The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) has been running the Rising Stars Award Program for future leaders in neuroscience for over 10 years.

Prof. Hovy Wong was selected as a recipient of the Rising Stars Award 2025 by the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). This prestigious international award program has been running for over 10 years to fund future leaders in neuroscience. Yet this is the first time that an institution in the Greater China Area has received such honour.

The IBRO Rising Stars Awards provide critical recognition for emerging talents as they establish their laboratories. They support targeted capacity building and enable integration of cutting-edge methodologies into their research endeavors. Ultimately, the awards aim to foster continual impactful research at local and global levels.

Prof. Wong was co-appointed as an Assistant Professor by GCNI and the School of Biomedical Sciences at CUHK in Jan 2025. His lab focuses on understanding the fundamental principles of brain circuit formation, maintenance and plasticity. To record millisecond-speed neurotransmission and image micrometer-sized neuronal connections, the Wong lab uses state-of-the-art electrophysiology and 2-photon laser microscopy. This award will further add optogenetics capability, enabling his lab to use light to manipulate neuronal activity and molecular signaling pathways for high-throughput experiments and discoveries.

Prof. Wong is extremely grateful for this recognition. He pledges to leverage the IBRO platform to build collaborative bridges and showcase how Asia-Pacific neuroscience can contribute to international efforts. Being a Hong Kong local yet having received 20 years of education/training abroad, he cherishes diverse cultures and backgrounds. He aspires to create an educational environment where different scientific perspectives can be turned into voices with no barriers; where different views can co-exist, collide and synergize to form new ideas. The Wong lab therefore hopes to attract diverse international talents through this internationally recognized IBRO award.

(To facilitate Prof. Wong’s visions, GCNI has additionally offered the Wong lab a 1:1 matching fund.)