Career Talk

Professor Albert Yu is a renowned neuroscientist and bio-entrepreneur who has devoted over two decades in neuroscience and infectious disease research and had significant contributions to molecular neurobiology and molecular diagnosis. Professor Yu is the Vice-Director of the Neuroscience Research Institute, ..... READ MOREProfessor of the Department of Neurobiology and also a Professor at the Infectious Disease Center at Peking University. He is also the Chairman & CEO of Hai Kang Life Corporation Limited (HKLife), a Hong Kong-based biotechnology company with operations in Hong Kong and Beijing and is specialized in the R&D and commercialization of clinical and veterinary molecular diagnostics, as well as various cutting-edge food testing technologies and their optimization into user-friendly, cost-effective mobile field units (MFUs). HKLife’s core technology, EFADchip, has been recognized as a globally leading technology which will overcome bottlenecks in existing lab-on-a-chip technologies and is expected to revolutionize modern clinical diagnosis. The technology has been awarded the prestigious 2009 Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan Product Differentiation Excellence Award for In-Vitro Diagnostics.

Under the leadership of Prof. Albert Yu, HKLife has also been fast and accurate in responding to global infectious disease outbreaks such as avian influenza, SARS, and the recent H1N1 influenza outbreak. The technology in avian influenza diagnosis has been awarded the 2004 Hong Kong Award for Industry – Technological Achievement, was recognized as Chinese National Standards, and is being recommended by FAO/OIE in its Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals. It is the first and only product being approved by the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (JMAFF). In recognition of his expertise, Prof. Yu has been invited by various industrial and academic organizations (e.g. WHO, US Air Force) to introduce the technological advances introduced by HKLife.

Prof. Yu received his BSc, MSc and PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada and spent subsequent years in the Canada, United States, Hong Kong, and China. Prof. Yu’s broad cross-cultural experience base and active involvement in both the academic and business environment has led to the strategic vision behind the success of the HKLife team. Also, with a global network and an expanding base of established contacts in China, Prof. Yu has been an important facilitator of dialogue regarding the development of biotechnology in Asia. Over his professional and entrepreneurial career, Prof. Yu has published several books and over 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles and conference papers. He is also the co-inventor of numerous technologies with patents granted in major countries.

Professor Benjamin Cowling joined the School of Public Health (SPH) at HKU in 2004. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, he graduated with a PhD in medical statistics at the University of Warwick (UK) in 2003, and spent a year as a postdoc at Imperial College London (UK). ..... READ MOREProfessor Cowling has been the Head of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 2013. He is responsible for teaching the introductory module in epidemiology on the MPH curriculum, and is the chairman of the Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee. Prof Cowling is a co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control at HKU SPH.

Prof Cowling’s primary research focus is in infectious disease epidemiology. In recent years he has designed and implemented large field studies of influenza transmission in the community and the effectiveness and impact of control measures. His latest research has focused on the modes of respiratory virus transmission, influenza vaccination effectiveness, and immunity to infections at the individual and population level. He has strong links with China CDC, and the NIGMS-funded Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics.

Professor Cowling is a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, and an Associate Editor of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

He has more than 500 publications listed in Scopus, including 66 articles with 66 or more citations (H-index of 66). Prof Cowling has received numerous awards including HKU Outstanding Young Researcher Award (2011), Croucher Senior Research Fellowship (2015), HKU Outstanding Researcher Award (2017), and RGC Senior Research Fellowship (2020). He was awarded an MBE in Queen Elizabeth II's 2021 birthday honours.