The Centre for Genomic Sciences was established by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) to provide leadership in genome research by developing expertise and infrastructure for studies in genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics. The Centre participates in local and international projects, and supports the Departments of Microbiology and Zoology in identifying and sequencing the agent of the 2003 SARS outbreak.
Professor Sham Pak-Chung is the Chair Professor of Psychiatric Genomics and the Director of the Centre for Genomic Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU. Professor Sham is working with scientists at the Centre to develop methodologies for studying the role of genetic variations in disease, and to identify genetic loci that contribute to Mendelian and complex disorders. He is at the forefront of research in the field of genomics and has made major substantive discoveries that have led to new insights and understanding of human diseases.
With over 20 years of research experience focusing on the genetics and genomics of human diseases, Professor Sham has made important innovations to family and twin studies, genome-wide linkage scans, candidate gene and genome-wide association studies, and whole-exome sequencing studies. PLINK, a computer programme he co-developed with former students, has become a standard tool for genome-wide association studies, receiving over 7,000 citations since its release in 2007. Using these and other methods, he has made major scientific discoveries including novel genes and genetic variants for Hirschsprung disease, bone mineral density, degenerative disc disease, systemic lupus erythematosis, cardiovascular disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, spinocerebellar ataxia, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
Professor Sham studied natural sciences and medicine at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, respectively, and trained in Psychiatry at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, UK. After three years of research training as a Wellcome Trust Fellow, he was appointed Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry at Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, UK. In 2000 he was appointed Professor of Psychiatric & Statistical Genetics at King’s College London, and received a PhD in Genetics from Cambridge University. In 2004 he visited HKU under the Distinguished Visiting Professorship Scheme. And from 2007 to 2012 he served as Head of Psychiatry at HKU. Professor Sham is also the Co-Director of the State Key Laboratory in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU.
He is well known in the fields of genetics and genomics. His monograph “Statistics in Human Genetics” remains a popular introduction for post-graduate students almost 20 years after publication. He has a strong international network of collaborators, having served as Academic Director for the regular International Workshops for Statistical Methodology for Human Genomic Studies held annually in Colorado, US. He has participated in major international projects such as the International HapMap Project, and the European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI), as well as major international genomics consortia such as the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. He serves on the editorial boards of high-impact peer-reviewed journals, and the advisory boards of leading research centres such as the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics at Cardiff University and Bio-X Institutes at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.