The Centre for Oncology and Immunology (COI) gathered with our collaborators from the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Canada and the Technical University of Munich, Germany for a Scientific Winter Retreat from February 24 to 28, 2025. This retreat involved a series of focus group meetings where the principal investigators (PIs) and their teams presented their progress on various collaborative projects, fostering a rich exchange of ideas and strategies for advancing our research endeavours.
Many of our international collaborators travelled to Hong Kong to participate in person. Among them were Prof. Naoto Hirano and Prof. Tracy McGaha came from UHN, along with Prof. Jürgen Ruland and his post-doctoral fellow Dr. Larsen Vornholz from TUM, who journeyed from Canada and Germany, respectively. For those unable to attend in person, such as Dr. Steven Chan and Dr. Thorsten Berger from UHN, their commitment was evident as they participated virtually via Zoom, staying up late in Canada to fully engage in the discussions despite the time difference.
The retreat underscored the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing in driving scientific progress. COI’s Co-Director Prof. Tak Mak emphasized this sentiment by quoting a well-known proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. This is the essence of our Centre and the reason we have brought together such prominent scientists—to work collaboratively and make a meaningful difference in the lives of cancer patients worldwide.”
COI extends its heartfelt gratitude to all of our overseas collaborators and visiting researchers who contributed to creating an inspiring environment and making this retreat a success. The event highlighted our shared commitment to combatting cancer and improving patient outcomes through innovative research and collaboration.
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