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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Irene, Evelyn, Angeline, Emily, Linda, Sebastian, Patricia & Viola

Dexter H C Man Family Professorship in Medical Science

"This Professorship is established in honour of our late father -- a man of integrity, a person of vision, a sower of seeds and an ardent supporter of education. He taught his family the value of compassion for those less fortunate, the importance of upholding principles of dedication and excellence, and the worthiness of fostering knowledge and research for the betterment of humankind. We hope this Professorship not only contributes to new knowledge, but also helps to put knowledge to good use, with academics and the community working together to seek solutions to improve the health of all. May our father’s remarkable example of hard work, dedication, compassion and action inspire us and help to make our world a healthier and better place to live. "

Irene, Evelyn, Angeline, Emily, Linda, Sebastian, Patricia & Viola

Appointment to be announced

Appointment to be announced


Chan Ying-Shing

Appointed in 2014

The Department of Physiology was established at The University of Hong Kong in 1913. It has since been a cornerstone of the Faculty of Medicine. With the turn of the century, the Department moved into the new medical complex on Sassoon Road. Focus on research and teaching programmes has continued on the biomedical front, contributing to fundamental and mechanistic understanding at levels spanning from molecules to man.

Professor Chan Ying-Shing, Head of the Department of Physiology at HKU, has pioneered research studies that unravel the developmental emergence of the neural circuitry for 3-dimensional spatial recognition in animal models. The work impacts on neural plasticity. He and his team have unveiled molecular mechanisms that govern experience-dependent synaptic plasticity of neural circuits within critical periods of development. Perturbation of neurotransmission during the critical period affected the development of brain maps of spatial representation with consequences on behavioural outcomes in the adult. Their findings shed light on therapeutic strategies that reactivate quiescent pathways in the adult brain. The achievement has been recognised with an Outstanding Researcher Award of HKU.

Professor Chan received training in the basic sciences and pursued postgraduate research leading to PhD in Neurophysiology at HKU. He received postdoctoral training in the Institute of Human Physiology, University of Pisa and spent sabbatical leave at The Rockefeller University, New York. At the Faculty level, he served for four years as Associate Dean (Research), five years as Associate Dean (Academic Networking & Student Affairs), Chairman of two standing committees, and Deputy-Director of Research Centre on Heart, Brain, Hormone and Healthy Aging. At the University level, he chaired eight committees and project groups. He is also currently Director of Neuroscience Research Centre, HKU.

With authorship of 150 scientific papers and 16 book chapters, Professor Chan has disseminated his findings in Keynote and Plenary lectures in international congresses and conferences. He was elected as Chair of international meetings, from Symposium to Congress. He serves as member in multiple panels and schemes of national research councils. He also serves on editorial boards of scientific journals and international programme committees of congresses. Peer recognition of Professor Chan’s leadership qualities is further reflected by election to such offices as Chair of Asia-Pacific Regional Committee of the International Brain Research Organization, and President of the Federation of Asian-Oceanian Neuroscience Societies.

Professor Chan has had a long record of devotion to education. He is recipient of the University’s Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award and the HKU Medical Faculty Teaching Medal. His career in academia has translated pursuits of scientific and academic excellence in Neurosciences to the promotion and advancement of neuroscience education, both locally and worldwide.

Professor Chan has scaled up the involvement of local biologists of tertiary institutions in raising public awareness of biological and health issues. As Chair of international associations, he has generated rapport among National Neuroscience Societies in the Asia-Pacific region in offering Schools of Neuroscience to young and upcoming neuroscientists, especially those from developing countries. These efforts culminated in the award of a First Medallion of its kind by the Australian Neuroscience Society.

Lee Sum-Ping

Appointed in 2011

The Medical Faculty of the University of Hong Kong, founded in its original form in 1887, predates the University itself. It was accorded the position of premier Faculty when HKU opened in 1912. Serving Hong Kong for more than a century, it has played a pioneering role in education and research, as a medical school of learning, innovation and enterprise, and a guardian of public health and well-being. The Faculty is now the largest in the University, with about 250 full-time teaching staff, 550 research support staff, and 3,000 students.

A MBBS graduate of HKU in 1970, Professor Lee Sum-Ping returned to the University as Dean of Medicine in 2008, bringing with him a wealth of international experience following distinguished service overseas. He received his PhD from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and MD degree from HKU in 1978 and 1980 respectively, and went on to become Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, Washington, USA. As Head of the Division of Gastroenterology he helped launch the university’s Internal Medicine Programme, which was rated first in the US for 14 consecutive years. His guidance also ensured that the university’s Medical Centre was among the top 10 in the country for patient care.

Professor Lee is the recipient of many professional awards. He was the first Asian to be given the Distinguished Achievement Award by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. The honour was granted in recognition of his sustained scientific contributions to the field of liver disease. He is well known for a prolific, lifelong output of multidisciplinary research results on hepatobiliary physiology, including the biochemistry of bile secretion, physical chemistry of biliary lipids, and cell biology of biliary epithelium, all of which correlate with clinical observations in patients suffering from biliary diseases and gallstones.

For ten years running, Professor Lee was voted on to the honour roll of the “Best Doctors in the USA”. He regards looking after the sick as his life’s calling, and refers to his career as a physician-educator-scientist as practising that “quiet art”.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians (London), a Master of the American College of Gastroenterology; a Member of the American Association of Physicians; a scientific advisor to the Council of the National Institute of Health (USA) and the Medical Research Councils of the UK, Canada, Australia and Singapore.

Professor Lee is the author or co-author of more than 170 original scientific papers and 20 reviews and editorials. He has also served as an adviser to several major international scientific journals.