Academic Qualification

Ph.D. in University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, U.S.A.

Master in University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, U.S.A

Bachelor in Lewis University, Lockport, IL, U.S.A.

Research Area

Pathogenesis of diabetic and ischemic complications and drug discovery

Cellular osmotic, oxidative and ischemic stress

Development, degeneration and regeneration

Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus

Stem cells and drug discovery for stroke, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s and depression

Biopharmaceutical research for vascular disease

Working Experience

2019 ~ present, Professor Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida

Wai Long, Macau

2018 ~ 2019, General Education Office/Division of Science and Technology (Food Science and Technology), Beijing Normal University ~ Hong Kong Baptist University, United International College, Zhuhai, China

2015 ~ 2018, Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong

2006 ~ 2015, Professor, Department of Anatomy, The University of Hong Kong

2005 ~ 2006, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, The University of Hong Kong

1998 ~ 2005, Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, The University of  Hong Kong

1992 ~ 2005, Investigator, Institute of Molecular Biology, May, 2001 substantiated, The University of Hong Kong

1991 ~ 1998, Honorary Lecturer, Department of Anatomy, The University of Hong Kong

1991 ~ 1992, Research Officer, Institute of Molecular Biology, The University of Hong Kong

1988 ~ 1991, Winston Foundation Fellow, Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, USA

1987 ~ 1988, NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of physiology, Northwestern University Medical Center, Chicago, USA,

1982 ~ 1987, Research and teaching assistant, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Health Sciences Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

OTHER ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS:

2007 ~ present, Visiting Professor, The Airforce Medical University (previously called The Fourth Military Medical University)

2018 ~ present, Honorary Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences, HKU

2019 ~ present, Honorary Professor, Beijing Normal ~ HKBU UIC, China

2017 ~ present, Honorary Professor, Chungnam National University Medical School, Korea

2007 ~ 2018, Honorary Professor, Dept Ophthalmology, The University of Hong Kong

2007 ~ 2010, Research Fellow (equivalent to Honorary Professor), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

2001 ~ 2011, Management Committee for the Area of Excellence in Molecular Neuroscience (hosting Institution, HKUST, Program Director Prof. Nancy Ip)

2012 ~ present, Management Committee for the Theme-based Research Scheme (TBRS) Project “Stem Cell Stem for Nervous System Disorder” (T13 ~ 607/12R)

Academic Publication (selected)

1.          Deng M, Sun J, Peng L, Huang Y, Jiang W, Wu S, Zhou L, Chung SK, Cheng X. Scutellarin acts on the AR-NOX axis to remediate oxidative stress injury in a mouse model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Phytomedicine. 2022 Aug;103:154214. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154214. Epub 2022 May 29. PMID: 35689902.

2.          Lai AKW, Ng TC, Hung VKL, Tam KC, Cheung CW, Chung SK, Lo ACY. Exacerbated VEGF up-regulation accompanies diabetes-aggravated hemorrhage in mice after experimental cerebral ischemia and delayed reperfusion. Neural Regen Res. 2022 Jul;17(7):1566-1575. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.330612. PMID: 34916442; PMCID: PMC8771109.

3.          PeiCao, LeiZhang, YangYang, Xiao-dan Wang, Zhao-ping Liu, Jian-wen Li, Li-yuan Wang, SookjaChung, Moqin Zhou, Ke Deng, Ping-ping Zhou, Ping-gu Wu, Analysis of furan and its major furan derivatives in coffee products on the Chinese market using HS-GC-MS and the estimated exposure of the Chinese population. Food Chemistry, Available online 26 March 2022, 132823

4.          Yang L, Liu J, Xia X, Wong IN, Chung SK, Xu B, El-Seedi HR, Wang B, Huang R. Sulfated heteropolysaccharides from Undaria pinnatifida: Structural characterization and transcript- metabolite profiling of immunostimulatory effects on RAW264.7 cells. Food Chem X. 2022 Feb 9;13:100251. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100251. Erratum in: Food Chem X. 2022 Feb 24;13:100264. PMID: 35498964; PMCID: PMC9040004.

