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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Professor C P Lau, Professor Rosie Young, Dr Edmond Chiu

Sir David Todd Professorship in Medicine

The Sir David Todd Professorship in Medicine was established through donations from friends and colleagues of Professor Sir David Todd, and with the generous support of the Sun Chieh Yeh Heart Foundation and Professor CP Lau, in honour of Sir David.

"The Sun Chieh Yeh Heart Foundation, which was established in September 2000, is pleased to indicate our strong support of the Department of Medicine at HKU by joining the colleagues and friends of Sir David Todd in establishing the Sir David Todd Professorship in Medicine. It is our wish that the Endowed Professor be a Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine who contributes significantly to teaching and research in the field of internal medicine, especially in the area of cardiology."

Professor C P Lau
Professor Rosie Young
Dr Edmond Chiu
Trustees, Sun Chieh Yeh Heart Foundation

Kathryn C B Tan

Kathryn C B Tan

Appointed in 2014

Diabetes is known as the silent pandemic as it has reached epidemic levels globally over the past two decades without the mass media coverage normally associated with a disease on this scale. In Asia, type 2 diabetes has now reached an epidemic level, with China and India being the two countries with the largest number of people with diabetes in the region. Based on the current rising trend, it has been estimated that over 60% of the world's population of people with diabetes will be in Asia, and diabetes and its complications will impose significant burdens of ill health, economic costs and mortality on the society.

Professor Kathryn Tan is Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong. The main focus of her research in recent years has been on diabetes and vascular disease, in particular the pathogenesis of vascular complications in diabetes. She has been investigating both the micro- and macrovascular complications.

Along with her research team, Professor Tan is now looking for potential protective and regenerative factors to be used as treatment that she hopes will lead to more effective preventive measures as well as treatment of diabetic vascular complications. Her other main interest is in the pathophysiological role of post-translational modification derived products, such as advanced glycation end products, in the aging process and in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and diabetic vascular complications. Her strength is in translational research and she is developing the use of these post-translational modification derived products as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. She is amongst the top 1% most cited scholars worldwide (ESI).

Professor Tan graduated from the University of Wales College of Medicine with distinctions and was awarded a number of prizes including the Cardiff Medical Society Prize. She joined the Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong in 1994 after completing her MD and postgraduate training in endocrinology at the University College Hospital, London. Her long-term research interest is mainly in the field of lipidology and vascular biology, and she has developed and established lipoprotein research at the Department of Medicine.

As an endocrinologist, Professor Tan has made significant contributions to the field of endocrinology and diabetes in the region. At the Queen Mary Hospital, she is the Deputy Director of the Diabetes Centre, Director of the Osteoporosis Centre and Deputy Chief of Service of the Department of Medicine. She has held office in many professional bodies and was Past President of the Hong Kong Society of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Reproduction and Past Chairman of its Diabetes Division. She was a founding executive board member of the Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes, a council member of the Asian Pacific Society of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Disease, and a member of the WHO Expert Committee on Obesity in Asians.

Professor Tan is serving as an associate editor and editorial board member of several international journals in diabetes and obesity, including the Journal of Diabetes Investigation, The Open Diabetes Journal, World Journal of Diabetes, Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, and Clinical Obesity. She has also participated extensively in major international meetings as speaker or organising faculty. Through these contributions, she has made her mark in promoting the professional standard of endocrine practice and diabetes care nationally and internationally.