A multinational research team led by Professor Tong Zhang from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU Engineering), in collaboration with an international team, has developed a new framework to assess and track antimicrobial resistance (AMR) connectivity across human, animal, and environmental sectors. The study systematically examines the connectivity of AMR and proposes an assessment framework along with mitigation strategies.

Professor Shinichiro Sawa of Kumamoto University has received funding from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under its ASPIRE Program for an international research project on sustainable agriculture. Conducted in collaboration with France’s INRAE, the five-year project will study plant–soil microbial networks, including nematodes, to advance understanding of the agricultural holobiome. The project, selected under the “ASPIRE for Top Scientists” scheme, will begin in December 2025 with funding of up to 500 million yen (approximately USD 3.2 million).

An interdisciplinary team led by Associate Professor Toshio Yada of Okayama University of Science received the Grand Prix at the 5th Japan Wabunka Grand Prix for rebuilding a lacquerware wooden substrate workshop in Wajima that was destroyed in the January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. The Small Wooden Substrate Workshop Revitalization Project enabled the rapid reconstruction of the facility in approximately three months, reusing damaged materials wherever possible while preserving the traditional townscape. The initiative supported the revival of Wajima lacquerware production and was recognized for promoting a post-disaster recovery approach focused on regeneration rather than demolition.