PEOPLE

Group Leader

(001) Dr. Franco King-Chi Leung studied his BSc in Chemistry (2011) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University where he carried out his Masters research (2013) in catalysis and chemical biology under supervision of Prof. Man-Kin Wong. He expanded his research scopes in his PhD to supramolecular chemistry and material science under guidance of Prof. Takanori Fukushima in Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan). In April 2017, he joined Prof. Ben L. Feringa's group (2016 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) in University of Groningen, the Netherlands, as a postdoc fellow and later he was awarded the Croucher Postdoctoral Fellow, where he is developing photo-responsive soft materials of molecular motors and switches. Since June 2019, he is serving as an Assistant Professor in Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, PolyU. In 2021, he was awarded the prestige Croucher Innovation Award and later awarded PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (2022). His main research interests are dynamic supramolecular polymers, functional molecular assembly, and biocompatible functional materials.

Group Members

(I) Postdoc Fellow

Coming Soon

(II) PhD Student

(005)(D3) Mr. Timmy Leong-Hung Cheung completed his BSc in Chemical Technology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2018. Timmy served as a research assistant, firstly in Prof. Wing-Yiu Yu’s group (PolyU) for the organometallic research. Later Timmy expanded his research scope to carry out research in Prof. Pei Li’s research team for polymeric material studies (PolyU). In Aug 2020, he joined our group as a research assistant to further enlarge his research scope. Later in Jan 2021, Timmy starts to carry out his PhD in exploration of photoresponsive soft materials.

(011)(D2) Mr. Marco Ming-Hin Chau acquired his BSc in the Analytical Science for Testing and Certification from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2020. After graduation, he served as a teaching project assistant, under supervision of Dr. Kim-Hung Lam, to improve student’s online learning experience by integrating active learning strategies. In Apr 2021, he is joining our group as research assistant to start his scientific research journey in developing photocontrolled supramolecular co-assembled systems. Later in Jan 2022, Marco has started his PhD in design and synthesis of visible-light responsive soft materials.

(015)(D1) Mr. Jerry Chun-Kit Yau obtained his BSc in chemistry from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2020. For his undergraduate research, he worked under the supervision of Prof. Jiang Xia and performed research project focusing on engineering of affibody molecules for targeted therapy. To further explore his research scope, he joined our research group as a research assistant in mid-Feb 2022 with focus on Indigo amphiphiles supramolecular systems. Later in May 2023, Jerry starts his postgraduate study with focus on the development of photo-controlled soft material and its biomedical applications.

(017) Miss Jessie Yikun Ren received her BSc degree in Bioscience from the Huihua College of Hebei Normal University in 2019. In 2022, she obtained her master’s degree in biology from Zhengzhou University. In her postgraduate research, she developed novel functional hydrogel systems for wound dressings and related applications. To further extend her research interest, she joins our research group in July 2022 to serve as a research assistant, focusing on the development of photoresponsive soft materials for stem cells studies. Later in Sept 2023, Jessie will start her PhD, which is supported by PolyU PhD Scholarship (Competitive), with focus on the development of photoresponsive amphiphiles and polymeric systems.

(021) Mr. Rick Ka-Lung Hung has received his BSc in Chemical Technology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His undergraduate project worked under supervision of Dr. Cheuk-Lam Ho, focusing on development of porphyrin photosensitizers for hydrogen production. After graduation, he is joining our research group in July 2022 as a research assistant, focusing on the synthesis and supramolecular studies of visible-light driven molecular amphiphiles. Later in Sept 2023, Rick will start his postgraduate study in developing photoresponsive amphiphiles.

(012) Mr. Brian Boyan Liu is studying his BSc in Chemical Technology. In June 2021, he is joining our laboratory as a research student helper. Brian is interested in synthesis of complicated organic molecules and to obtain more experimental techniques and experience in Organic Chemistry and Supramolecular Chemistry. Brian has finished his FYP in May 2023. Later in Sept 2023, Brian will start his postgraduate study with focuses on organic synthesis and characterisation of novel photoresponsive molecular amphiphiles.

(022) Miss Christina Haiqi Zhang is studying her BSc in Chemical Technology. Before joining our team, she worked in Dr. Wing-leung Wong’s group (PolyU) for novel complexes of photocatalysis research. Christina has finished her FYP in May 2023. Later in Sept 2023, Christina will start her postgraduate study in developing novel photoresponsive molecular amphiphiles for smart material applications.

(III) MPhil Student

(007)(M2) Miss Khloe Shuk-Ying Kwan received her BEng in Chemical Engineering from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2019. After completing undergraduate studies, she intends to embark on materials design and applications. She has experience in synthesizing and designing metal-organic frameworks from the perspective of environmental protection. To further investigate soft materials for biomedical purposes, she joined our group as a research assistant in Sept 2020 with focus on photoresponsive gating systems. Later in Sept 2021, Khloe has started to carry out her MPhil. study in exploration of photoresponsive soft materials and photoresponsive gating systems.

(IV-A) Research Associate

(020) Mr. Wai Ki WONG received his B.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2017. His undergraduate project focused on bioactive scaffold design for stem cell chondrogenesis. After graduation, he worked in Professor Liming Bian’s team (CUHK) as research assistant for nanomaterials and tissue engineering research. In 2021, he finished his master project, which focused on porous hydrogel design for tissue engineering, under supervision of Professor Molly Stevens and obtained his MSc in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College London. Currently, he joins our team as a research assistant and would like to expand his research scope on the supramolecular materials for tissue engineering application. In June 2023, he serves as a research associate for CEVR collaborative projects with Prof. Man-Kin Wong.

(IV-B) Research Assistant

Coming Soon

(V) Final Year Project Student

(014) Miss Chelsea Tesvara is studying her BSc in Chemical Technology. In Sept 2021, she joined our team as a research student helper. Chelsea is interested in learning organic synthetic techniques and supramolecular studies, understanding soft materials for biomedical applications. Chelsea is continuing her research student helper in 2022 Summer. In Sept 2022, she will start her proposed research project of photoresponsive amphiphiles assembly.

(VI) Undergraduate Student

(019) Mr. Henry Hung-Ming Chan is pursuing Chemical Technology for his higher diploma. Henry likes Physics and Chemistry since his secondary school life. He is eager to acquire more experimental experience and become an expert in chemistry. In 2022 summer, Henry is joining us to be a research student helper with the research focus on the photoresponsive amphiphiles design and synthesis. In 2023 summer, Henry joins our research team again.

(002) Mr. Money Wang 王潛 received his BA in South China Agricultural University. Money is our honourable guest in Dr. Franco Leung research group, serving as our Glassware Cleaner and graphic designer.

People