5.          Zhang D, Hamdoun S, Chen R, Yang L, Ip CK, Qu Y, Li R, Jiang H, Yang Z, Chung SK, Liu L, Wong VKW. Identification of natural compounds as SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors by molecular docking-based virtual screening with bio-layer interferometry. Pharmacol Res. 2021 Oct;172:105820. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105820. Epub 2021 Aug 14. PMID: 34403732

6.          Zeng W, Wu AG, Zhou XG, Khan I, Zhang RL, Lo HH, Qu LQ, Song LL, Yun XY, Wang HM, Chen J, Ng JPL, Ren F, Yuan SY, Yu L, Tang Y, Huang GX, Wong VKW, Chung SK, Mok SWF, Qin DL, Sun HL, Liu L, Hsiao WLW, Law BYK. Saponins isolated from Radix polygalae extent lifespan by modulating complement C3 and gut microbiota. Pharmacol Res. 2021 Aug;170:105697. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105697. Epub 2021 May 29. PMID: 34062240

7.          de Seabra Rodrigues Dias IR, Lo HH, Zhang K, Law BYK, Nasim AA, Chung SK, Wong VKW, Liu L. Potential therapeutic compounds with antiarthritic activity from traditional Chinese Medicine by targeting endoplasmic reticulum stress, Pharmacol Res. 2021 Aug;170:105696. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105696. Epub 2021 May 28. PMID: 34052360

8.          Naoko Niimi *, Hideji Yako, Shizuka Takaku, Sookja K. Chung, Kazunori Sango, Aldose reductase and the polyol pathway in Schwann cells: old and new problems, Int. J. Mol. Sci. ('Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics' Section), 2021, 22(3), 1031; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22031031

9.          Xuewei Xia, Huili Hao, Xiaoyong Zhang, Nam Wong, Sookja Kim Chung, Zexin Chen, BaojunXue, Riming Huang, Immunomodulatory sulfated polysaccharides from Caulerpa racemosa var. peltata induces metabolic shifts in NF-κB signaling pathway in RAW 264.7 macrophages, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 182, 1 July 2021, Pages 321-332

10.      Boya Liao, Leiluo Geng, Ling Wei, Karen S.L. Lam, Sookja K. Chung, Patrick K.K. Yeung, Junlei Chang, AiminXu, Kai Wang, Ruby L.C. Hoo, Macrophage Derived A-FABP Promotes Cerebral Ischemia Injury via Enhancing MMP-9 Expression through JNK/c-Jun pathway, European Heart Journal [1522-9645], Published 2020, Pages 1-13 https://doi.org/10.1093/ eurheartj/ehaa207 (Impact factor 22.673)

11.      Roy Chun-Laam Ng, Min Jian, Myriam Bunting, Oscar Ka-Fai Ma, Jason Kwan, Guang-Jie Zhou, Krishnamoorthi Senthilkumar, Ashok Iyaswamy, Min LI, Kenneth Mei-Yee Leung, Siva- Sundara Durairajan, Karen Lam, Sookja Kim Chung, Ping Kei CHAN, Leung Wing CHU, and Richard Festenstein, Koon-Ho Chan, Chronic oral administration of AdipoRon reverses cognitive impairments and ameliorates neuropathology in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model" [Paper #2019MP000320RRR] MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY[1359-4184], Published 2020 (Impact factor 12.384)

12.      So, WK., Kim, H.K., Chen, Y. Seung Hun Jeong, Patrick Ka Kit Yeung, Billy C. K. Chow, Jin Han & Sookja K. Chung, Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Phet al. Exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac) 1 plays an essential role in stress-induced exercise capacity by regulating PGC-1α and fatty acid metabolism in skeletal muscle. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 472, 195–216 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-019-02344-6

13.      Zhang, Kai, Ip, Chi, Chung, Sookja, Lei, Kei Kei, Zhang, Yao, Liu, Liang, Wong, Vincent, Drug-resistance in rheumatoid arthritis: the role of p53 gene mutations, ABC family transporters and personal factors, Current opinion in pharmacology Sept 2020, 54:59-71, DOI: 10.1016/j.coph.2020.08.002

14.      Gu, Pan, Fan, Tingting, Wong, Stanley, Pan, Zhiqiang, Tai, Wai, Chung, Sookja, Cheung, Chiwai, Central Endothelin-1 Confers Analgesia by Triggering Spinal Neuronal Histone Deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) Nuclear Exclusion in Peripheral Neuropathic Pain in Mice, 2021/01/06, The Journal of Pain 10.1016/j.jpain.2020.12.004

