Cell Biology Course
Cell biology is becoming the centerpiece of not just basic research, but also of studies that tackle a number of questions relevant to all aspects of life science, from genomics to infectious diseases. Started in 2009, HKU-Pasteur Cell Biology Courses are filling a need in the region that allows our students to be exposed to the latest concepts and technologies in the field of molecular cell biology.
These courses cover a wide variety of aspects from Pathogen-Host Cell Interactions, studying how pathogens hijack cellular machineries to suit their needs (2011), to cancer biology, with emphasis on cell division and migration of cancer cells (2012), to probing the underlying cell biology of human diseases.
With the advent of more sophisticated technology and instrumentation through mass spectrometry, a strong interest has emerged to assess and interrogate biology at the level of protein networks, along with the more conventional genomic and transcriptomic approaches. We have incorporated this technological revolution to focus on proteomics, the next step in the study of biological systems that has emerged as an effective means to reveal how biological networks operate in normal physiology and during diseased states such as pathogen infection.
Course Directors
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Roberto Bruzzone (2009-present)
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Leo Poon (2024)
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Philippe Chavrier (2009-present)
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Chiara Zurzolo (2009-present)
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Sumana Sanyal (2018-2019)
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George Tsao (2009-2019)
Testimonials
Qiwen Teo,
student of the 8th HKU-Pasteur Cell Biology Course and the 10th Immunology Course
"I had the chance to join the HKU-Pasteur Cell Biology Course, and it was extremely helpful for my PhD studies. The course is very interactive, we had the opportunity to share our work with the speakers and get instructive feedback from them. Furthermore, I got to learn experimental techniques required for my PhD project, such as mass spectrometry data analysis.
I joined HKU-Pasteur because I chose to engage in a scientific career out of intellectual curiosity! I am quite interested in understanding how viruses exploit cellular pathways to facilitate the viral life cycle, therefore, I can spend a tremendous amount of time in the lab to address this question, although it often leads to more questions. I feel like we are a big family regardless of our backgrounds and we hang out outside of the lab, as well. We support each other when anyone is feeling down and we are happy for one another whenever good things happen, too!"
Nisha Mohd Rafiq, Postdoctoral Researcher at Yale University,
student of the 6th HKU-Pasteur Cell Biology Course
"When I was a student at the National University of Singapore, I participated in the 6th Cell Biology Course organized by the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole. It is much better than conferences, particularly for junior students like me, because the course allowed me to have many more interactions than I ever had before with great scientists from different fields."