Faculty Features | 梁嘉言：用论文书写自己的人生故事
Interview
三尺讲台春风化雨，门下自是桃李成辉。广东以色列理工学院拥有世界一流的教师团队，老师们全情投入，潜心钻研，成为学生们科研思维的开启者、科研道路的引路人，也因此收获学生们敬重和爱戴。广以教师系列专访将与大家分享学校的师长们在治学修身、教书育人上的真知灼见和感悟箴言，让更多人走进广以课堂，走近广以教师，了解广以的办学特色与育人理念。
近日，广以职业生涯发展中心的学生助理以职业发展为切入点，采访了来自生物技术与食品专业的梁嘉言教授。
梁嘉言
Ka-Yin Leung
生物技术与食品工程
教授
梁嘉言教授是广东以色列理工学院生物技术与食品工程专业的教授，研究方向为微生物学。他在加拿大萨斯喀彻温大学获学士和硕士学位，在圭尔夫大学获博士学位，后赴美国肯塔基大学和加拿大英属哥伦比亚大学进行博士后研究。梁嘉言教授在研究爱德华氏菌III型、爱德华氏菌VI型和嗜水气单胞菌III型的分泌系统方面颇有建树，是相关领域的领军人物。
01
新的城市，新的灵感
取得博士学位后，梁嘉言教授曾就职于一家加拿大生物技术企业, 但他不太喜欢这份工作，认为这家企业并没有运用先进的技术来设计产品。加拿大的人口相对较少，生物技术相关产业在当时并不发达。
梁教授认为，做科研是探索人类未知的领域，而在学校进行研究就像经营自己的小公司，实验室是他的办公楼，产出的“产品”是论文。在企业工作需要考虑项目是否具有市场化的潜力，聚焦某项研究能否迅速转化为产品。但在大学进行研究，只要能申请到研究经费，就可以自由地选择研究领域。
新的城市给他的研究提供了新的灵感。刚来汕头时，他同政府工作人员一同前往多个农场采样，工作人员告诉他，产业发展带动了收入提升，但废水和抗生素等化学物质污染了环境。他有感于此，认为可以运用自己的能力帮助解决当地问题，于是成立了项目组，分离纯化样品中的细菌。在此之前没有人做过同样的研究，他和团队查阅了许多不同领域的文献，设计最佳的实验方案，探究这些细菌所生活的环境。
和同侪相比，梁教授觉得自己特别幸运，每天都在做新的、有价值的事情。他认为选择生物专业的人都有一个共同点：为自然和生命的力量而震撼。他对自己的工作很有认同感，认为自己是在用论文书写自己的人生故事，希望自己的研究成果能够转化，让世界变得更好。
02
热爱科学是内在动力
他认为，热爱是自己从事科学研究的内在动力。他回忆起他的博士导师Susan， 她与她丈夫已经是非常知名的科学家，但仍十年如一日地在实验室做研究。梁教授表示，自己从他们身上学到的最重要的东西是“科研的文化”。他们总能毫无保留地分享自己的知识，拥有非常开放和包容的思维。“他们聊到自己的研究领域时，可以说上一整天。”
所以，每当遇到困难时，梁教授都会认真查阅文献，跳出固有的思维模式，或是参加研讨会与其他科研工作者一同讨论，寻找突破口，尽全力解决难题。
03
寄语学子：
努力学习，发掘潜能
梁教授认为，生物专业的学生仅学习生物相关知识是远远不够的，未来解决问题需要综合运用跨专业学科的知识。在广以，学生拿到的不仅是生物技术专业的学位，更是一个工程学学位，虽然课程难度较高，但也因此能拥有更多选择未来方向的机会。在当今时代，一路躺平是不可能的。他勉励同学们，无论在哪个行业，都需要不断地学习，而在本科阶段就打下坚实基础无疑是件好事。
全英教学可能让一些同学“水土不服”，梁教授本人也有类似经历。当年为了适应加拿大的留学生活，他选择在香港重读一年高中。他认为，既然同学们选择了广以，无论如何都要努力适应。为同学们答疑解惑是他的职责所在，有任何疑问都可以发邮件或者是去他的办公室提问。
在采访的最后，梁教授想对同学们说：希望大家努力学习，发掘自己的潜能，享受大学生活。
Interview
Teachers are like a lighthouse, enlightening all the passing generations. In Guangdong Technion – Institute of Technology, teachers devoted themselves to teaching and research, winning many students' respect and love.
We will present a series of interviews with teachers, who will share their insights on education so that more people can get close to GTIIT's classes and teachers and know about its characteristics and educational philosophy.
