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Partnering for Better Health

02 September 2026

From improving health outcomes and advancing clinical sciences to exploring new technologies and deepening understanding of complex societal issues, King’s is partnering with institutions across Asia to help researchers address pressing global challenges. Backed by dedicated funding schemes, these collaborations enable colleagues to develop new ideas, connect expertise across borders and translate knowledge into real-world solutions.

The three partnerships highlighted here focus on health research, reflecting King’s and the region’s shared commitment to advancing knowledge in this field.

Partnership is a core value at King's, and these research partnerships exemplify our commitment to working with leading institutions to address global health challenges and deliver meaningful impact. Bringing together different expertise in pursuit of a shared purpose is at the heart of what universities do, and we are leveraging complementary institutional strengths that transcend geographical boundaries.– Professor Graham Lord, Senior Vice-President (Health & Life Sciences)

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) - Clinical Sciences

The partnership between HKU (#11 in 2027 QS ranking) and King’s started in 2011 with a joint PhD award, with a total of 34 students supported to date. King’s current focus is to expand its partnerships throughout the Greater Bay Area, with the immediate goal is to identify and grow research opportunities in clinical sciences.

Graham Lord & CS Lau - HKU — Professor Lau Chak Sing, Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong and Professor Graham Lord, Senior Vice-President (Health & Life Sciences) at King's College London

Following a visit to Hong Kong at the end of the May, the universities agreed to co-fund a Catalyst Fund to support joint projects in cancer, infection/sepsis, critical care/nursing, and oral health. Applications including AI, poly-omics, data science/informatics, biomedical engineering, and links to clinical trials are encouraged.

The Catalyst Fund year one application call recently opened on 10 August (call closes 30 September 2026). Staff from FoLSM, NMPC and FoDOCs are eligible to apply.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) – Life & Natural Sciences and Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences

NTU (#12 in 2027 QS ranking) and King’s started their research partnership in 2024. This partnership recognises Singapore’s renowned reputation for outstanding academic scholarship and investment in global research partnership. The goal of this partnership is to identify and grow research opportunities in Life & Natural Sciences and Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences.

The seed funding was established to support a range of topics. In Life & Natural Sciences, there were three broad topics – net zero, quantum sciences & technologies, and biophysical approaches & structural biology. In Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, supported areas are digital humanities and international relations. Applications were received from FoLSM, FoDOCS and NMES.

Professor Jeremy Carlton from Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine partners with Associate Professor Guillaume Thibault from NTU on a funded project in this partnership.

‘We’re thrilled that our project 'The Mechanobiology of Membranes and Organelles’ was supported by the King’s/NTU team. We want to explore how the composition and properties of cellular membranes influence how cells function. We also want to explore how physical stresses can change these membranes, which in turn, may affect cell behaviour. This grant allows researchers at NTU and King's to combine their expertise across biology, physics and membrane sciences. We’re looking forward to discussions and building new grants together at this interface.” – Professor Jeremy Carlton

Peking University – Health Science

The partnership between Peking University (#13 in 2027 QS ranking) Health Science Centre and King’s started in 2015 with the establishment of the King’s-PKUHSC Joint Research Institute. One of the longest running King’s partnerships with a Chinese institution, it has led to four funding calls totalling in 16 successful applicants and over £2 million in further external funding. The Memorandum of Agreement between the two universities were renewed in 2024 to provide seed funding every 24 months to support health science projects.

One of the recipients of the seed fundings is Professor Rebecca Oakey, Professor of Epigenetics from the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, who is collaborating with Hua Wang, PhD, a group leader at Peking University International Cancer Center.

“We are interested in understanding how epigenetic mechanisms, cellular processes controlling gene activity and expression, affect the way rare neuroendocrine tumours metastasise. It was clear from the beginning that the non-overlapping expertise in our groups made a perfect partnership for advancing the understanding of these tumours."– Professor Rebecca Oakey

Professor Oakey added, "The seed funding soon escalated into framing new research questions, sharing data and embarking on future funding opportunities. We submitted a Royal Society Mobility Grant so our early career trainees can travel to each other's university and discover how similar or different our labs and home cities are.

"Our next steps will use shared preliminary data to seek further funding and utilize our respective skills to tackle a rare cancer and inform on more common cancers. Identifying the right partner is key, PKU and King's together are stellar research environments to form meaningful alliances and train the future research workforce”