Meetings

The two-evening programme on 27-28 January at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium at the SingHealth Duke-NUS campus convened clinicians, students, policymakers and partners to focus on the importance of outbreak preparedness and planetary health.

Victor Tang, M.D., MSc, FRCPC, Psychiatrist & Clinician Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, will discuss his recent research on addiction and concurrent disorders (when mental illness and addiction co-occur) in an upcoming BBRF webinar, “Advancing Brain-Based Therapeutics to the Forefront of Addiction Care,” on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Desire on the Couch is a thought-provoking exhibition coming to San Francisco January 28th. Co-organized by the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Kinsey Institute, the exhibition makes its debut during the American Psychoanalytic Association's annual meeting. Tracing a century-long struggle over how sexuality is measured, medicalized, and experienced, visitors are invited to explore rarely-seen letters, photographs, and archival materials that reveal how ideas about sexuality and desire have long been argued over, resisted, and reimagined.

Bringing the promise of cell and gene therapies to patients is one of the greatest defining opportunities in, and responsibilities of, modern medicine. To that end, The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), in collaboration with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, will host the Summit on Access and Affordability in Cell and Gene Therapies on 20 March 2026.

The summit convenes global leaders to confront scientific, economic, and systematic barriers that may limit patient access to potentially curative cellular medicines. Experts in research, clinical care, policy, market access, economics and patient advocacy will engage in cross-sector dialogue to explore pricing, manufacturing, regulation, and reimbursement strategies.

The Research and Impact Initiative on Communication in Healthcare at the University of Hong Kong (HKU RIICH) organised and held a roundtable event entitled "Shared Visions: Preparing Talent Today for the Challenges of Tomorrow " on 5 December 2025.  The event brought together diverse stakeholders involved in preparing today’s university students and graduates for the workforce, including government departments, business organisations, employers, university support services, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and university students and graduates. 

“The Future of Hong Kong Economy Conference 2026”, organised by HKU Business School and co-organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy, concluded yesterday. The conference gathered esteemed scholars, policymakers and industry leaders to engage in dynamic discussions on the future of the global economy, opportunities in AI Innovation, the New Silk Road for Chinese Enterprises to expand globally, Hong Kong’s positioning in global financial innovation, and entrepreneurship and leadership.

The “Wakuwaku Aira Dinosaur Museum Exhibition,” organized by Aira City in cooperation with Okayama University of Science, concluded successfully on December 27, 2025, attracting a total of 11,580 visitors over eight days. Held at Aira Square in the city’s newly completed municipal office building, the exhibition showcased approximately 20 dinosaur-related specimens, including a full-body tyrannosaurid skeletal reconstruction, a Triceratops skull, and Tarbosaurus fossils.

The exhibition emphasized hands-on learning and research outreach, featuring a recreated excavation site from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, along with panels and videos introducing paleontological fieldwork. Daily workshops allowed children to experience fossil replica making and fossil cleaning activities. Students from the Faculty of Biosphere-Geosphere Science served as guides, providing accessible explanations of dinosaur research to visitors.

On the final day, an educational lecture titled “Digging for Dinosaurs in Mongolia!” was delivered by Masato Fujita, professor of dinosaur paleontology and director of the Museum of Dinosaur Research at Okayama University of Science, attracting approximately 150 attendees.

Originally expected to draw around 5,000 visitors, the exhibition’s turnout more than doubled projections, highlighting strong public interest in dinosaurs and science education. Organizers noted that the combination of authentic research content, interactive experiences, and student-led explanations contributed significantly to the exhibition’s success.

Governments, private sector, and experts to explore strategies for protecting vital submarine telecommunications cables during International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026 in Porto, Portugal (2-3 February).