Professor Michael Ni Yuxuan, Clinical Associate Professor of the School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, and his team have won the Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award in 2024 for the project titled "A Health and Wellbeing Barometer for Hong Kong: Translational Impact Attained over a Decade and Counting". The team comprises of Dr Candi Leung, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr Phyllis Lun, Doctor of Philosophy graduate, Ms Cynthia Yau, Research Officer, Dr Corine Wong, Research Assistant Professor, Dr Ke Ning, Research Officer, Mr Solomon Wong, Technical Manager, Mr Francis Flores, Senior Technical Officer, Mr Hoi Wa Wong, IT Manager, and Miss Tiffany Ma, Doctor of Philosophy student, from the School of Public Health.
Through the FAMILY Cohort, the team has documented the changes in physical, mental and social wellbeing in Hong Kong since 2009, which helped in policymaking, health services planning and interventions locally, nationally, and internationally. The data also assisted in the establishment of District Health Centres, a new mode of primary care introduced in all 18 districts. Furthermore, their work showing how Hong Kong became the world's longest-living population provided support for legislation of tobacco control policies. The team also conducted real-time monitoring of wellbeing during population shocks, which informed policies, mobilised resources, and enhanced support and care.
The Faculty KE Award was established in 2011 to encourage Faculty members to share the fruits of their research and teaching with the wider community. This annual award accords recognition to Faculty members who have made distinguished KE achievements and promotes knowledge exchange between the Faculty and community members, businesses, industries and partner organisations for the benefit of the society.
Professor Ian Wong Chi-kei, Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), and his team have won the Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award in 2023 for the project titled “Big-data pharmacovigilance of COVID-19 vaccines shapes public health policies”. The team members include Professor Esther Chan Wai-yin, Professor from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy; Dr Carlos Wong King-ho and Dr Eric Wan Yuk-fai, Assistant Professors from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy and the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine; Dr Shirley Li Xue, Assistant Professor from the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy; Dr Celine Chui Sze-ling, Assistant Professor from the School of Nursing and the School of Public Health; Dr Francisco Lai Tsz-tsun, Research Assistant Professor, and Miss Nicole Fung, Assistant Project Manager from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy.
The team identified rare potential adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, which prompted the HKSAR Government to adapt its vaccination programme in response and the manufacturer to amend its product information. The team were among the first in the world to analyse Bell's palsy and carditis following vaccination. The partnership between the team and the Government significantly enhanced public trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. The project has also established a long-lasting impact on pharmacovigilance in Hong Kong and demonstrated the untapped power of Hospital Authority and Department of Health (DH) databases. The team engaged effectively by directly reporting their findings to DH, holding press conferences to send reassurance to the public, and offering training courses for public health policy-makers. Based on this COVID-19 Vaccines Adverse Events Response and Evaluation programme, the Drug Office of DH is developing a new system in pharmacovigilance and will continue to work with the team to create the next generation pharmacovigilance system.
The Faculty KE Award was established in 2011 to encourage Faculty members to share the fruits of their research and teaching with the wider community. This annual award accords recognition to Faculty members who have made distinguished KE achievements and promotes knowledge exchange between the Faculty and community members, businesses, industries and partner organisations for the benefit of the society.
Dr Wang Man-ping, Associate Professor of the School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), and his team have won the Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award in 2022. On the team were: Professor Lam Tai-hing, Emeritus Professor and Dr Daniel Ho Sai-yin, Associate Professor from the School of Public Health; Dr Derek Cheung Yee-tak, Assistant Professor, Dr Kevin Luk Tzu-tsun, Research Assistant Professor and Dr Socrates Wu Yongda, Postdoctoral Fellow from the School of Nursing.
