Starting her professional trajectory at HKBU as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2015, Dr. Yu Yuanyuan progressed to Research Assistant Professor in 2019 and subsequently assumed the role of Assistant Professor in 2022. Specialising in therapeutic aptamers against various diseases, her research spans target elucidation, disease mechanism understanding and drug discovery.

As a young and enthusiastic scholar, Dr. Yu has made significant contribution to the discovery of Apc001 – an aptamer drug designed to treat osteoporosis and osteogenesis imperfecta without any cardiovascular risks. It has garnered the Rare Paediatric Disease Designation and Orphan Drug Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), making it the first aptamer drug in China to achieve such recognition. Currently, Apc001 is preparing for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application before going to clinical trial.

This work has far-reaching potential even for the planned 2030 lunar exploration. It offers innovative strategies for preventing microgravity-induced bone loss for astronauts, overcoming the high cardiovascular risk associated with the conventional treatment with sclerostin antibody.