Is a Convergent Signaling Event in Effector-Triggered Immunity. Cell, 166(6), 1526–1538.e11. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.07.042
  5. Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Chen, L., Liang, Q., Yin, X.-M., Miao, L., et al. (2016). Kinetics and specificity of paternal mitochondrial elimination in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature Communications, 7, 12569. http://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12569
  6. Zhou, Q., Li, H., Li, H., Nakagawa, A., Lin, J. L. J., Lee, E. S., et al. (2016). Mitochondrial endonuclease G mediates breakdown of paternal mitochondria upon fertilization. Science, 353(6297), 394–399. http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4777
  7. Park, J., Cui, Y., & Kang, B.-H. (2015). AtPGL3 is an Arabidopsis BURP domain protein that is localized to the cell wall and promotes cell enlargement. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6, 412. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00412
  8. Xiong, Y., Mei, W., Kim, E.-D., Mukherjee, K., Hassanein, H., Barbazuk, W. B., et al. (2014). Adaptive expansion of the maize maternally expressed gene (Meg) family involves changes in expression patterns and protein secondary structures of its members. BMC Plant Biology, 14(1), 197–14. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-014-0204-8
  9. Lee, K.-H., Park, J., Williams, D. S., Xiong, Y., Hwang, I., & Kang, B.-H. (2013). Defective chloroplast development inhibits maintenance of normal levels of abscisic acid in a mutant of the Arabidopsis RH3 DEAD-box protein during early post-germination growth. The Plant Journal, 73(5), 720–732. http://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.12055
  10. Donohoe, B. S., Kang, B.-H., Gerl, M. J., Gergely, Z. R., McMichael, C. M., Bednarek, S. Y., & Staehelin, L. A. (2013). Cis-Golgi cisternal assembly and biosynthetic activation occur sequentially in plants and algae. Traffic 14(5), 551–567. http://doi.org/10.1111/tra.12052


Research Grants

  • 2016-2019, Research Grants Council (Hong Kong), Electron Tomography Analysis of Chloroplast Biogenesis in the C3 Plant Arabidopsis and the C4 Plant Maize
  • 2015-2019, Rural Development Administration (South Korea), Structural analyses of chloroplast differentiation in a single cell C4 plant
  • 2011-2015, United States Department of Agriculture, Cell type-specific epigenetic gene regulation in developing maize endosperm


Awards

  • Invited Foreign Scholar, Microscopy and Cell Science, Global COE program, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (2010)
  • Panel member, National Science Foundation, Major Research Instrument program (2010)
  • Invited speaker, International Microscopy Congress 17 (2010)
  • Finalist, Science in Art | Art in Science exhibition, University of Colorado Health Science Center and Denver Museum of Nature and Science (2006)
  • B.S. Summa cum laude, Seoul National University (1994)


Professional Activities

  • 2014 -     Editorial Board, Journal of Plant Research
  • 2011 -     Review editor, Frontiers in Plant Science (Plant Cell Biology)
  • 2007 -     Member, Microscopy Society of America
  • 2003 -     Member, American Society of Cell Biology
  • 2003 -     Member, American Society of Plant Biology


 

 

 

Address

(Office): Rm 525, Mong Man Wai Building
(Lab): ---

   People ML 

Phone

(Office): (852) 3943 8137
(Lab): ---
Fax    
Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Web -
  
 

 

  

Education

Ph.D.    The Chinese University of Hong Kong
M.Phil    The University of Hong Kong
B.Sc    The University of Hong Kong


Position

  • Lecturer, School of Life Sciences

Research Interests

  • Earthworm Ecology and Biodiversity
  • Soils and the Environment
  • Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Functioning
  • Sustainability and Environmental Resources Management  


