Chuxia Deng
In celebration of the 45th anniversary of the University of Macau (UM), the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) hosted the 10th Symposium on Biomedical Sciences for Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Assistants. The event aimed to provide a platform for students, faculty members, and researchers to exchange ideas, share new knowledge, and broaden their perspectives.
In his speech, Chuxia Deng, dean of FHS, gave an overview of the faculty’s remarkable progress over the past 13 years. He noted its transformation from a small team of only a few academic and research staff to a community comprising over 50 faculty members and more than 1,200 graduates. With its strong research output, FHS has established a frontiers science centre, undertaken 370 research projects, and published over 2,800 academic papers, placing UM in the 151-175 band for life sciences and medical and health in the THE World University Rankings by Subject. In addition, the faculty continues to foster international exchange through a range of conferences and academic activities.
Prof Deng also announced that preparations are underway to upgrade FHS to a medical school. Building on its existing research strengths, the faculty will optimise its academic structure, promote the integration of basic and clinical medicine, and enhance its medical education and research ecosystem, thus entering a new phase of high-quality development. Prof Deng also encouraged participants to seize the opportunity provided by the symposium to exchange insights, seek cooperation, engage in discussions, and expand their intellectual horizons.
The symposium featured eight selected oral presentations, during which students and researchers shared their latest research findings. About 50 research posters were also displayed at the venue, covering areas including cancer and stem cells, genomics, bioinformatics and bioimaging, development, ageing and neuroscience, drug discovery and biotechnology, immunology and infectious diseases, and public health.
In his closing remarks, Xu Renhe, associate dean of FHS, praised the success of the symposium. He thanked the organising committee and support team for their hard work and congratulated the eight winners of the oral presentation awards and the 20 recipients of the poster awards. He said that the symposium had given participants the opportunity to deliver academic presentations and share their research findings, thereby helping enhance their academic presentation skills and competitiveness.
