Dr. Shih received the award based on his 2020 publication ‘Lycium barbarum Polysaccharide Suppresses Expression of Fibrotic Proteins in Primary Human Corneal Fibroblasts’ in Journal of Clinical Medicine, for which he served as corresponding author and principal investigator. The study was the first proof of concept that wolfberry extract; lycium barbarum polysaccharide, may serve as a potent anti-fibrotic agent after cornea epithelial-stromal injury. This publication has set the path for the group’s continued work in the field, with a further publication in Experimental Eye Research in 2021.

The published manuscript was the accumulation of efforts by the ocular surface research team, which included Dr. Suzanna Kwok (2021 HKU MBBS and MRes graduate), Dr. Kendrick Co Shih, Dr. Joseph Yau-Kei Chan, Dr. Amy Cheuk-Yin Lo and overseas collaborators Professor Vishal Jhanji and Dr. Gary Hing-Fai Yam of the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, USA.

Well done to Dr. Shih and we wish their team continued success!