The Faculty of Innovation Engineering at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) held the second consultancy committee meeting for its Respiratory Disease AI Laboratory in Epidemic Intelligence and Applications of Medical Big Data Instruments on its Cotai campus in Taipa yesterday.
Eight newly appointed committee members, consisting of international experts from regions including France alongside leading Chinese mainland institutions, aim to build an internationalised research team to guide the laboratory’s scientific direction and platform development, Dr. Zhong Nanshan*, who chairs the committee, announced during the meeting, which was open to the media.
Meanwhile, a signing ceremony for the “Trusted Research Environment Multi-Location Algorithm Collaboration (TREMAC) of the China-Portugal Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Public Health Issues” also took place during yesterday’s meeting. It was announced that the MUST laboratory has signed cooperation agreements under the TREMAC framework with China Telecom, Zhongshan Dongfeng People’s Hospital, Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, and Zhongshan Huangpu People’s Hospital.
According to a MUST statement, the TREMAC platform is a facility independently developed by the MUST laboratory team. Its core target is to achieve “immobile data, collaborative algorithms, and trustworthy scientific research”, specifically designed to resolve data security dilemmas faced in cross-institutional, cross-regional, and cross-border scientific research collaborations.
Relying on the TREMAC platform, the partner entities will cooperate under the strict premise of ensuring data security and personal privacy. The platform focuses on the secure utilisation of medical and public health data, AI model synergy and collaboration, infectious disease monitoring and early warning systems, as well as the translation and commercialisation of scientific research outcomes.
Zhong told reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting that Macau’s positioning acts as a vital bridge connecting the Chinese mainland with international research. He noted that the laboratory’s core strategic objective is to establish research facilities linked directly with the Chinese mainland, adding that the development plan will adhere strictly to an application-driven and innovation-focused research and development pathway.
Under rigorous privacy safeguards, the project aims to open channels for data interoperability, expand data utilisation capacity, and prevent data infringement risks, Zhong said.
* Zhong Nanshan, 89, is a distinguished Chinese pulmonologist, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and one of China’s most prominent public health experts. He is widely recognised for his decisive leadership during national and global public health crises, particularly the 2002–2003 SARS outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic. – Gemini
Dr Zhong Nanshan (front row, fifth from right), committee chair of the Respiratory Disease AI Laboratory in Epidemic Intelligence and Applications of Medical Big Data Instruments, Faculty of Innovation Engineering, Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) and other attendees pose for a group photo during the second consultancy committee meeting on MUST campus in Cotai yesterday. – Photo: Ida Cheong