The team’s project, “Saving Our Next Generation from Tobacco and Nicotine Addiction”, has provided significant empirical evidence to support the HKSAR Government’s amendments to the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance for a total ban of alternative tobacco products (ATPs), which were passed by the Legislative Council on 21 October 2021. The amended legislation came into effect on 30 April 2022, marking a significant milestone for the advancement of public health in Hong Kong. The team has been working closely with the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) to push for the total ban of ATPs by boosting public awareness and support through a multi-pronged media campaign. Health information was disseminated through press briefings and conferences, health hazards of smoking and ATPs explained on TV programmes, radio and newspaper interviews, as well as online platforms to maximise public exposure.
The team’s evidence on ATPs epidemiology and hazards have also produced influence beyond Hong Kong. Their research findings have been cited by World Health Organization’s seventh and eighth reports on the scientific basis of tobacco product regulation and the US National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine report on public health consequences of e-cigarettes. Overseas tobacco control agencies, including one of the most famous organisations in the United States, Tobacco-Free Kids, have also cited the HKUMed team’s evidence on the harmful effects of ATPs.
The Faculty KE Award was established in 2011 with the aim to encourage Faculty members to share the fruits of their research and teaching with the wider community. This annual award accords recognition to Faculty members who have made distinguished KE achievements and promotes knowledge exchange between the Faculty and community members, businesses, industries and partner organisations for the benefit of the society.
Dr Kris Lok Yuet-wan, Assistant Professor of the School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has won the Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award in 2021 for her project, “Baby-Friendly Community Initiative Program – Development of a new breastfeeding GPS app”. Under the three-year Baby-Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) programme, the research team led by Dr Lok has reached out to 2,000 mothers and 2,000 staff and management in public venues to collect feedback and suggestions about breastfeeding in public venues. This knowledge was subsequently shared with Government working groups and professional bodies, which in turn provided guidance for business and strategic planning on breastfeeding promotion. Such efforts included providing educational tips on breastfeeding via Facebook and Instagram pages, and organizing breastfeeding workshops for mothers. The research team also raised public awareness of and promoted the breastfeeding mobile app by giving interviews to the local media. In addition, training workshops for shopping mall staff were offered to help enhancing their knowledge of and attitude towards breastfeeding.
The Faculty KE Award was established in 2011 with the aim to encourage Faculty members to share the fruits of their research and teaching with the wider community. This annual award accords recognition to Faculty members who have made distinguished KE achievements and promotes knowledge exchange between the Faculty and community members, businesses, industries and partner organisations for the benefit of the society.
Professor Keiji Fukuda, Director and Clinical Professor of the School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), and his team won the Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award in 2020. On the team were: Ms Bernadette Tsui, Associate Vice-President (Development & Alumni Affairs) of Development and Alumni Affairs Office, Professor Chan Yuen-Ying, Honorary Professor of Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative, and Mr Laurence Tang Yat-long, Project Manager (HKU Fight COVID-19 website) of Development and Alumni Affairs Office.
The impact of the team’s project, “Combating COVID-19 through Knowledge Exchange”, has been evidenced by the HKSAR Government and professional bodies drawing on the research from the team and expert advice to guide their pandemic policy formation and interventions. The team helped influencing individuals’ risk perception, discerning rumours, raising public awareness and in turn shaping the evolution of the outbreak through different ways, including sharing knowledge in seminars, webinars and private consultations, press conferences, press releases and media interviews, organising KE workshops and webinars, and active KE online communications (websites, live dialogues, videos, Q&As), etc.. The timely public awareness campaign helped the general public acquire necessary knowledge about the coronavirus, and contributed to the high level of public awareness and compliance with public health measures in Hong Kong. Preventive measures were enforced spontaneously based on social norms with local or personal context considered. This bottom-up approach played a major role in Hong Kong’s success in keeping the number of infected cases low.
The Faculty KE Award was established in 2011 with the aim to encourage Faculty members to share the fruits of their research and teaching with the wider community. This annual award accords recognition to Faculty members who have made distinguished KE achievements and promotes knowledge exchange between the Faculty and community members, businesses, industries and partner organisations for the benefit of the society.