The HKBU Advantage: refreshing the frontiers of AI-Driven drug discovery at the Croucher ASI

In a world where artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping possibilities, a gathering took place at Hong Kong Baptist University.

From 26-28 November 2025, Hong Kong Baptist University's Department of Computer Science, in partnership with the Research Office, hosted the Croucher Advanced Study Institutes (ASI) on "AI for Biomedicine", convening a global cohort of leading scientists to tackle one of the most interdisciplinary challenges of our time.

Speakers for the Croucher ASI: Professor Nasir Rajpoot, Professor of Computational Pathology, University of Warwick, Professor Yasuko Iwakiri , Yale School of Medicine, Yale University and Professor Kevin Zhou, Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research, University of Science and Technology of China (Top row, from left to right ) ; Professor Cavan Loy, President's Chair Professor, College of Computing and Data Science, Nanyang Technological University, Professor James Zou, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University and Professor Lei Xing, Jaco Haimson and Sarah S. Donaldson Professor of Medical Physics, Stanford University (Lower row, from left to right).

Professor Yuen highlights the University's cutting-edge work in drug discovery, brain diseases and clinical informatics. He points to a specific synergy that defines HKBU's leadership: the convergence of the School of Chinese Medicine's deep biological insights with the Department of Computer Science's advanced algorithms.

"Personally, I think Chinese medicine-inspired healthcare and drug discovery is one of the unique areas at HKBU," he notes. Unlike institutions that may rely solely on Western clinical data, HKBU researchers are training AI models on complex interactions found in traditional remedies. This fusion of ancient wisdom with cutting-edge AI positions HKBU to lead a new frontier in global drug discovery.

"Generative AI" is often a buzzword, but Professor Yuen provides a tangible vision for its impact. He explains that while powerful Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) like ChatGPT exist, "Directly applying these models on biomedical data and applications may not perform well."

The future, he believes, lies in specialisation. "By fine-tuning these MLLMs for specific downstream applications, together with new AI technologies, e.g. agentic AI, it may help solve some biomedical and clinical unmet needs in the near future." This could mean AI models that can interpret a complex set of medical images and patient records to suggest a diagnosis or generate molecular structures for a new drug targeting a specific mutation.

The intensive format of the Croucher Advanced Study Institutes fosters meaningful interactions during coffee breaks, lunch, and dedicated poster sessions, enabling participants to build new connections and spark potential collaborations.

Beyond the twelve lectures covering six critical topics-from computational pathology to unmet biomedical needs-the true value of the ASI's intensive format lies in its mingle sessions including coffee breaks, lunch and poster sessions. It is in these unstructured moments that he hopes participants could make new friends and trigger potential collaborations.

This focused, learning-centric environment is designed to help experts transcend their specialised niches and build the interdisciplinary understanding required for true innovation.

An event of this calibre is a strategic investment in Hong Kong's and HKBU's research reputation. "Since the event is held on the HKBU campus, it is an advantage for our colleagues," says Professor Yuen. With HKBU colleagues and students enrolled, the University is seeding a rich network for future collaboration. While the Croucher ASI is a three-day event, the connections forged are intended to be lasting, "facilitating collaborations in future" and solidifying the region's status as a central hub for AI and biomedical research.

Finally, for Professor Yuen, this is also a personal journey of discovery. "I am just working in a very small area in Biomedical AI," he reflects with humility. "I learnt a lot from the speakers and other participants at the ASI."

This underscores the very spirit of the ASI: a shared mission to learn, connect and pioneer a future where AI unlocks a new era of understanding and healing for all.