Campus Digest

HKBU staff receives international fellowship to conduct deep-sea research in Japan

27 Oct 2014

Dr Sun Jin conducts a preliminary analysis to find out the genetic similarities of the deep-sea mussels collected by the Jiaolong submersible in the South China Sea with those originated in the Western Pacific Ocean. He proactively invites two Japanese scientists for further research collaboration. Dr Sun Jin conducts a preliminary analysis to find out the genetic similarities of the deep-sea mussels collected by the Jiaolong submersible in the South China Sea with those originated in the Western Pacific Ocean. He proactively invites two Japanese scientists for further research collaboration.
Dr Sun Jin conducts a preliminary analysis to find out the genetic similarities of the deep-sea mussels collected by the Jiaolong submersible in the South China Sea with those originated in the Western Pacific Ocean. He proactively invites two Japanese scientists for further research collaboration.

 

Dr Sun Jin, Research Associate of the Department of Biology of HKBU, was awarded The InterRidge Student and Postdoctoral Fellowship, becoming the first Hong Kong recipient of this international fellowship and one of only four recipients in the world this year.  

The fellowship will cover the travel expenses of Dr Sun to participate in a research cruise and carry out deep-sea collaborative research with Japanese scientists Dr Ken Takai and Dr Hiromi Watanabe from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). In the coming two years, Dr Sun aims to study genetic connectivity of deep-sea mussels in the Western Pacific regions.  

In the proposal entitled “Genetic connectivity of deep-sea mussels in Western Pacific examined by population genomic approach” which Dr Sun submitted to this Programme, he said, “This is a rare opportunity for me to study deep-sea mussels collected from different regions of the Western Pacific Ocean. The international collaboration will enable me to establish connections with experts in this field of study. The experience will also help me start a career in the exciting area of deep-sea research, and contribute to the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity.” He said that the study of genetic connectivity can reveal the genetic diversity of populations and provide information for the designation of marine protected areas.

In June and July 2013, Dr Sun’s supervisor Dr Qiu Jianwen, Associate Professor of the Department of Biology of HKBU, embarked on the first deep-sea expedition on board China’s manned submersible Jiaolong. During the scientific cruise, samples of deep-sea mussels Bathymodiolus platifrons were collected in the South China Sea. A member of the support team in Hong Kong, Dr Sun provided analytical support.  

Dr Sun completed his PhD at the Department of Biology of HKBU in 2013 and currently conducts research under the supervision of Dr Qiu Jianwen. He was fascinated by the deep-sea samples collected by manned submersible Jiaolong and decided to move into this new field.  

The InterRidge fellowship was set up to facilitate potential marine scientists to develop their career in any field of ridge-crest science. This year, the other three awardees come from the UK and France.