Nobel laureate calls Hong Kong ‘very strong base’ for life science field, but urges city to push for diverse talent pool

Stanford University’s Professor Roger Kornberg, who won his Nobel Prize in 2006, also says infrastructure and lab work opportunities important in attracting scientists

‘Hong Kong is … after New York and London, I can’t think of another city that would be such a welcoming place for people coming from all around the world’, he adds

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The top academic has also said Hong Kong is a strong base for the life science field thanks to advantages such as the number of universities per capita and authorities’ favourable policies for incoming companies and talent. Photo: Sun Yeung

Published: 4:00pm, 19 May 2024

A Nobel laureate in chemistry has called Hong Kong a “very strong base” for the life science field, while encouraging local authorities to diversify the city’s talent pool by offering more opportunities that can help build incoming scientists’ careers.

Professor Roger Kornberg, who won his Nobel Prize in 2006, told the Post that as a visitor to Hong Kong, he was largely unaware of any significant slowdown compared with before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“People have commented on some of the loss of vigour and energy of the city due first to the pandemic, and perhaps also to political change. I’m not aware of that,” the Stanford University biotech expert said.

“As a visitor, one is often not so aware of undercurrents or whatever lies beneath the city. I hope that Hong Kong will regain its momentum.

“Hong Kong is … after New York and London, I can’t think of another city that would be such a welcoming place for people coming from all around the world, a place where they would be happy to live and work.”

Kornberg won the Nobel Prize for his studies on the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription, the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA.