On July 21–22 the first preparatory meeting for the project “A One Health Strategy to Restore Child Health in Laos: Nutritional Interventions and Microbiome–Immune Interplay” took place in Vientiane, Laos. Participants were welcomed by Philippe Buchy at the Institut Pasteur du Laos (IPL), Phimpha Paboriboune at CILM, Sysay Palamy (Vice‑Dean) at the Faculty of Pharmacy, and Philippe Schmidt at the MSL facilities. After presenting their respective activities, attendees reviewed

As part of our collaboration with Professor Yuxing Han’s group at Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, three students (Mingrui, Haoyu and Chloe) visited the HKU-PRP laboratory. We exchanged ideas on methods for extracting and analyzing data from scientific publications, laying the groundwork for promising future projects between HKU-PRP and Tsinghua SIGS.

During his studies in the HKU-KCL Joint PhD program, Hogan conducted multidisciplinary and cross-cultural research at the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole (HKU-PRP) and the King’s College London Centre for Host-Microbiome Interactions (KCL CHMI). His PhD was focused on deciphering the role of different Staphylococcus strains in atopic dermatitis (AD): "It is well-known that the skin microbiome of AD patients is different from that of healthy individuals. There is a difference in the

In July we held several meetings — both virtual and in person — to launch new collaborations. We welcomed the IRD representative in Bolivia and met with Laurent Chatel-Chaix (Centre Armand Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Canada), who recently joined the Pasteur Network, to discuss using the zebrafish model to address exposomics questions. We also connected with Nadia Riera and Matías Giménez, at Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Uruguay, to explore soil microbiota research. In S

Our recent paper in Nature Health has gained significant visibility, with an Altmetric score now exceeding 590. It has also attracted considerable attention in the mainstream media, not all of which has accurately reflected the nuances of the spatial exposomic approach. In this context, we published a correspondence to clarify certain points and ensure the work was interpreted as intended, while situating it within the emerging exposomic framework: Bertani, S., Pineau, P., De

On July 1, a video-meeting was held to discuss a project in Laos to combat child malnutrition in the frame of the One Health concept. Participants Philippe Schmidt (CEO, MSL), Jacques Berger (Nutritionist, IRD), Eric Deharo (HKU-PRP), and Adrien Bouguen (Assistant Professor, Santa Clara University; affiliated with J-PAL founded by Nobel laureate Esther Duflo) shared their respective expertise. The meeting confirmed strong mutual interest in collaborating to develop impactful

HKU-Pasteur's Wuji Zhang was awarded a new grant from the Guangdong Natural Science Fund General Programme. The grant was awarded for a promising project that will look at B cell activation by influenza-specific T follicular helper cells, and will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Ming Yue from the team of Professor Zhiwei Chen at the AIDS Institute.

🇫🇷🇭🇰 Yesterday morning in Paris, representatives of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole took part in a high-level meeting at the Institut Pasteur to further strengthen the long-standing partnership between Institut Pasteur and The University of Hong Kong. The HKU delegation was led by Prof. Xiaobo Yin, Associate Vice-President of HKU, accompanied by Ms Winnie Lai, Director of the Academic Liaison Office at HKU, and Dr. Eric Deharo, Co-director of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole.

Congratulations to HKU-Pasteur's You Che on the publication of a new review article in Cell Host & Microbe, in collaboration with Dr. Heidi Kong from NIAMS, NIH. This important study highlights the skin virome as a key component of the skin ecosystem, with significant roles in microbial ecology, immune homeostasis, and skin health. It explores how the virome evolves across the human lifespan, its involvement in various skin disorders, and emerging therapeutic opportunities. T

Led by the Centre for Immunology & Infection with Professor Malik Peiris, Professor Roberto Bruzzone, and in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur, researchers from Milieu Intérieur (Institut Pasteur), the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and the School of Public Health at HKU, this study has identified a key innate immune pathway that predicts individual responses to mRNA vaccines. In a study published in Science Advances, the research team demonstrates th

Professor Chitin Hon, accompanied by Ms. Jingjing Tian and Mr. Kerui Cen, visited the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole to plan the seminar “New Public Health Challenges: The Role of Infectious Disease, AI, and Exposomics” scheduled to take place at the Macau University of Science and Technology on September 22, 2026. During the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding was drafted, and potential collaborative research projects were explored with You Che, Wuji Zhang, and Sook-San Wong. Ni

MEDIA RELEASE HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, Hong Kong, April 2026 Hong Kong, 27/04/26 A new study in Nature Health (published on 01 April 2026) links environmental exposure to agricultural pesticides with increased cancer risk. Combining environmental modeling, a nationwide cancer registry and molecular analyses, researchers from theIRD (National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, France), the Pasteur Network (HKU-Pasteur Research Pole and the Institut Pasteur in Pa

We were delighted to welcome back Jean Millet, an alumnus of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, for a special seminar in which he shared both his research and his scientific journey. Jean Millet began his work here at HKU-Pasteur, where he studied human coronavirus–host interactions in the pre-pandemic era. This early experience, combined with an international exchange at the Institut Pasteur, played a defining role in shaping his research trajectory. These formative years not on

Join us for a presentation from HKU-Pasteur's alumnus Dr Jean Millet, INRAE, France. Date : Monday 20 April 2026 Time : 4:30PM Venue : SR2, HKJC Building for Interdisciplinary Research This is a research journey that started right here at HKU-Pasteur studying human coronavirus-host interactions in the pre-pandemic era with international exchange at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. These formative years opened the doors to postdoctoral work in the US at Cornell studying the exci

Date: 12–16 October 2026 Venue: The University of Hong Kong The 7th International Society of Respiratory Viruses (ISRV) School, hosted by the School of Public Health, in collaboration with HKU-Pasteur Research Pole and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute, at The University of Hong Kong, is a 5-day residential school aimed to provide early career scientists and postgraduate students with an intensive, multidisciplinary training on respiratory viruses, includin

We are pleased to welcome Cyrus Liu to the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole. Having been part of The University of Hong Kong throughout his academic journey, Cyrus brings with him a strong and diverse background in biomedical sciences and research support to the administrative team. Cyrus completed his Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences at HKU before pursuing an MPhil in the Department of Microbiology, where he focused on respiratory viruses and vaccinology. He then went on to hold bo

HKU–Pasteur Research Pole is pleased to highlight a new publication co-authored by Dr. Eric Deharo, Co-Director of the Pole, in Nature Health : Honles, J., Cerapio, J.P., Monge, C. et al. Mapping pesticide mixtures to cancer risk at the country scale with spatial exposomics. Nature Health (2026). Published on 1 April 2026, this study led by Stephane BERTANI proposes a new framework for understanding how environmental pesticide exposure may contribute to cancer risk in real-w

The HKU-Pasteur Research Pole is delighted to announce the new edition of its Immunology Course co-organised with the Centre for Immunology & Infection. Quantitative Immunology: From population to individual immunity NOVEMBER 15-20, 2026 - New Deadline for Applications: 31 July 2026 - The 12th HKU-Pasteur Immunology Course will explore the frontiers of quantitative immunology to describe the function of the immune system in health and disease at a population and individual l

Co-Director Eric Deharo travelled to Vientiane to establish the foundations of a new collaborative project to be led by HKU Pasteur’s You Che , focusing on nutritional interventions and microbiome dynamics. During the visit he met with local partners from the Faculty of Pharmacy (Vientiane) , the Pierre Fabre Foundation , the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF ), and the Institut Pasteur du Laos to discuss project design and partnership roles. An opportunity to co

A new publication in Nature Lab Animal from Professor Leo Poon's team demonstrates that the emerging SARS‑CoV‑2 Omicron EG.5 and JN.1 variants induce enhanced pathogenicity in K18‑hACE2 mice, overcoming limitations of early Omicron models and enabling more robust preclinical assessment of vaccines and antivirals. Abstract : The reduced pathogenicity of early SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants in human ACE2-expressing K18-hACE2 mice has posed challenges for assessing vaccine