15.      Xiao Cheng; Patrick KK Yeung; Ke Zhong; Prince Last Mudenda Zilundu; Lihua Zhou; Sookja K Chung, Astrocytic endothelin-1 overexpression promotes neural progenitor cells proliferation and differentiation into astrocytes via the Jak2/Stat3 pathway after stroke, J Neuroinflammation. 2019; 16: 227. Published online 2019 Nov 16. doi: 10.1186/s12974-019-1597-yPMCID: PMC6858703

16.      Zeng Z, Xia L, Fan X, Ostriker AC, Yarovinsky T, Su M, Zhang Y, Peng X, Xie Y, Sze-Wah Tam, Rui Feng, Way Kwok-Wai Lau, Andrew Chi-Kin Law, Patrick Ka-Kit Yeung and Sookja Kim Chung, Endothelin type B receptor promotes cofilin rod formation and dendritic loss in neurons by inducing oxidative stress and cofilin activation, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2019 Aug,, 294, 12495-12506.

17.      Pi L, Gu X, Chung SK, Martin KA, Liu R, Hwa J, Tang WH. Platelet-derived miR-223 promotes a phenotypic switch in arterial injury repair. J Clin Invest. 2019 Mar 1;129(3):1372-1386. doi: 10.1172/JCI124508. Epub 2019 Feb 18. PubMed PMID: 30645204; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6391113.

18.      Wong SSC, Lee UM, Wang XM, Chung SK, Cheung CW. Role of DLC2 and RhoA/ROCK pathway in formalin induced inflammatory pain in mice. Neurosci Lett. 2019 Sep 14;709:134379. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134379. Epub 2019 Jul 16. PubMed PMID:31323253.

19.      Bian G, Yu C, Liu L, Fang C, Chen K, Ren P, Zhang Q, Liu F, Zhang K, Xue Q, Xiang J, Guo H, Song J, Zhao Y, Wu W, Chung SK, Sun R, Ju G, Wang J. Sphingosine phosphate stimulates eyelid closure in the developing rat by stimulating EGFR signaling. Sci Signal. 2018 Oct 23;11(553). pii: eaat1470. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aat1470. PubMed PMID: 30352949.

20.      He J, Xia M, Yeung PKK, Li J, Li Z, Chung KK, Chung SK, Xia J. PICK1 inhibits the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of Parkin and reduces its neuronal protective effect. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jul 24;115(30):E7193-E7201. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1716506115. Epub 2018 Jul 9. PubMed PMID: 29987020; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6064985.

21.      Zhang SQ, Yung KK, Chung SK, Chung SS. Aldo-keto reductases-mediated cytotoxicity of 2- deoxyglucose: A novel anticancer mechanism. Cancer Sci. 2018 Jun;109(6):1970-1980. doi: 10.1111/cas.13604. Epub 2018 May 3. PubMed PMID: 29617059; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5989857

22.      Liu XB, Lo CM, Cheng Q, Ng KT, Shao Y, Li CX, Chung SK, Ng IOL, Yu J, Man K. Oval Cells Contribute to Fibrogenesis of Marginal Liver Grafts under Stepwise Regulation of Aldose Reductase and Notch Signaling. Theranostics. 2017 Oct 24;7(19):4879-4893. doi: 10.7150/thno.20085. eCollection 2017. PubMed PMID: 29187911; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5706107.

23.      Xu WW, Li B, Guan XY, Chung SK, Wang Y, Yip YL, Law SY, Chan KT, Lee NP, Chan KW, Xu LY, Li EM, Tsao SW, He QY, Cheung AL. Cancer cell-secreted IGF2 instigates fibroblasts and bone marrow-derived vascular progenitor cells to promote cancer progression. Nat Commun. 2017 Feb 10;8:14399. doi: 10.1038/ncomms14399. PubMed PMID: 28186102; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5309924.

24.      Patrick K.K.Yeung, Angela K.W.Lai, Hyo JinSon, XuZhang, , Stephen S.M.Chung & S K Chung, Aldose reductase deficiency leads to oxidative stress-induced dopaminergic neuronal loss and autophagic abnormality in an animal model of Parkinson's disease., Neurobiol Aging. 2017 Feb;50:119-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.11.008

25.      L Zhou, S L Ma, P K K Yeung, Y H Wong, K W K Tsim, K F So, L C W Lam, & S K Chung, Anxiety and depression with neurogenesis defects in exchange protein directly activated by cAMP 2-deficient mice are ameliorated by a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, Prozac., Translational Psychiatry (2016) 6, doi:10.1038/tp.2016.129, https://www.nature.com/articles/tp2016129.pdf

