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.
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Dr Yu Chiu-Kwong

Yu Chiu-Kwong Professorship in Medicine

"I hope the Endowed Professorship will continue to support the very high standard of research and teaching, thus nurturing young talent who will be the scientists, teachers and leaders of future generations."

Dr Yu Chiu-Kwong, on his 101st birthday

Daniel T M Chan

Daniel T M Chan

Appointed in 2012

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Internal medicine has been a core discipline in the development of clinical medicine. In the face of increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and increasing proportion of ageing population, this discipline is growing in importance and relevance. In mid 2008, the population of elderly persons aged above 65 was 12.6% or 880,000 people of the total population in Hong Kong. It is estimated that the percentage will increase to 14% and 27% in 2016 and 2033 respectively.

Professor Daniel Chan is currently Chief of Service and Chief of Nephrology Division at the University Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital. He specialises in internal medicine and nephrology. Professor Chan is an internationally renowned expert in the treatment of lupus nephritis - kidney diseases that complicate systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus nephritis is an important cause of kidney failure. It is common in Asians and often affects young individuals. Through his pioneering research, new immunosuppressive treatment regimens have been devised for this severe disease, which have high efficacy and reduced side-effects. These treatments have subsequently become standard therapy worldwide. Professor Chan's research on the management of viral hepatitis in patients on dialysis or after kidney transplantation has resulted in much improved clinical outcomes of these patients. Many of Professor Chan's research publications are regarded seminal works in the field.

In his capacity as Chief of Service at the Department of Medicine at Queen Mary Hospital, he has ensured that the clinical service to the general public and the training of young doctors are both at a high professional and ethical standard befitting a leading teaching hospital.

Professor Chan has also contributed to the field of internal medicine in his previous capacity as Programme Director for Advanced Internal Medicine training under the Hong Kong College of Physicians, and current membership of the Training Subcommittee of the Hospital Authority and the Medical Subgroup of the Steering Committee on Strategic Review on Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development of the HKSAR Government.

Professor Chan graduated from The University of Hong Kong in 1985. He trained at Queen Mary Hospital and Guy's Hospital, London, U.K., then obtained his Doctor of Medicine in 1995. He became Professor of Medicine in 1999, was promoted to Personal Chair in 2005, and received the Yu Professorship in Nephrology in 2007.

Professor Chan is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. He has previously served as President of Hong Kong Society of Transplantation, Nephrology Board Chairman of the Hong Kong College of Physicians, and President of the Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology. He currently sits on the Executive Committees of the Asian Society of Transplantation and the Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology. He is also Associate Dean of the LKS Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong.


Lai Kar-Neng

Appointed in 2007
As a major discipline the history of the Department of Medicine is inseparable from that of the Medical Faculty itself and, indeed, of The University of Hong Kong.

The study of medicine at this University therefore has enjoyed a long and illustrious history covering, as it does, a broad range of areas - from cardiology to family medicine, neurology to dermatology and molecular medicine to medical physics. Fifteen divisions make up the Department.

Professor Lai Kar-Neng, currently Chief of Service of the Hong Kong West cluster hospitals, specializes in the area of internal medicine, clinical immunology and nephrology (renal medicine). His research interests
focus on the pathophysiological mechanisms of selected diseases. He has made important new findings on the pathogenesis and treatment in IgA nephropathy, hepatitis-related nephritis, lupus nephritis, and peritorneal membrane dysfunction in peritoneal dialysis.

A graduate of this University, Professor Lai, obtained both his Doctorate degrees in Medicine and Science from HKU, in 1983 and 1995 respectively.

He was Chair Professor of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Chief of Medicine at the Prince of Wales Hospital, until 1997, before returning to his alma mater. He was a Wellcome Fellow and First Clinicial Assistant to the Regius Professor of Physic, that is Royal Professorial Clinician to the Queen, at Cambridge University, in 1989. He was also a Fellow of the Corpus Christi College during his research work in Cambridge. Professor Lai is an international advisor to the Royal College of Physicians, London and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He has published extensively, with over 430 full papers in international peer-reviewed journals and 30 book chapters to his name.

He has also served on the editorial boards of several journals including Kidney International, The American Journal of Kidney Diseases, Nephron, Hemodialysis International and Nephrology.

Professor Lai is a member of the elite Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland and has been President of the Hong Kong College of Physicians since 2004.