A team from the private Macau University of Science and Technology’s (MUST) Medical Sciences Division (MSD) has recently won the Silver Award in the Belt and Road International Track and the Best Teamwork Award during the 11th National Undergraduate Medical Innovation Competition and the 2025 Belt and Road International Competition in Jinan, capital city of Shandong Province.
According to an MUST statement on Tuesday, the event was held from August 15 to 19, with the team winning the awards for their project “The Potential of Algal Polysaccharides as Cisplatin Chemo- Sensitisers: A Combined Therapy Strategy for Gastric Cancer”. The award focused on “cutting-edge topics in basic medical sciences”, the statement said.
Algal polysaccharides, according to AI chatbot Poe, refers to complex carbohydrates that are extracted from algae. These polysaccharides are made up of long chains of sugar molecules and serve various functions in the algae, including structural support, energy storage, and protection.
The statement noted that the team, guided by Assistant Professor Wong Io Nam and PhD candidate Zhong Jing from the Faculty of Medicine, comprised Wong Keng Hin from the Faculty of Medicine, and He Xielin as well as Xiong Jinghui from the Faculty of Chinese Medicine. The award “highlights the research depth of the MSD and its innovative vitality in related fields”, the private university said in the statement.
The statement said that the recently held competition was organised by the National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Education in Higher Education. It is one of the nation’s highest level and influential life science events in the field of basic medical sciences.
The competition drew in over 4,000 faculty and students from more than 200 universities across 10 countries and regions, with over 820 project submissions, setting new records.
This undated handout photo provided by the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) earlier this week shows Medical Sciences Division (MSD) students Wong Keng Hin, He Xielin, and Xiong Jinghui during the finals of the 11th National Undergraduate Medical Innovation Competition and the 2025 Belt and Road International Competition held in Jinan. The caption provided by the university did not identify the trio’s respective positions.