Representative Publications 

  1. Law, M.M.S. & Lai, D.Y.F. * (2021). Impacts of Wetting/Drying Cycles on Short-Term Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Amynthas Earthworm Casts. Pedosphere. 31:3, 423-432.
  2. Law, M.M.S., Jiang, J., Gao, X., Dong, Y., Lai, D.Y.F., & Qiu, J. * (2018). Updated checklist of earthworms from Hong Kong and phylogenetic relationship of Megascolecidae in Pearl River Delta, China. Oral presentation in the 1st International Earthworm Congress, 24-29 June 2018, Shanghai, China.
  3. Law, M.M.S. *, & Lai, D.Y.F. (2018). Interactions between native Amynthas earthworms, temperature, and moisture on burrow characteristics and greenhouse gas fluxes in subtropical grassland soils. Oral presentation in the 1st International Earthworm Congress, 24-29 June 2018, Shanghai, China.
  4. Law, M.M.S. *; Hills, Peter.; & Hau, C.H. Billy. (2017). Engaging Employees in Sustainable Development – a Case Study of Environmental Education and Awareness Training in Hong Kong. Business Strategy and the Environment. 26, 84-97. 


Awards

  • Faculty/School/Academy of Visual Arts Performance Award in Early Career Teaching 2020, Hong Kong Baptist University
  • Earthwatch Shulman Award, Earthwatch Institute (Europe)
  • CUHK Golden Jubilee Postgraduate Scholarship 2016/17, CUHK
  • Young Scholars Thesis Award, 17th Cross-strait Symposium on Environment, Resource and Ecological Conservation, CERECA
  • Zhongjian Dongfang Gao’s Scholarship for Resource Management Study, The Chinese University of Hong Kong


Professional Activities 

  • 2020-22 Agricultural Products Scholarship Fund Advisory Committee (APSFAC), Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, HKSAR

 

 

 

Address

(Office): Rm 138, Science Centre North Block
(Lab):

People AlexKoon 

Phone

(Office): (852) 3943 1393
(Lab):

Fax
Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web -


Education

2012     Ph.D. University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA
2003     B.Sc. Boston College, USA


Position

  • Senior Lecturer, School of Life Sciences
  • Assistant Director, Cell and Molecular Biology Programme (CMB)


ORCID ID

0000-0002-4274-7052

 

Research Interests

  • Synaptic plasticity
  • Neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases
  • Drosophila neurobiology
  • Science education
  • Science communication
  • Humour as a pedagogical approach


Representative Publications (10)

Full Publication List:
https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?hl=en&user=7p91NioAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

  • Ngai CSB, Singh RG, Lu W, Yao L, Koon AC. Exploring the relationship between trust-building strategies and public engagement on social media during the COVID-19 outbreak. Health Communication, 2023, doi: 10.1080/10410236.2022.2055261
  • Ngai CBS, Singh RG, Lu W, Koon AC†. Grappling with the COVID-19 Health Crisis: Content Analysis of Communication Strategies and Their Effects on Public Engagement on Social Media. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2020; 22(8), e21360. doi: 10.2196/21360. †Corresponding author.
  • Hong H*, Koon AC*, Chen ZS, Wei Y, An Y, Li W, Lau MHY, Lau KF, Ngo JCK, Wong CH, Au-Yeung HY, Zimmerman SC, Chan HYE. AQAMAN, a bisamidine-based inhibitor of toxic protein inclusions in neurons, ameliorates cytotoxicity in polyglutamine disease models. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2019; 294(8):2757-2770. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.006307. *Co-first authors.
  • Ngai SBC, Singh RG, Koon AC†. A discourse analysis of the macro-structure, metadiscoursal and microdiscoursal features in the abstracts of research articles across multiple science disciplines. PLOS One, 2018; 13(10):e0205417. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205417. †Corresponding author.
  • Koon AC, Chen ZS, Peng S, Fung JMS, Zhang X, Lembke KM, Chow HK, Frank CA, Jiang L, Lau KF, Chan HYE. Drosophila Exo70 is essential for neurite extension and survival under thermal stress. Journal of Neuroscience, 2018; 38(37):8071-8086. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0620-18.2018.
  • Koon AC, Chan HY. Drosophila melanogaster As a Model Organism to Study RNA Toxicity of Repeat Expansion-Associated Neurodegenerative and Neuromuscular Diseases. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2017; 11:70. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2017.00070.
  • Speese SD, Ashley J, Jokhi V, Nunnari J, Barria R, Li Y, Ataman B, Koon A, Chang YT, Li Q, Moore MJ, Budnik V. Nuclear Envelope Budding Enables Large Ribonucleoprotein Particle Export during Synaptic Wnt Signaling. Cell, 2012; 149(4):832-46.
  • Koon AC, Budnik V. Inhibitory control of synaptic and behavioral plasticity by octopaminergic signaling. Journal of Neuroscience, 2012; 32(18):6312-22.
  • Koon AC, Ashley J, Barria R, DasGupta S, Brain R, Waddell S, Alkema M, Budnik V. Autoregulatory and paracrine control of synaptic and behavioral plasticity by octopaminergic signaling‡. Nature Neuroscience, 2011; 14(2):190-199.
  • Lin Y, Bloodgood BL, Hauser JL, Lapan AD, Koon AC, Kim TK, Hu LS, Malik AN, Greenberg ME. Activity-dependent regulation of inhibitory synapse development by Npas4. Nature, 2008; 455(7217):1198-1204.

