Guests of Honour
Professor Nancy Y. IP, SBS, BBS, MH, JP
President of HKUST
The Morningside Professor of Life Science
Professor Tim Kwang Ting CHENG
Vice-President for Research and Development, HKUST
Chair Professor, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering & Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Dr. the Hon LAM Ching-choi, SBS, JP
Chief Executive Officer, Haven of Hope Christian Service
Chairman, Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Health Bureau
Head of Charities (Ageing and Elderly Care), The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Speakers
(Listed in alphabetical order of last name)
Associate Professor, Department of Management, HKUST
Research Professor, Division of Life Science, HKUST
Associate Director, Molecular Neuroscience Center, HKUST
Professor Stuart GIETEL-BASTEN
Associate Director, Center for Aging Science, HKUST
Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Science, HKUST
Professor, Division of Social Science & Division of Public Policy
Acting Head and Professor, Division of Public Policy, HKUST
Professor, Division of Integrative Systems and Design
Director, Center for Aging Science, HKUST
Special Advisor to Vice-President for Research and Development
Professor, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering
Panelists
(Listed in alphabetical order of last name)
Associate Director, Engagement, Institute for Translational Research (Biomedical Technologies), Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Chief Executive, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service
Managing Director, Culture Homes Healthcare and Forward Living
Founder and CEO, The Project Futurus and Captain Softmeal
Consultant Physician and Head, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, United Christian Hospital
Service Director (Primary and Community Health Care), Kowloon Easter Cluster, Hospital Authority
Senior Occupational Therapist, Centralized Clinical Rehabilitation Services, Haven of Hope Christian Service
Vice-Chairman, The Hong Kong Society for the Aged
Consultant Geriatrician, Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, Princess Margaret Hospital
Professor Nancy Y. IP is the President of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Morningside Professor of Life Science. Taking office in October 2022, she is the first female president of a publicly funded university in Hong Kong.
Professor Ip received her PhD degree in Pharmacology from Harvard University, after which she held the position of Senior Staff Scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in New York. Since joining HKUST in 1993, she has served as the Vice-President for Research and Development, the Dean of Science, and the Head of Biochemistry. She continues to serve as the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience.
Professor Ip is world-renowned for her significant contributions to the field of neuroscience in understanding the complex mechanisms that underlie proper brain functions, as well as drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. Her outstanding research has resulted in over 330 scientific papers, that have garnered more than 45,200 SCI citations, as well as over 70 patents. She was invited to present over 300 scientific lectures at international conferences and institutions.
Prof. Tim Kwang Ting Cheng was appointed Vice-President for Research and Development with effect from 1 April 2022. He joined HKUST in May 2016 as the Dean of Engineering, and Chair Professor jointly in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering and in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Prof. Cheng graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1988 with a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. Before coming to HKUST, he was a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he served since 1993. Prior to teaching at UC Santa Barbara, he spent five years at AT&T Bell Laboratories.
At UC Santa Barbara, Prof. Cheng had taken up various important academic leadership roles, such as Founding Director of the Computer Engineering Program from 1999 to 2002, Chair of Department of ECE from 2005 to 2008, Acting Associate Vice-Chancellor for Research in 2013 and Associate Vice-Chancellor for Research from 2014 to 2016 where he helped oversee the research development, infrastructure, and compliance of UCSB’s research enterprise with over US$200 million extramural research funding.
An internationally leading researcher with excellent experience in fostering cross-disciplinary research collaboration, Prof. Cheng is a world authority in the field of electronics testing and design verification, as well as an impactful contributor across a wide range of research areas including design automation of electronic and photonic systems, computer vision, and medical image analysis. He had previously served as Director of the US Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) Center for 3D Hybrid Circuits. He has published more than 500 technical papers, co-authored five books, held 12 US patents, and transferred several of his inventions into successful commercial products. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (HKAES). His works are of high impact with due recognition from the field, including 12 best paper awards and one Distinguished Paper Citation in major conferences and journals, as well as a Pan Wen Yuan Foundation Award for Outstanding Research. He was also recognized in the 50th Design Automation Conference (DAC) in 2013 as a Top 10 Author in DAC’s Fourth Decade and a Prolific Author.