26.      Victor KL Hung, Patrick KK Yeung, Angela KW Lai, Maggie CY Ho, Amy CY Lo, Kevin C Chan, Ed XK Wu, Stephen SM Chung, Chi W Cheung, Sookja K Chung Selective Astrocytic Endothelin-1 Overexpression Contributes to Dementia Associated with Ischemic Stroke by Exaggerating Astrocyte-Derived Amyloid Secretion . J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 35(10):1687-96, 2015, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1038/jcbfm.2015.109

27.      Kai AK, Lam AK, Chen Y, Tai AC, Zhang X, Lai AK, Yeung PK, Tam S, Wang J, Lam KS, Vanhoutte PM, Bos JL, Chung SS, Xu A, Chung SK., Exchange protein activated by cAMP 1 (Epac1)-deficient mice develop β-cell dysfunction and metabolic syndrome. FASEB J. 2013 Oct;27(10):4122-35. doi: 10.1096/fj.13-230433. Epub 2013 Jun 27. http://www.fasebj.org/content/27/10/4122.short

Research Grants

1.          S.K. Chung, PI, To determine the role of exchange protein directly activated by cAMP in the blood-retinal barrier and pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy, Health and Medical Research Fund, 13142231, HK$947,000, July 2016 – 2018

2.          S.K. Chung, PI, Interaction between activated aldose reductase, non-enzymatic glycation, PKC and hexoamine pathways for the pathogenesis of diabetic complications, Health and Medical Research Fund, 13142221, HK$967,000, July 2016 – 2018

3.          SK Chung, Travel grant to discuss collaborative research with the Fourth Military Medical University, Xian, China HKD12,482

4.          Wai Ho Tang and SK Chung (co-PI), Guangdong and Hong Kong Joint Innovation Field of Scientific and Technological Cooperation Project. The role and mechanism of platelet transfer by miRNA-143/145 on diabetic vascular disease”, May 2017 to Apr 2019 Total cost: RMB1,000,000

5.          SK Chung (PI), NSFC, Endothelin-1 and tanshinone IIA, Chinese RMB 540,000, Jan 2018 to Dec 31, 2021

6.          省部共建中医湿证国家重点实验室项目“基于差异蛋白组学探讨湿邪致缺血性中风的生物学机制”申报合作框架协议书, 600,000 Yuen, 2021

7.          Sookja Kim Chun, Molecular Docking of G Protein-coupled Receptor, Glucagon-like Peptide 1 Receptor, and Development of Exchange Protein Activated by cAMP-based Biosensor for Identifying Therapeutic Natural Small-molecules from Chinese Medicines Macau University of Science and Technology, Faculty Research Grants (General Research Grants, GRFs), FRG-22-024-FMD, 100,000 MOP, 2022

8.          Riming Huang, Io Nam Wong, Sookja Kim Chung (Co-I), Baojun Xu, FDCT-NSFC, Project code: 0069/2021/AFJ, September 30, 2021- September 29, 2024

Patents

1.     Sookja Kim Chung, Stephen Chung and Chihiro Hibi, Preventive or therapeutic agent for cerebral ischemic injury or cerebral ischemia reperfusion in stroke, Filed on Aug 30, 2007, Patent No. 000144577

2.     Sookja Kim Chung, Stephen Chung and Chihiro Hibi, Protective agent for retinal nerve or optic nerve, Patent Application 20100216856, 08/26/2010

3.     Ip, Nancy Y, Ip, Fanny Chui Fun, Hu, Yueqing, Han, Yifan, Chung, Sookja Kim Heterodimers and methods of using them, United States Patent 7605265, Oct 20, 2009

4.     Sookja Kim Chung, Stephen Chung and Chihiro Hibi, Protective agent for retinal nerve or optic nerve, European Patent Application, 13155114.5-1464, 23.04.13

5.     Sookja Kim Chung and Philip So: 3D printing of microneedles: 201910278559.3

6.     Licensing of aldose reductase-deficient Schwann cell line (IKARS1) in collaboration with Prof. Kazunori Sango, Japan to Applied Biological Materials Inc. (“Licensee”), with offices located at 1-3671 Viking Way Richmond, B.C.V6V 2J5 Canada.

Professional Certification and Awards

Norman and Rosita Winston Fellowship (1988-1991), The Rockefeller University

Academic Scholarship (1974 - 1978), Lewis University

International Molecular Biology Network, elected member