Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty aspires to be a global leader in teaching and learning, research and discovery, clinical service and knowledge exchange in the professional domains of medicine, nursing, public health, pharmacy, Chinese medicine and in the biomedical and social sciences that underpin these professions. At the same time, we aim to nurture outstanding students who would go on to serve the people locally, nationally and around the world, thus leading to sustainable social development through better health.
The Faculty endeavours to:
- provide quality, student-centred learning opportunities that develop the intellectual and personal attributes of students to the fullest possible extent, thus enabling them to become competent practitioners and lifelong learners with professionalism, integrity and leadership qualities;
- engage in innovative and impactful research at the frontiers of knowledge, from the cellular to the population levels and with a particular emphasis on translational science;
- deliver superlative clinical service and provide robust clinical governance in all settings that we serve;
- partner with all relevant professional groups, government, civil society organisations and the public at large to protect and promote health and to enhance the provision of health care; and
- become a national, regional and global hub of excellence in the core functions of teaching and learning, research and discovery, clinical service and knowledge exchange.
Introduction of the Faculty
HKUMed is the oldest institution of higher education in Hong Kong and is well-known as a pioneer in medical education, training and research, while proudly upholding a reputation for morality, vision and care.
We have continually set the benchmark for excellence in Asia. We were ranked in 19th place worldwide in the category "Clinical and Health Subject" in the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. There are approximately 3,300 undergraduate students taking our seven full-time undergraduate programmes. We also count about 2,100 postgraduate students in our student body.
Teaching is conducted by more than 450 full-time, highly-qualified teaching staff from our 6 schools and department, alongside about 3,000 honorary teachers, most of whom are doctors and medical professionals in public hospitals or private practitioners.
As the largest faculty within HKU, we have 1,500 research and research-related personnel. In terms of our exceptional research output, 24 of our academics were named as “Highly Cited Researchers” by Clarivate Analytics in 2022, a record high for the Faculty.
The excellence of the education we provide is evident in our graduates, who have gone on to be leaders in their fields, both in Hong Kong and globally.
Schools & Departments
School of Biomedical Sciences
The School of Biomedical Sciences seeks fundamental insights into the ways living systems function at the molecular and cellular levels, and use multidisciplinary approaches to apply these insights in a biomedical context.
School of Chinese Medicine
The School of Chinese Medicine strives to deliver quality Chinese Medicine education, research and clinical services by incorporating Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with the latest biomedical science knowledge.
School of Clinical Medicine
The School of Clinical Medicine brings together our diverse range of clinical specialties under one roof to enhance competencies and advance clinical and biomedical research for the benefit of our patients and community health. The specialities under the School's auspices include the Departments of Anaesthesiology, Clinical Oncology, Diagnostic Radiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine & Primary Care, Medicine, Microbiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Pathology, Psychiatry, Surgery and the recently established Critical Care Medicine Unit.
School of Nursing
The School of Nursing was established in 1995 and has rapidly gained a reputation for excellence in teaching, research and clinical practice. Our School has a strong mission to educate nursing leaders for the community, and it is our goal to provide a diversified and holistic nursing education that will prepare our graduates to become leaders of the nursing profession.
School of Public Health
The School of Public Health is committed to protecting and improving health for all people, through the synthesis of state-of-the-science research, the dissemination of knowledge in education and training, and the application of the public health sciences. Its mission is to excel in educating future leaders of public health and engaging in impactful original research to protect and promote population health.
Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy
The Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy is involved in teaching the fundamental principles in pharmacology and relevant knowledge pertaining to drugs to medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy students. It is also committed to serve the community partly by research into drug actions of relevance to the local population, as well as by providing consultation when its expertise is sought. The Division of Pharmacy is dedicated to provide education to foster the future leaders in Pharmacy through teaching and research.
Our People
MBChB (Dundee), MRCP (UK), MD (Honours) (Dundee)
FHKCP, FHKAM (Medicine), FRCP (Edinburgh), FRCP (Glasgow), FRCP (London)
Daniel CK Yu Professor in Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
Chair Professor of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
Immediate Past President, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine
Chak-sing Lau is known as a pioneer for establishing and advancing rheumatology in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond. He is the Dean of Medicine and Chair and Daniel CK Yu Professor in Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed).
CS Lau was Chairperson of the Department of Medicine and Chairman (2019 – 2022) of the Board of HKUMed. He was also the Chief of Service (2018 – 2022) in the Department of Medicine at Queen Mary Hospital. He presided over the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (2016 – 2020), a statutory body for medical and dental specialist training in Hong Kong which is also a key advisory body to the HKSAR Government on health-related policies. Today, he sits on numerous strategic committees/working groups of the Health Bureau, Hospital Authority and Department of Health.
Like a true visionary, he rose to the challenge upon realising that he was one of only two clinical academics in the field of rheumatology in the public sector of Hong Kong on his return to the city in 1992. He took it upon himself to remedy the situation and in so doing he put the University and the city on the world map by building a thriving community of rheumatologists to populate our hospitals and community as well as weaving an extensive collaborative network of researchers from all around the world.
CS Lau set up the Hong Kong Arthritis & Rheumatism Foundation in 2001, the first and only local charity organisation that raises funds to support the psychosocial and therapeutic needs of patients with rheumatic diseases. He co-founded both the Asian Congress on Autoimmunity, Huaxia Congress on Diagnosis and Management of Rheumatic Diseases, and Ten Topics in Rheumatology in Asia; and in 2011 the Asia Pacific Lupus Collaboration – a multi-national, multi-centre research collaboration. He spearheaded the development of the Region’s first treatment recommendations for rheumatoid arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis and took on the helms of the Asia Pacific League of Rheumatology Associations (APLAR) between 2006 and 2008. In recognition of his stellar achievements in the field of rheumatology, his Division was awarded the prestigious APLAR Centre of Excellence for Research, Training and Education and Patient Care in 2016.
Beyond the Asia Pacific region, he was a member of the Outcomes in Rheumatology and currently an Advisory Member of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) Congress Committee, and the Scientific Committee. In 2022, he was selected an Honorary Member of EULAR, and was most recently elected as Member of Academia Europaea in 2023. CS Lau also sits on the editorial board of multiple top-ranked rheumatology journals. He is the reviewer of rheumatology related research grant proposals for the Dutch Arthritis Association, Dutch Organisation for Health Research and Development, and Medical Research Council (UK).
Within the Faculty he served as the Assistant Dean in Information Technology and Planning in 2001, and Student Affairs in 2005. In 2010 he was the Director for the Faculty’s Bau Institute of Medical and Health Services Education, and in 2013 he took on the role of Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning and was instrumental in reforming the MBBS Curriculum to incorporate a one-year enrichment experience for all medical students. Within the University, he has been a member of the Senate since 2016, and the Court in 2017. He plays an active role on various administrative committees including the Committee for the review of the Faculty of Dentistry (2011) and the Faculty of Engineering (2018), and the Taught Postgraduate Curricula of the Faculty of Dentistry (2019). He also chaired the Review Committee of science Majors Curriculum of the Faculty of Science in 2018 and is the current Chairman of the Committee on Higher Doctorates.
In his spare time, CS Lau is a keen long-distance runner. Befitting his calling, he not only heals and teaches the art of healthy mind and body, he lives, breathes and practises it every single day.
