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Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President designate of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Distinguished Visiting Professor and Director of the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM) at CUHK, has been elected a National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow, in recognition of his prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.  Professor Tuan will receive the honour in the Fellows Induction Ceremony to be held in Washington DC, U.S.A. in April 2018.  

Professor Tuan said, “I am honoured to be elected as a Fellow of the NAI. My goal as a biomedical scientist is that my research and inventions can bring about solutions to human health issues and challenges.  I hope that my experience and accomplishments can help to foster innovation and technological advancements in Hong Kong and, at the same time, help nurture the next generation of inventors, and promote research excellence at CUHK.”

In announcing the election of NAI Fellows, NAI President Dr. Paul R. Sanberg congratulated Professor Tuan on his great achievement and recognition as a truly prolific academic inventor.

Professor Tuan’s longstanding research activities in musculoskeletal biology and tissue regeneration, carried out in academia as well as at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, cover basic science and engineering, as well as translational and clinical applications.  Widely known for his expertise in skeletal tissue engineering and regeneration, Professor Tuan’s research has made significant contributions to the understanding of and potential regenerative solutions to pressing clinical needs in musculoskeletal medicine. Most recently, Professor Tuan has been recognized for his efforts to engineer the first ever three dimensional joint-on-a-chip, called the “microJoint”, to replicate a human joint using a microbioreactor platform. The microJoint will be used to study and test drugs for the treatment of arthritic joint diseases.

Professor Tuan will begin his tenure as the eighth Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK from 1 January 2018. Born in Hong Kong, he is an eminent biomedical scientist specialising in stem cell science and regenerative medicine.  Professor Tuan joined the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 and currently serves as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Engineering in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is also the Founding Director of the Center for Military Medicine and Associate Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.  He is well acquainted with higher education and academic research in Hong Kong, as he previously served as a member, then Chairman of the Biology and Medicine Panel of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council.  Since 2016, Professor Tuan has served as Distinguished Visiting Professor and Director of the iTERM at CUHK. 

About the National Academy of Inventors (NAI)

Founded in 2010, the NAI is a non-profit member organisation comprising U.S. and international universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutes, with over 4,000 individual inventor members spanning more than 250 institutions worldwide.  The mission and goals of the NAI are to recognise and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.  Those elected to the rank of NAI Fellow are named inventors on U.S. patents and were nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to innovation in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society, and support and enhancement of innovation.

Included among all NAI Fellows are more than 100 presidents and senior leaders of research universities and non-profit research institutes; 439 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; 36 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame; 52 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation and U.S. National Medal of Science; 29 Nobel Laureates; 261 AAAS Fellows; 168 IEEE Fellows; and 142 Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, among other awards and distinctions.

For details, please visit: http://www.academyofinventors.org/

About The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Founded in 1963, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a leading comprehensive research university with a global reputation.  Located in the heart of Asia, CUHK has a vision and a mission to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West.  Under the University’s unique collegial system, the programmes and activities offered by its nine colleges complement the formal curricula by delivering whole-person education and pastoral care.  The University has eight faculties: Arts, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and Social Science. Together with the Graduate School, the University offers over 300 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. All faculties are actively engaged in research in a wide range of disciplines, with an array of research institutes and research centres specialising in interdisciplinary research of the highest quality. 

CUHK is recognised as the most innovative university in Hong Kong and ranks 27th in the Asia-Pacific region by the latest ‘Reuters: Asia Pacific’s Most Innovative Universities’ listing. The University currently has more than 750 granted patents in different jurisdictions worldwide. A majority of these patents have been licensed to relevant industries that help bring these innovations to the market to benefit society. In academic year 2016-17, CUHK has received 88 granted patents and filed 183 patent applications for inventions developed in the areas of medical technology, biotechnology, information technology, telecommunications, and materials science.

To learn more about CUHK, please visit www.cuhk.edu.hk