Recently, student assistants of Career Center interviewed professor Ka Yin Leung from Biotechnology and Food Engineering. During the interview, Prof. Leung shared his experience of career development and his views on research and encouraged students to work hard.
Ka Yin Leung
梁嘉言
Biotechnology and Food Engineering
Professor
Prof. Leung's research focuses on the study of bacterial fish diseases and their key virulent mechanisms. He is a pioneer and a leader in the discoveries and studies of type III and type VI secretion system (T3SS and T6SS) in Edwardsiella tarda, and T3SS in Aeromonas hydrophila. These two bacteria are the major causes of systemic infections in marine and freshwater fish, respectively. The studies of these two pathogens can also be used as model organisms for food- and water-borne human diseases. Prof. Leung has taught courses including microbiology and a popular course on biotechnology named Genes and Society, in Singapore, Canada, and China.
01
New City, New Inspiration
In Prof. Leung's career, after gaining his PhD, he worked in a biotechnology company in Canada, but he didn't like the job. He thought that the company he was working for at the time did not apply advanced technology to design products. This could be because Canada's population is relatively small, and biotechnology-related industries were not developed at that time.
When asked about the difference between working in a company and doing research at university, Prof. Leung made an interesting analogy: doing research at university is like running your own small company. The laboratory is his office building, he hires students to conduct research (in fact, his students in his project team call him "boss"), and the output is a paper. When working in the industry, he needs to consider whether the project has the potential to be marketable, and he should focus on whether certain research can be quickly transformed into a certain product. But to conduct research at the university, if he can get the research funding, he has the freedom to choose the research area.
He mentioned that being in a new city inspired his research. When he first arrived in Shantou, he went to several farms to take samples with government officers. The staff told him that the industries they developed had brought a lot of income, but the use of chemicals such as wastewater and antibiotics had also caused environmental pollution. Considering that maybe he can make some contributions to the local area and solve problems, he set up a project team to isolate and purify the bacteria in the samples, which has not been done before. He and his team read the literature in many different areas to devise the best experimental protocols to explore the environment in which these bacteria live.
In the horizontal comparison of occupations, Prof. Leung considers himself lucky since compared with his peers, he is doing something new and worthwhile every day. Prof. Leung believes that those who choose biology majors have one thing in common: be impressed by the power of nature and life. He loves his research and thinks that his research results are his life story. He hopes that he can also transform them and make the world a better place.
02
Endeavour to Tackle Difficulties
When encountering difficulties at work, Prof. Leung said that he would try his best to solve them. He would review the literature, think outside of the box, or join a workshop to discuss with other researchers. In his career, he has met many scientists, and their passion for science has become his inner motivation.
He recalled that his PhD supervisor, Susan, and her husband, are already well-known scientists, but they are still doing research in the lab for decades. Prof. Leung believes that the most important thing he has learned from them is “the culture of science” - they always share their knowledge without reservation. They can talk all day about their research area. They have an open and inclusive mind, and it is a great pleasure to talk to them. Promoting scientific progress is an exciting thing, and it is not about fame or fortune. When Professor Leung face difficulties in his research, he said that he would discuss with researchers from all over the world, and get inspiration for solving problems in the discussion.
03
To GTers: Study Hard and Discover Your Potential
Prof. Leung believes that in the future, solving problems requires interdisciplinary knowledge. If students think that studying biology majors is only about learning biology-related knowledge, it will not work. GTIIT’s courses are relatively difficult. Students here not only get a degree in biotechnology, but also one in engineering. Through these courses, students can have more opportunities and stronger abilities for their future direction, whether it is food engineering or biotechnology. No matter which industry you are in, you will always need to keep learning. Thus, GTIIT's undergraduate study could provide a solid foundation.
English-medium education may be a difficulty. Prof. Leung had the same experience. He went to high school in Hong Kong where courses were taught in Chinese (Cantonese). To adjust to the English teaching mode in Canada, he did his last year in high school again. He can do it, so he believes his students can, too. "Now you have chosen GTIIT, you should work hard to adapt to it no matter what." He said that it is his responsibility to answer questions for students, so if you have any questions, you can send emails or meet him in his office.
At the end of the interview, Prof. Leung gave his advice to students: read textbooks, study hard, discover their potential, and enjoy life at GTIIT.
GTIIT
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文/图：GTIIT生涯发展中心、传媒与公共事务部
视频：GTIIT生涯发展中心
Text/Photos: GTIIT Career Competencies Center, News & Public Affairs
Video: GTIIT Career Competencies Center
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