A new batch of PhD students joined the Department of Biomedical Sciences (BMS) on 1st of Sep. In the past year, the Department has successfully recruited 35 new PhD students through two PhD programs: the BMS PhD Programme and Interdisciplinary PhD Programme in Veterinary Science. The later one is a joint effort with Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine as well as the newly established School of Veterinary Sciences (SVM) at CityU.

The students were selected from a large pool of well qualified candidates. Many of them are with MSc degrees and have multiple years of research experiences and many publications. Among them, two are recipients of the prestigious Hong Kong PhD Fellowship. The new students are also from diverse cultural backgrounds and are residents of 10 countries/regions across 3 continents.

An orientation session for the new PhD students was held on the afternoon of 15th, Sep. In the first half of the orientation, Dr Eddie Ma, Assistant Head of BMS, gave an overview of the development plan and research activities of the Department. Prof. Michael Reichel, Acting Dean of SVM, gave an introduction of SVM. Dr Terrence Lau, Graduate Degree Coordinator of BMS, introduced details of the PhD programmes including degree regulations, course work requirement, various conference grants and awards available etc. Dr Amy Fong and Mr Eric Shum, Senior Technical Officers of the Department, talked about the Department’s state-of-the-art research facilities and health and safety regulations.

The second half of the orientation focused on how to do a successful PhD. Dr Linfeng Huang gave a presentation about research ethics using several prominent research misconduct cases as the example. Current and past BMS students talked about experiences of their own PhD studies. Miss Pallavi Asthana, 3rd year student of Dr Eddie Ma’s lab, emphasised on positive attitude and Dr Helen Yue, recent graduate of Prof. Michael Yang’s lab, pointed out that PhD study is a process of pushing the boundary of human knowledge. Dr Gigi Lo and Dr Sungchil Yang, faculty members of BMS, gave the students practical tips based on their own PhD study and research experiences.

A welcome party with all current PhD students and BMS faculty members was held after the orientation.

The Department wishes every new PhD student a successful and enjoyable PhD study!