Kwok-Yung Yuen

Professor Kwok-Yung Yuen stands as an extraordinary figure in medical science, uniquely combining expertise as a microbiologist, surgeon, and physician throughout his distinguished career at the University of Hong Kong. After graduating from HKU in 1981, he has achieved the rare distinction of becoming a fellow of both the UK and Hong Kong Colleges of Pathologists, Surgeons and Physicians, and the American College of Physicians. His groundbreaking contributions include being first to report on the H5N1 influenza outbreak's severity in 1997 and playing a crucial role in identifying the SARS coronavirus in 2003. As Chair of Infectious Diseases at HKU's Department of Microbiology and Henry Fok Professor of Infectious Diseases, he has led his team to discover over 100 novel species of microorganisms, while publishing more than 900 papers that have garnered over 90,000 citations. His leadership roles include serving as the first Director of the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases at HKU – the first such laboratory outside Mainland China – and as Scientific Co-director of the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made history by being the first to confirm person-to-person transmission through identifying the first familial cluster, though despite his public prominence, he maintains a humble perspective, describing himself as "a shy and boring person who does not know how to chat with strangers."