Associate Professor Kin Yip TAM and Henry Hang Fai KWOK of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), the University of Macau (UM) provided around 80 students of Colégio Diocesano de São José (5ª) with an enjoyable experience of science learning by delivering two science talks “Pharmaceutical Century – Ten Decades of Drug Discovery” and “Drug with “Monster Bite”: How nature’s deadliest venoms are saving human lives?” respectively.
Prof. Kin Yip TAM pointed out that the medical advancement in drug development throughout history has been pivotal in assisting the survival of vast populations of human. He also introduced the development history of important drugs, which was made by standing on the shoulders of pioneers who revolutionized science. He encouraged the students to be open-minded and put no boundaries on themselves in making important firsts in science to change the world.
In Prof. Henry Hang Fai KWOK’s talk, the students came to know that toxins found in venoms can also aid in treating other medical conditions and many venom-based drugs are already in use. Animal venoms are not composed of single toxins but cocktails of complex chemical mixtures of pharmacologically active components. Most toxins are not toxic, and many have beneficial therapeutic applications. The students were amused when watching the video clip of extracting venom from a reptile, which was videotaped by Prof. Kwok when he was working in USA more than 10 years ago.
Prof. Tam and Prof. Kwok also shared the students with the structure of FHS, the curricula of the programmes, graduate prospects and the different joint programmes offered by FHS. They invigorated the classrooms to widen their perspectives for new ways of seeing, doing and being.
Prof. Kin Yip TAM introduces the history of the development of important drugs
Prof. Henry Hang Fai KWOK encourages the students to broaden their scientific perspectives
A group photo after the talk of Prof. Henry Hang Fai KWOK