Teaching Grants

  • 2024-2025, Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), Integrating a technology-driven ChatGPT pedagogical approach into teaching academic English for students transitioning from senior secondary school to university: An inter-institutional collaboration, $1,140,240 (Co-supervisor)
  • 2023-2025, Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant (TDLEG Triennium 2022-25), Engaging Postgraduate Students in Developing Virtual Teaching and Learning (VTL) Approaches to Facilitate Their Learning of the Latest Scientific Discoveries and Most Advanced Experimental Techniques, $484,141 (Co-supervisor)
  • 2022-2025, Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant (TDLEG Triennium 2022-25) – Inter-Institutional Collaborative Activities (IICAs), Developing a systematized humour pedagogical approach to enhance teaching and learning: A cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaboration, $1,645,070 (Principal Supervisor)
  • 2021-2022, Teaching Development Grant (TDG), Humour as a pedagogical approach to improve student engagement, enhance learning and relieve stress, $130,433 (Principal Supervisor)

 
Research Grants

  • 2020-2022, General Research Fund (GRF), The role of adhesion molecule FasII/NCAM in synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration in myotonic dystrophy type I, $892,655 (Co-Investigator) (Same grant as below. After forfeiting due to changing to teaching track, the grant was re-acquired by Prof. Ho Yin Edwin Chan as PI.)
  • 2019-2021, General Research Fund (GRF), The role of adhesion molecule FasII/NCAM in synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration in myotonic dystrophy type I, $800,860 (Principal Investigator) (Forfeited in 2019 due to changing to teaching track)
  • 2018-2020, General Research Fund (GRF), Investigating the role of PAPD5 and its target microRNAs in RNA toxicity of polyglutamine diseases, $677,160 (Principal Investigator) (Transferred to Prof. Ho Yin Edwin Chan in 2019 due to changing to teaching track)
  • 2016-2017, Direct Grant for Research at CUHK, Regulation of synaptic plasticity in neurodegenerative diseases, $150,000 (Principal Investigator)


Awards

  • 2013-2015     UQ Postdoctoral Fellowship, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Australia


Professional Teaching Accreditation

  • 2021     Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA)


Professional Activities

  • Council Member, The Teachers’ Association of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUTA), since 2023.
  • Honorary Advisor of the Hong Kong Student Association of Neuroscience (HKSAN), since 2023.
  • Member of the Hong Kong Society for Neuroscience (HKSfN), Hong Kong, since 2022.
  • Member of the Society for Neuroscience, USA, since 2011
  • Associate Editor, Cell & Cellular Life Sciences Journal, since 2018.
  • Associate Editor, Annals of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, since 2018.
  • Review Editor, Frontiers in Cellular Neuropathology, 07/2022 – present.


