By the Affiliated Mental Health Center, ZJU School of Medicine (Hangzhou Seventh People’s Hospital)

Dec. 19, 2024  17:39 PM

A group of three from HKU - Pak Chung Sham, Chair Professor of Psychiatric Genomics and Suen Chi Sun Professor of Clinical Science, Wing-Chung Chang, Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Chief Investigator of the State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, and Larry Baum, research fellow also from the Department of Psychiatry, paid a visit to the Affiliated Mental Health Center, ZJU School of Medicine (Hangzhou Seventh People’s Hospital) on Dec. 13, 2024. They came also with an open lecture. President Li Tao welcomed the delegation along with the heads of the hospital’s functional departments.  

They visited spots like the Psychiatric Dept. XI, Psychosomatic Dept. I, the Combined Physical Therapy Center, the biobank, the central lab and the integrated clinical-research platform, acquiring a detailed understanding of clinical operations and our hospital’s efficiency and quality.

Academic lectures were delivered after the visit. Prof. Pak C. Sham offered a presentation titled “Recent developments in polygenic risk scores and implications for medicine,” introducing the potential applications of polygenic risk scores in early disease prediction, diagnosis support, treatment decision-making, and prognosis evaluation. Prof. Wing-Chung Chang shared his studies on how to use medical records and prospective cohort data for analyzing excess mortality risk and reduced life expectancy in individuals with severe mental disorders. His lecture also mentioned the physical disease burdens and potential treatment inequalities affecting the patients. Dr. Larry Baum, in his session, pointed that the biological basis of depression involves systemic dysfunction interacting with environmental factors, illustrating the role of the TMEM161B gene in the onset of depression. The lectures were chaired by President Li Tao, together with the presence of Vice President Guo Wanjun and his fellow clinical researchers.

The HKU’s visit and lectures provided a chance to broaden our academic perspectives and refresh our thinking in clinical practice, inspiring us to go further in research and service. Both sides agreed to strengthen collaboration in research and staff exchanges - to pave the way for the future clinical and academic partnerships.