As of October 2021, the Hospital had led over 227 scientific and technological planning programs with R&D funds of over RMB 110 million. These included 35 programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), two special programs for international cooperation of the NSFC, and two sub-projects of a national key research program. The research quality and output have been improving steadily with 1,324 papers published by either the lead author or corresponding author from the Hospital. Among these, 576 were included in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), 60 had Impact Factor (IF) >10, and 348 were published in core journals. 46 invention patent applications were filed and nine were granted, with three filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). 68 utility model patents were applied for and 47 were granted. The patent "Mobile Blood Bank and Closed-Loop Data Management System" won the second prize of the Innovation and Invention Award of the Chinese Nursing Association. Three patents were successfully transferred. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HKU-SZH has made numerous achievements in the research of the novel coronavirus, including its origin, transmission, early detection, early diagnosis, risk stratification, treatment strategies, drug R&D, and infection control inside and outside the Hospital. 37 papers were published in Lancet, NEJM, Nature, Cell, and other journals by either the lead author or corresponding author from the Hospital, with the total impact factor exceeding 360. In view of the outstanding contribution to COVID-19 prevention and control, HKU-SZH was awarded the first prize of the Shenzhen Science and Technology Progress Award in the social welfare category for its "Application of Clinical Microbiology and Imaging in the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 infections" in 2021.