In 2005, the University celebrated the inauguration of the first 8 Endowed Professorships,
a milestone in the University's history.
To date, a total of 120 Endowed Professorships have been established.
Back
Dr Walton Wai-Tat Li

Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation Professorship in Medicine

"Chronic Hepatitis B is a major cause of liver mortality, and today it affects over 400 million people worldwide. Treatment and research go hand-in-hand, and that the boundaries of medical research must be challenged in order to develop more effective treatments for this disease. The Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation recognises the importance and excellence of those dedicated researchers of the Medical Faculty."

Dr Walton Wai-Tat Li
Chairman, Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation

Yuen Man-Fung

Yuen Man-Fung

Appointed in 2012

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease. World Health Organisation figures claim about 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with the virus and about 350 million live with chronic infection. The WHO estimates 600,000 people die each year due to the acute or chronic consequences of hepatitis B. It is estimated that about 8% of the Hong Kong population are carriers.

Professor Yuen Man-Fung, Chief of Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the Department of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong, has spent the last twenty years studying the disease and looking for cures. His main research interests include the prevention, natural history, molecular virology and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C, including treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

In his research on hepatitis B, he is one of the top world researchers who define the natural course of chronic hepatitis B, estimating the risk of development of liver cancer. He was closely involved in the development of a new assay on the measurement of the covalently closed circular (ccc) hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA assay which is at the cutting edge of HBV research. He also pioneered the use of early treatment viral HBV DNA level to predict the chance of drug resistance in the future.

He is the author of more than 250 research papers published in various international journals. He is now leading a team of more than 10 members including clinical doctors, research assistant professors, post-doctoral fellows, postgraduates, laboratory technicians and research assistants.

Professor Yuen is also serving as Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. He obtained his MBBS in 1992, MD with Sir Patrick Manson Gold Medal in 2001, and PhD in 2005. He is the editor for five international journals namely, PloS One, Internal Medicine, Hepatology International, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Hepatitis Research and Treatment. He is also serving as an editorial board member for several journals. He is a frequent invited reviewer for highly prestigious journals including The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Gut and Journal of Hepatology.

With his academic achievements, Professor Yuen has received several prestigious awards including the Outstanding Young Researcher Award in 2005 and Outstanding Researcher Award in 2010 by The University of Hong Kong. He was also the first awardee of the JGH Emerging Leader Lectureship Award in 2006 by 4 major Asia Pacific Gastroenterology and Hepatology associations, and the Winner of Young Scientist Award in 2008 by the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning - Scopus.

Professor Yuen is ranked in the upper tier (top 14%) of the top 1% scientists in clinical medicine globally by the ISI Web of Knowledge. The H-index for his publications was 44 according to Scopus.