As an emerging branch of clinical medicine, microbiota medicine has attracted worldwide attention from clinicians, medical educators, patient communities, and industry. However, this developing field still lacks consensus on its fundamental principles as well as guidelines for clinical and educational practice. An expert panel was convened by the journal Microbiota Medicine Research at the 2025 CHINAGUT Conference to develop the principles and practice guidelines of microbiota medicine.

Neurologist Dr. Varun Venkataramani (36) from Heidelberg University Hospital will be awarded the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Early Career Award 2026, the Scientific Council of the Paul Ehrlich Foundation announced today. The prizewinner has fundamentally expanded our understanding of glioblastomas – particularly malignant brain tumors. They arise from glial cells, whose task is to protect and nourish nerve cells. Venkataramani discovered that glioblastomas hijack the nervous system to tap into electrical signals, which they then use to accelerate their deadly growth. A drug to interrupt this electrical activity is already being tested on patients.

As an emerging branch of clinical medicine, microbiota medicine has attracted worldwide attention from clinicians, medical educators, patient communities, and industry. However, this developing field still lacks consensus on its fundamental principles as well as guidelines for clinical and educational practice. An expert panel was convened by the journal Microbiota Medicine Research at the 2025 CHINAGUT Conference to develop the principles and practice guidelines of microbiota medicine.

A research team at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has developed a novel live-attenuated vaccine candidate, cb1, capable of generating broad immunity against a wide range of beta-coronaviruses with a single intranasal dose. The vaccine not only prevents severe disease, but also effectively blocks viral transmission in animal models, offering a promising strategy for pandemic preparedness against future coronavirus threats. The groundbreaking study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A recent study led by the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital, has demonstrated that combining an innovative coronary imaging technology known as the caFFR system, with diabetes drug SGLT2 inhibitors can significantly reduce the risks of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), heart failure and death among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary artery disease. This dual‑pronged strategy provides a precise measurement of coronary blood flow while lowering glucose levels, offering an effective approach to treating exceptionally high-risk patients. The findings were published in the Diabetes and Metabolism Journal.

A research team led by Professor Xiang David Li from the Department of Chemistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with researchers from the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and Tsinghua University, has made a breakthrough in epigenetic drug discovery. The team has successfully developed a first-in-class chemical inhibitor that precisely and selectively targets the ATAC complex, a critical cellular “switch operator” that activates tumour-promoting genes, opening a novel therapeutic avenue for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The findings were recently published in the top-tier journal Nature Chemical Biology, and multiple international patent applications have been filed.