During the Young Stroke Physicians and Researchers (YSPR) session at ESOC 2024, four early career stroke physicians and researchers will present their planned or ongoing projects and receive feedback from two renowned stroke experts.
Session ID SC2 is open to all and will take place on Wednesday, 15 May, 08:30 – 10:00 CEST, in Room Singapore.
In this series of interviews, we are going to introduce the early career physicians and researchers who have been selected to present their research.
Today we introduce Bonaventure Ym Ip.
Bonaventure is a vascular and interventional neurologist currently serving as a clinical assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He works at the Prince of Wales Hospital (Hong Kong), which serves a catchment area of 1.8 million people in its thrombectomy network.
The title of his presentation is Glucagon-like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonist In Acute Large VesseL Occlusion Stroke Treated By RePerfusion Therapies – A Pilot Study (GALLOP).
Can you tell us something about yourself?
I am interested in neuroprotection in large-vessel-occlusion (LVO) stroke, advanced image analysis in LVO and stroke treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation on oral anticoagulation. I have two lovely cats and I love reading, cooking and music.
How did you get involved in stroke research? Why did you choose this topic?
I was first involved in cerebrovascular researches led by my mentors Professors Thomas Leung, Vincent Mok, Lawrence Wong, and Dr Yannie Soo. The immersion in their patient-centric researches fueled my passion in scientific discoveries and patient care. My colleagues in the Prince of Wales Hospital are also very supportive of researches.
I started to explore neuroprotective agents for LVO patients after a midnight thrombectomy. The patient improved dramatically after the procedure but developed reperfusion syndrome with malignant cerebral edema and passed away shortly despite aggressive resuscitation. I hope to find a neuroprotective agent that could alleviate blood-brain barrier dysfunction during acute LVO in the periprocedural period. Inspired by Professor Ho Ko from our institute who demonstrated the reversal of blood-brain barrier leakage with relevant transcriptomic changes in aged mice after GLP1-RA treatment, we thought it could be useful in LVO patients. We anticipate enthusiastically the final results of our pilot study.
What have been the most difficult challenges regarding your research career so far?
I was first involved in cerebrovascular researches led by my mentors Professors Thomas Leung, Vincent Mok, Lawrence Wong, and Dr Yannie Soo. The immersion in their patient-centric researches fueled my passion in scientific discoveries and patient care. My colleagues in the Prince of Wales Hospital are also very supportive of researches.
I started to explore neuroprotective agents for LVO patients after a midnight thrombectomy. The patient improved dramatically after the procedure but developed reperfusion syndrome with malignant cerebral edema and passed away shortly despite aggressive resuscitation. I hope to find a neuroprotective agent that could alleviate blood-brain barrier dysfunction during acute LVO in the periprocedural period. Inspired by Professor Ho Ko from our institute who demonstrated the reversal of blood-brain barrier leakage with relevant transcriptomic changes in aged mice after GLP1-RA treatment, we thought it could be useful in LVO patients. We anticipate enthusiastically the final results of our pilot study.
4. How did you get involved in stroke research? / Why did you choose this topic?
5. What have been the most difficult challenges regarding your research career so far?
Building a research network within and among hospitals can enhance patient recruitment and yield fruitful discussions to shape study design, scientific merit and new ideas. It is at the same time challenging given the immense clinical and research duties we all shoulder. A close collaboration is also built heavily on mutual trust and respect, this is especially true for investigator-initiated studies. Therefore, I would like to take the chance to thank my friends in the Linyi People’s Hospital, especially Professor Fengyuan Che and Dr Hao Wang, for their trust and participation in the GALLOP study.
How do you balance work life and free time/home life?
I play music at dawn.
What do you think a mentor should do to support the projects and the career of a mentee and, conversely, what should a mentee expect from a mentor?
A mentor should ensure academic freedom, while simultaneously guide the scientific quality, funding acquisition and necessary collaboration opportunities for the mentee’s projects. Also, early career researchers could be overwhelmed by the amount of work and rejections. Psychological support is therefore an indispensable part of mentorship. I am extremely grateful that my mentors have supported me in this way all along. A mentee should expect guidance from a mentor, not direct solutions.
