The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (Harvard SEAS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here Sunday to set up a Laboratory for Instrumentation for Precision Medicine.

Both sides aimed to build a laboratory focusing on medical instrumentation for microfluidic-based diagnostics, drug delivery and sensor development in the age of precision medicine.

"The HKSAR government is committed to attracting world-leading research institutions to conduct collaborative research," a press release from HKU quoted Carrie Lam, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), as saying at the signing ceremony.

"The signing of the MoU between the HKU Faculty of Engineering and Harvard SEAS, which signifies enhanced collaboration and cross-fertilization in the research area of precision medicine in Hong Kong, is a very significant step in this endeavor," she said.

Precision medicine is an emerging field of research by scientists. Innovation and technological development in the area will open up a new paradigm in healthcare leading to the customization of healthcare, with medical decisions, treatments, practices, or products being tailored to individuals.

"The collaboration will enable the talented engineers and scientists in both universities to create significant innovative instrumentations for precision medicine, and will facilitate the design of devices and treatments that will impact health care across the world," Executive Dean for Education and Research at Harvard SEAS Fawwaz Habbal said at the event.

"The signing of MoU is expected that by joining the strengths of the two academia, a strong platform will be built for translating fundamental breakthroughs and more synergistic activities will be conducted for the advancement of healthcare-related technologies that can lead to strong technology transfer value and societal impact," Dean of Engineering of HKU Christopher Chao said.

In the coming months, HKU Faculty of Engineering and Harvard SEAS intend to submit a proposal to the HKSAR government under the recently announced Health@InnoHK research cluster initiative, with a plan to establish a research laboratory in the Hong Kong Science Park.