Professional Trainings

  • 2023 Certificate of Completion, Professional Development Course (PDC), Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR), CUHK
  • 2022 Certificate of Completion, Practical Design Thinking for Curriculum / Course Design, Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR), CUHK
  • 2021 Common Core Tutors Certificate, Common Core, HKU 
  • 2020 Professional Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PCTLHE), Centre for Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL), HKU
  • 2020 Certificate of Completion, PBL Training Programme for Tutors, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU
  • 2020 Professional Development Programme in Medical Education, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU


Invited Lectures

  • 27/4/2024 The 18th Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.Title: Hundred Years of Good “Learning”: To Improve Learning and Memory 百年好「學」: 來改善學習和記憶
  • 8/12/2023 Popular Science Special Lecture Series: How Nobel Prizes Are Won, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
    Title: Ψ: The U with an I that changed U and I
  • 4/11/2022 HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education. Online Sharing Series.
    Title: “Well-played, Well-paid”: Enhancing Student Engagement via a Systematised Humour Pedagogical Approach
  • 26/1/2022 Hong Kong Student Association of Neuroscience (HKSAN) Online Webinar Series.
    Title: Lou Gehrig’s disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
  • 27/7/2021 HKUMedify: Medical and Healthcare Academy for the Talented 2021 – Lecture in Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong.
    Title: Exploring the Ocean of Public Health
  • 1/12/2017 Popular Science Special Lecture Series: How Nobel Prizes Are Won, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
    Title: Punctuality is the best policy – What the fruit fly has taught us about the biological clock

Symposium/Conference-organizing

  • 24/5/2024 Organized and co-chaired the 1st International Symposium on Humour Pedagogical Approaches at the Chinese University of Hong Kong


Invited Interviews / TV shows

  • 23/5/2024
 Interview by Times Higher Education (THE)
Make 'em laugh: why university teaching needs humour 
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/make-em-laugh-why-university-teaching-needs-humour
  • 1/2024 - 5/2024
 ViuTV (Channel 99) programme series "Talk with the Body"《科學節目有人體》
- Episode 1 (Memory)
- Episode 2 (Learning) 
- Episode 13 (Reflex)
Available online freely at: https://viu.tv/encore/talk-with-the-body

 

Community Service

  • 22/4/2023 Judge, Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition (HKSSPC2023), organized by The Honghong Federation of Youth Groups / Education Bureau of HKSAR, Hong Kong

 

Address

(Office): Rm 503C, Mong Man Wai Building, CUHK
(Lab): Rm 507D, Mong Man Wai Building, CUHK

   M Pittman

Phone

(Office): (852) 3943 7533
(Lab): (852) 3943 5032

   
Fax    
Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Web www.palaeopittman.com  


Education

2012    
PhD in Palaeobiology, University College London (UCL), U.K.
2007
MSc in Geoscience (Palaeobiology), UCL, U.K.
2006 BSc in Geology, UCL, U.K.

Positions

  • 2022-present   Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • 2021-present   Research Associate, Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, U.K.
  • 2021-present   Research Associate, Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, CONICET, Tucumán, Argentina
  • 2021-present   Research Associate, Paleontological Museum Egidio Feruglio, Trelew, Argentina
  • 2017-present   Research Associate, Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, U.S.A.
  • 2022-present   Honorary Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, HKU
  • 2013-2022       Research Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean, Department of Earth Sciences, HKU

Research Interests

  • Dinosaur-to-bird transition - feathered dinosaur anatomy, systematics, biology and evolution especially:
    • Soft anatomy
    • Early flight development
    • Feeding, diet and ecology
  • Other dinosaur biology and evolution
  • Lagerstätten & fossilised soft tissues - imaging, geochemistry and palaeobiology

