Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is aetiologically linked to at least seven distinct types of human cancers. With EBV-associated tumours collectively imposing a dramatic global health burden, estimated at 200,000 new cases annually, their complete eradication is highly imperative and is only achievable through a well-coordinated, multidisciplinary programme combining fundamental research and clinical assays. 
 

Theranostics is a new field of medicine that combines therapy based on specifically targeted diagnostic tests and imaging techniques enabling simultaneous follow-up of the treatment effects. With a key focus on individual patients, theranostics provides a transition from conventional medicine to a contemporary personalised and precision medicinal approach. A proposed joint laboratory, established according to research cooperation between Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), BP InnoMed Limited (an HKBU spin-off company focused on the development of anti-EBV drugs), and the Tsinghua University-founded Research Institute of Tsinghua, Pearl River Delta (RIT), will focus on developing theranostic agents combining therapy and dual-imaging techniques (optical and magnetic resonance) for inhibiting EBV-associated cancers. 

Professor Gary Wong is a well-known researcher specialising in different directions of lanthanide chemistry, including coordination chemistry, chemical biology and the development of lanthanide-based biomaterials. These can complement each other in advancing research in the life sciences, and the success of this application will open the door for HKBU researchers to innovate towards a new aspect: “Lanthanides for Life Science – Combatting EBV-associated Cancer”.