News

Opening on 3 April, the CityU Veterinary Medical Centre (CityUVMC), one of the largest veterinary clinics in Southeast Asia, will provide medical cases for studies and practicum opportunities for students at the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences at City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

The department would like to welcome Prof. Katharina Stärk who is visiting us for two weeks to teach some sessions in the 'Introduction to Food Safety' and 'Introduction to Zoonoses' courses in the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme.

Professor Olivier Sparagano (Professor of Veterinary Parasitology) has been appointed as Acting Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health Health in the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine

A research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has found a shortcut for developing new drugs which can potentially reduce time and costs by sorting out high potential candidates out of a long list of chemical compounds, with an accuracy of around 50%.

Having brought to light the previously little-known cholecystokinin (CCK) as the memory-writing switch in the brain few years ago, the team led by Professor He Jufang, Chair Professor of Neuroscience at City University of Hong Kong, recently further revealed the memory formation mechanism: high-frequency stimulation (HFS) induces the release of CCK, leading to memory formation, and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) enable memory formation via controlling CCK release.

Zoonotic diseases, like rabies, avian influenza, Ebola or Rift Valley fever, are those diseases that can spread between animals and people. They continue to be a threat to human health as well as animal health and welfare, but also affect farmers’ livelihoods and countries’ economies. As global trade and travel expands, threats from zoonotic diseases are increasing worldwide.

Prof. Pfeiffer (Chair Professor of One Health) was an invited guest speaker at the ‘Veterinary Public Health (VPH) Workshop’ organised by the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong SAR in December 2017.

Dr Kai Liu recently joined the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health as Assistant Professor in Animal Welfare, Ethics and Behaviour.

Prof. Olivier Sparagano recently joined the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health as Professor of Veterinary Parasitology.

Bangladesh is considered as one of the hotspots for emerging diseases of animal origin. A number of zoonotic diseases and diseases with high economic impact, including highly pathogenic avian influenza, anthrax, brucellosis, foot and mouth diseases, are endemic in Bangladesh and pose a serious threat to public health and food security.