Dr Chunyi Wen Associate Professor
Exploits an east-meets-west approach for the discovery of anti-ageing formula

Location ST417
Phone +852 3400 8898
mail chunyi.wen@polyu.edu.hk

Open Platform for University Scholars
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Biography Dr. Chunyi WEN, Associate Professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering, leads a research group in Hong Kong to combat osteoarthritis, a leading cause of chronic pain and disability in older adults affecting 500 million people worldwide. Dr. Wen obtained his Ph.D. degree in Chinese University of Hong Kong and received postgraduate training in Johns Hopkins University in U.S., and University of Oxford in U.K.. In his early academic career, Dr. Wen’s work on bone and joint injury and degeneration from mechanism towards therapeutics. He contributed to discovery of TGF-beta1 as a key regulator in subchondral bone disturbance and osteoarthritis pathogenesis (Nature Medicine 2013). His work has been recognized by Young Investigator Award, Mr. Savio Woo and Mrs. Pattie Woo Travel Fellowship, AOSpine East Asia (AOSEA) Research Grant award and AOSEA Travel Grant, and Oldendorf Award. Since joining PolyU BME, Dr. Wen’s research centers on vascular etiology of osteoarthritis. Under the auspices of RGC ECS and GRF, Dr. Wen and his team finally identified endothelin-1 (ET-1), the most potent vasoconstrictor in hypertension, contributing to articular chondrocyte senescence and osteoarthritis pathology (Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2015 and 2020). It substantiates the vascular etiology hypothesis of osteoarthritis and opens a new avenue for discovery of novel mechanism-based disease-modifying therapies against osteoarthritis (Nature Review Rheumatology 2021) Along this research direction, Dr. Wen has secured the external research fund over 10 million HKD in the capacity of PI from RGC, HMRF and ITF. Meanwhile, we kicked off formal research collaboration with world-leading research institutes such as Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford (Prof. Tonia Vincent, HMRF research fellowship) and Sorbonne University in Paris (Prof. Francis Berenbaum, PROCORE-France/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme and INSERM International Research Program). Dr. Wen envisions developing PolyU BME as a regional leading and international renowned osteoarthritis research center.




Research Interests
Cellular Senescence and Skeletal Aging
Precision Medicine for Skeletal Ageing
Data-driven Community-based Bone and Joint Healthcare Revolution



Academic and Professional Experiences Assistant Professors, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Sep 2016 – current
Research Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Jun 2015 – Sep 2016
Visiting scientist, Department of Orthopaedic surgery, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of American, Aug 2011 – Jan 2012
Honorary Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Mar 2010 – Mar 2017
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Nov 2009 – Jun 2015
Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Aug 2004 – Jan 2009
Master of Medical Science (Orthopedic Surgery), Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Aug 2003 – Jul 2004
Resident trainee in the Western China Hospital, affiliated hospital of West China School of Medicine, China (Top Ten Hospital in China, 2012~2013), Aug 2002 – Jul 2003
MB.BS, West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, China, Aug 1997 – Jul 2002
Medical License issued by the Ministry of Health of People’s Republic of China