 Representative Publications

  1. Pittman, M., Enriquez, N.J., Bell, P.R., Kaye, T.G. & Upchurch, P. 2022. Newly detected skin data from historic sauropod Haestasaurus and review of sauropod skin morphology suggests Early Jurassic origin of skin papillae. Communications Biology, 5:122 
  2. Pittman, M., Barlow, L.A., Kaye, T.G. & Habib, M.B. 2021. Pterosaurs evolved advanced aerodynamic smoothing of the wing-body junction and sophisticated wing base control to improve flight performance. PNAS, 118(44): e2107631118 [cover issue]
  3. Pittman, M. & Xu, X. (editors). 2020. Pennaraptoran theropod dinosaurs: past progress & new frontiers. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 440: 353pp
  4. Pei, R.*, Pittman, M.*, Goloboff, P.A., Dececchi, T.A., Habib, M.B., Kaye, T.G., Larsson, H.C.E., Norell, M.A., Brusatte, S.L. & Xu, X. 2020. Potential for powered flight neared by most close avialan relatives, but few crossed its thresholds. Current Biology, 30(2): 4033-4046.e8 [*joint-first and corresponding author; cover issue]
  5. Kaye, T.G.* & Pittman, M.*. 2020. Fluorescence-based detection of field targets using an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle system. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 11(8): 890-898 [joint-corresponding author; cover issue]
  6. Goloboff, P.A., Pittman, M., Pol, D. & Xu, X. 2018. Morphological datasets fit a common mechanism much more poorly than DNA Sequences and call into question the Mkv Model. Systematic Biology, syy077.
  7. Wang, X.L.*, Pittman, M.*, Zheng, X.T., Kaye, T., Falk, A., Hartman, S. & Xu, X. Basal paravian functional anatomy illuminated by high-detail body outline. Nature Communications, 8: 14576 [*joint first-author and corresponding author]
  8. Xu, X.*, Currie, P.*, Pittman, M.*, Xing, L.D., Meng, Q.J., Lü, J.C., Dong, H.Y. & Yu, C.Y. 2017. Mosaic evolution in an asymmetrically feathered troodontid dinosaur with transitional features. Nature Communications, 8: 14972. [*joint first-author]
  9. Pittman, M., Gatesy, S.M., Upchurch, P., Goswami, A. & Hutchinson, J.R. 2013. Shake a tail feather: the evolution of the theropod tail into a stiff aerodynamic surface. PLOS ONE, 8: e63115.
  10. Xu, X., Sullivan, C., Pittman, M., Choiniere, J., Hone, D.W.E., Upchurch, P., Tan, Q.Q., Xiao, D. & Tan, L. 2011. A monodactyl non-avian dinosaur and the complex evolution of alvarezsauroid hand. PNAS, 108(6): 2338-2342.

Research Grants

  • 2021-2023, Research Grants Council (RGC) General Research Fund (GRF, Quantitative investigation of the diet of enantiornithines, the most diverse Mesozoic birds, $686,232
  • 2021-2022, University Grants Council (of Hong Kong) Special Grant for Strategic Development of Virtual Teaching and Learning, $1,000,000
  • 2020-2022, RGC GRF, Functional anatomy of the external and internal soft tissues of the wing of the gliding dinosaur Microraptor and the pteryology of its 'hindwing', $673,488
  • 2016-2022, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) Vice-President & Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning) Office, $1,000,000
  • 2015-2017, RGC GRF, Reassessing dromaeosaurid evolutionary relationships and understanding of dromaeosaurid evolutionary novelties, $ 416,850
  • 2015-2017, HKU University Research Committee PDF Scheme, $300,000
  • 2014-2016, University Development Fund, HKU Vice-Chancellor’s Office, $7,000,000
  • 2013-22, Private Funding, $510,000

Awards

  • Award for Teaching Innovation in E-Learning, Faculty of Science, HKU
  • 2018 finalist for edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning

Professional Activities

Others (Research-related news and Interviews)

  • UK Advance HE Fellowship (D2)
  • UK Advance HE Senior Fellowship (D3)
  • Museum and exhibition consultant
  • Public speaker in outreach events
  • Member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Palaeontological Association, Royal Geographical Society and Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
  • Fellow of the Geological Society of London and Willi Henning Society
  • Instructor of edX MOOC Dinosaur Ecosystems