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Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President, Lee Quo Wei and Lee Yick Hoi Lun Professor of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has been elected as an International Fellow of the 2021 Fellow Class (FTERM) of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), one of the most distinguished academic honours accorded in the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field.

There are six new Fellows in the 2021 Class and Professor Tuan is the only representative from the Asia-Pacific Region. He also becomes the first-ever Hong Kong scholar to be named a FTERM, which currently has 45 members in total.

Specialising in skeletal tissue engineering and regeneration, Professor Tuan has a distinguished research track record that covers basic science and engineering, as well as translational and clinical applications. He has integrated “smart” biomaterial and bioengineering technologies with stem cells to develop translational applications for the repair and regeneration of human tissues. He has engineered the first-ever “microJoint”, a three dimensional joint-on-a-chip on a microbioreactor platform which simulates the human articular joint, to study and screen for potential therapeutic agents for debilitating joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis.

TERMIS highlighted Professor Tuan’s formative role in shaping and forming the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field and the Society, and his contributions which have helped lay the foundation for the conceptualisation, discovery, development and now clinical translation of novel approaches for functional tissue replacement. Professor Tuan was also praised for his involvement and dedication in continuing to encourage and train the next generation of scientists who will sustain and further advance the principles of this discipline.

“I am thrilled and honoured to be a FTERM member together with internationally renowned and prominent scholars who have dedicated themselves to advancing regenerative medicine and bettering the lives of people around the world,” said Professor Tuan. “As the global population is getting older, regenerative medicine offers hope and promise to patients suffering from various conditions associated with aging or degeneration. At CUHK, regenerative medicine is recognised as a key research theme, and active collaborations with world-leading institutions are ongoing. I hope that my scientific inventions and knowledge can continue to play a role in driving the development of technological innovation both locally and globally.”

The 2021 FTERM adds to a number of honours Professor Tuan has received, including the Marshall Urist Award in 2004, and fellowship of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2000, the International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies (i-CORS) in 2016, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in 2017, the Chinese Association of Inventions (CAI) in 2018, the American Association for Anatomy (AAA) in 2019, and the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) in 2021. Professor Tuan was also the founding director of the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM) at CUHK.

About the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society

The Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) was founded by key leaders of the former European Tissue Engineering Society (ETES) and the Tissue Engineering Society International (TESI). In January 2005, the leaders of these two organisations had a vision to join the societies to form one global organisation that would link researchers in the field to advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine worldwide to generate knowledge with a view to improving patient outcomes. The Fellowship, FTERM, was created in 2015, with new members elected every three years at the TERMIS World Congress, to recognise distinguished leaders in shaping the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field and TERMIS.