“Innovating Health” Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series – Professor Michael Yang
Hosted by: Professor Lim Chwee Teck, iHealthtech Director
Cell Migration and Cancer Metastasis: A Microfluidics Perspective
Tumor metastasis is a dynamic and complex process which involves cancer cells detaching from the primary tumor, entering blood circulation, invading a distant organ, and forming a new tumor. Cancer cells from the same tumor are heterogeneous in their metastatic potential, which is related to their migration ability and influenced by specific physicochemical factors and tumor microenvironment. Single cell analysis enables the classification and differentiation of cellular subtypes based on their distinctive molecular signatures and physiological patterns. By modelling and modulating the physical, chemical, and mechanical environments surrounding tumor cells using microfluidics technology, in combination with single cell analytical techniques including next-generation sequencing (NGS) and atomic force microscope (AFM), we are investigating how biochemical gradients and mechanical constraints regulate cancer cell migration and circulation, and alter their phenotypes, and how tumor heterogeneity affects cancer cell transition and metastasis.
Biography | Professor Michael Yang is currently Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise) and Yeung Kin-Man Chair Professor (Biomedical Sciences) of City University of Hong Kong (CityU). He has trained 52 PhD graduates and 36 postdoctoral fellows, published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers and over 60 US/China patents, and co-founded several biotech companies including Genetel, Prenetics and Cellomics, benefiting millions of patients. He has received numerous awards including the “Hong Kong Technological Achievement Grand Award” in 2007 and the “Wuxi AppTech Life Science and Chemistry Award” in 2016. Professor Yang is responsible for CityU’s “HK Tech 300” initiative, the leading university-based entrepreneurship program in Asia, which has incubated more than 700 startups since 2021. He was elected a Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in 2024, in recognition of his significant contributions to innovation, societal welfare, and economic development.
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