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News

23 July 2025

Congratulation to Dr. Jess Jiasui Yu (Postdoctoral fellow) receiving full funding support from International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) for attending IBRO-APRC Associate School on “Neuroplasticity Across the Lifespan"  in Oct-Nov 2025 in Thailand.

23 July 2025

Congratulations to PhD student Mr. Akhlaq Hussain obtaining the IBRO Travel Awards sponsored by IBRO for attending the annual meeting of Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences (KSBNS) 2025.

23 June 2025

Dr. Sonata Yau and Dr. Jesse Yu published in Mingpao (明報) to reveal the bidirectional relationship between sarcopenia and depression, highlighting that elderly populations are particularly vulerable to this vicious cycle. They also introduced targeted physical exercises as effective interventions for both physical and mental health wellbeing.

News highlights from Mental Health Research Center (MHRC)

14 June 2024

Congratulations to PhD student Mr. Douglas Formolo securing the first place in the Faculty-level Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, and advanced to the University-level finals, where he placed among the top 10 presenters.

2024

Congratulations to PhD student Jess Jiasui Yu being awarded with the Best Poster Presentation Award at the PAIR  Conference 2024.

 2024

Congratulations to MPhil student Mr. Zong Hao Ma receiving the Best Poster Presentation Award at the ABCT Postgraduate Conference 2024.

8 January 2024

Dr. Sonata Yau and PhD student Mr Jesse Yu presented at the annual meeting of The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2023 in Washington DC, US., the abstract entitled “Potential role of apelin in mediating the antidepressant effects of physical exercise” was selected by SfN for press conference out of over 12,500 abstracts submitted. 

Research highlights from Mental Health Research Center (MHRC)

13 December 2023

Dr. Sonata Yau moderated the Q&A session in a Nobel Laureate Lecture delivered by Prof. Thomas C. SÜDHOF, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2013), promoting a thought-provoking and fruitful discussion after the lecture. 

Event highlights from MHRC

8 November 2023

As a Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Yau joined the health tech project aimed at improving mental health, titled “Integrated Innovative Artificial Intelligence, Genomic, and Biomedical Technologies in Healthcare: Objective Diagnosis, Personalized Therapy, and Determination of the Etiology of Major Mental Disorders.” The project was awarded HKD 37 million in funding from the Research Grants Council (RGC) under its Strategic Topics Grant 2023/24.

5 May 2022

Dr. Yau's recent project on advancing the clinical application of Yueju (越鞠丸), a Tradiitonal Chinese multiherbal medicine formulated to treat syndromes associated with mood disorders, was awarded with HKD 1.7 million in funding from Mainland-Hong Kong Joint Funding Scheme (MHKJFS).

Research highlights from MHRC

14 October 2019

Dr. Yau has co-edited a new book, Exercise on Brain Health, published by Elsevier. This comprehensive volume brings together cutting-edge research on how physical activity enhances cognitive function, combats neurodegenerative diseases, and promotes mental well-being.
 

2017

MPhil student Mr. Thomas Lee won the Best Poster Presentation Award at the International Alzheimer’s Disease Conference 2017: Advances in Dementia Research and Care.

hong kong polytechnic university
RS PolyU
Yau Lab

© 2025 by Prof. Sonata Yau

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