14-15 Dec 2024 – Thank you Prof Ying Xu for the invitation to this year’s ICSB held at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen. A weekend well spent meeting people whose work we have followed on PubMed but first time meeting in person! Stephanie shared the team’s latest work on therapeutic targeting of HCC cell plasticity. 
Author: sma lab
Hepatology – in press
Our DGKH story now in press in Hepatology 🙌🥳
Read all about it here (PMID 39663958) and its accompanying editorial written by Prof. Guisheng Song of the University of Minnesota also published in the same journal (PMID 39666890). 
29th HKUMed Research Postgraduate Symposium
4-5 Dec 2024 – Congratulations to our two PhD students Venus and Angel on getting best oral and best poster presentation awards at this year’s HKUMed Research Postgraduate Symposium. Very well done and proud of you!
HKUMed Faulty Newsletter Feature
Our newly funded RGC Theme-Based Research Scheme team and project was featured in the Dec 2024 issue of the HKUMed Faculty Newsletter. Thankful to have this opportunity to work with a team of multi-talents, transversing the fields of cancer biology, immunology, synthetic biology, chemical biology, computational biology and hepatobiliary surgery.
HKU Endowed Professorships
The ceremony for the 13th Inauguration of Endowed Professorships at HKU was celebrated on 25 Nov 2024 at Loke Yew Hall, HKU. Stephanie is blessed to be endowed with the Jimmy and Emily Tang Professorship in Molecular Genetics and is deeply grateful to Dr. Jimmy Tang and Mrs. Emily Tang for their generous gift and trust. 
Prof Ernesto Guccione’s Visit to the School
The lab had a great time hosting Ernesto at the School of Biomedical Sciences in HKUMed on 13 Nov 2024. I have followed his work for years, and it was nice to finally have a chance to sit down and talk about science! We ended the day with some horse racing at the HK Jockey Club and Typhoon 8 with dinner on the house!
Anti-Cancer Together (ACT) Online Forum
November 3rd 2024 – Thank you Shi-Yong for the invitation to speak. Sunday morning was well spent sharing the team’s research on oncofetal proteins in maintaining a more stemness state in HCC at the Anti-Cancer Together (ACT) Online Forum.
SKLLR Symposium 2024
Stephanie shared the team’s latest findings on the discovery of potential therapies for CTNNB1 mutation-driven HCC using a genetically defined, syngeneic mouse organoid platform at this year’s SKLLR Symposium, held on October 16th, 2024, at Renaissance Harbor View Hotel HK.
2nd International Symposium on Frontiers of Biomedicine and Health
Thank you Yan Yan of Huazhong Agricultural University for the invitation to speak at this international symposium. Saturday afternoon well spent in an engaging session on mechanisms of tumorigenesis and prevention strategies.
83rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association
Sept 19-21, 2024 – 83rd Annual Meeting of JCA at Fukuoka, Japan
Stephanie gave a talk in the International Session on ‘”Cellular Plasticity: How do cancer cells rewire molecular, biochemical and phenotypic pathways for adapting to malignant progression?”. Thank you Wai-Leong Tam and Hiromichi Ebi for the invitation to speak. A pleasure to meet both in person and reconnect with old friends.
SMA Lab 