What will I learn?

Translational Neuroscience and Rehabilitation: Cognitive-affective Systems

The TNS:CAS research group under the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences looks at the function of cognitive and affective neural systems, and the influences and implications of external and internal environments on typical human development and the rehabilitation of people with special needs. Researchers in this group have diverse expertise and academic backgrounds, ranging from neuroscientists using human and animal models in their research to clinical scientists working with patients with various disabilities.

Research topics include:

how cognitive-affective systems process information at the cellular and system level,
how lifespan development, pathology and the external environment (physical, psychosocial, pollution) impact on the structure and function of neural systems,
how intervention and clinical practice can enhance untapped neural function, or combat pathological change and degeneration of neural systems.

This research engages multidisciplinary expertise such as biomedical engineering, computer science, computational science, design and engineering, electrophysiology, mathematics and statistics, magnetic resonance physics, and physiology. The state-of-the-art equipment deployed by our researchers are mainly housed in different laboratories in the department and the University Research Facility in Behavioural and Systems Neuroscience (UBSN). The works published by our researchers appear in prestigious scientific journals such as Cerebral Cortex, Nature Communications, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron and PNAS. Researchers in this group are active in seeking external major research grants to support their work, for example from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (General Research Fund, Collaborative Research Fund and Research Impact Fund), the Health and Medical Research Fund, the Innovation and Technology Fund of Hong Kong, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Which department am I in?

Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

Study options

Full Time (3 Years)

Tuition fees

HK$84,200.00 (9,13,668) per year

Annual tuition fee: HK $42,100 (UGC-funded students); HK $84,200 (Non-UGC-funded students)

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please

Start date

September 2025

Venue

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

ST305, 3/F, Ng Wing Hong Building,

Hung Hom,

Kowloon City, Hong Kong, Kowloon

Entry requirements

For international students

3-year full-time PhD programme

Normally hold an MPhil or equivalent (a research postgraduate degree with a dissertation as an award requirement) conferred by a recognised university.

4-year full-time PhD programme

Normally hold:

A Master鈥檚 degree; OR
A Bachelor鈥檚 degree with First Class Honours (or equivalent qualification), conferred by a recognised university.

PolyU may accept other equivalent qualifications. The decision is made on an individual basis.

English Language Requirements

The requirements for those who do not have a degree for which English was the language of instruction at a recognized university are:

An overall score of at least 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS); OR

A Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 80 or above for the Internet-based test or 550 or above for the paper-based test.

All English language test scores are considered valid for two years after the date of the test.

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.