Dr. Zhang Ge, Associate Professor of the School of Chinese Medicine (SCM) and Deputy Director of the Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science (IBTS) of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has recently won the second prize of Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award (2014) for a collaborative project with the Institute of Radiation Medicine of Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Astronaut Research and Training Center of China.

In the joint project entitled "Investigation of regulatory mechanism of ubiquitin ligases and their application in the treatment of osteoporosis”, researchers found the 'CKIP-1' factor can inhibit bone formation while the 'SCFFBXL15' factor can enhance bone formation. Meanwhile, the delivery system '(DSS)₆-liposome' can promote bone anabolic action of osteogenic siRNAs.

Dr. Zhang Ge said that this project has revealed the regulatory mechanism of ubiquitin ligases and identified various potential molecule targets for the therapy of osteoporosis. He said the award is recognition of the contribution of the team who would continue to spare no effort in research in the pursuit of the goal of developing effective new drugs.