In 2020, he received HK$443.9 million funding from the Hong Kong government’s InnoHK research clusters initiative to lead the founding of the AI Chip Center for Emerging Smart Systems for which four world-renowned universities participate. The multidisciplinary center aims to advance IC design to help realize ubiquitous AI applications in society.
Melody Manchi Chao is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management and Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies at the HKUST Business School, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. degree in Social Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and B.A. degree in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) and Association for Psychological Science (APS). She has published in outlets like Nature Communications, Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Personnel Psychology. Prior to pursuing her graduate degrees, she worked in a community-based mental health and substance abuse treatment agency in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an accredited mediator and a registered swimming coach. Her research interests include diversity, culture, dispute resolution, intergroup relations, and well-being.
Dr. Amy Kit-Yu FU is a Research Professor in the Division of Life Science and Associate Director of the Molecular Neuroscience Center at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She also serves as the R&D Director of the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, an InnoHK Center. Her research primarily focuses on understanding the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and developing therapeutic strategies. Dr. Fu has a notable publication record, with over 99 scientific papers in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals. Her significant contributions to the field include discovering the roles of cell-surface receptors in impaired synaptic functions and plasticity in AD, as well as understanding the mechanisms of microglia that underlie the impaired clearance of amyloid-beta in AD. Particularly, she has demonstrated the beneficial action of a cytokine, interleukin-33, and its receptor, ST2, in alleviating amyloid-beta pathology, and has elucidated their roles in regulating microglial state and function. These research findings provide crucial insights into the development of AD therapeutic strategies.
Dr. Fu has recently expanded her research focus to human studies, encompassing genomic, proteomic, and endophenotype analyses of AD. Her work in identifying novel biomarkers of AD has helped fill a key knowledge gap in this field. Additionally, she possesses extensive research experience in AD drug discovery.
Stuart Gietel-Basten is a Professor of Social Science and Public Policy. He is the Associate Director of the university’s Center for Aging Science; and is Associate Dean (Research) of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Prior to joining HKUST in 2017, he was an Associate Professor of Social Policy at the University of Oxford. He received his PhD in historical demography from the University of Cambridge in 2008.
Stuart’s research covers the interplay between changing population dynamics and public/social policy. His research is especially focused on (a) fertility transition; (b) conceptual approaches to ageing; (c) population policy. He is the co-ordinator of the GGS-Asia project, which seeks to run the Generations and Gender Survey in Asian settings–including Hong Kong.
In addition to a number of articles in leading journals in demography and related disciplines, he has written two books on population – Why Demography Matters (with Danny Dorling, Polity Press 2018) and The “Population Problem” in Pacific Asia (Oxford University Press 2019) – and co-edited a third – Family Demography in Asia (with Minja-Kim Choe and John Casterline, Elgar 2019).
Professor Naubahar Sharif serves as Professor and Acting Head of the Division of Public Policy at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). His research focuses on innovation and technology policy in Hong Kong and China, the Belt and Road Initiative, and mental health and well-being. He leads research and community projects aimed at improving the wellbeing of ethnic minority communities in Hong Kong. In addition to his academic pursuits, Professor Sharif is an active contributor to mental health policy, serving as a member of both the HKSAR Government Advisory Committee on Mental Health (ACMH) and the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
Bryan oversees The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust's philanthropic efforts towards developing impactful and financially sustainable solutions to ageing and elderly care. He joined the Club from the commercial sector, with experiences over cinemas, theme park and management consulting industries.
Queenie is the Founder & CEO of The Project Futurus and Captain Softmeal. She is also the Managing Director at Forward Living and Culture Homes. Queenie is an appointed member of The Elderly Commission at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to provide advice in the formulation of a comprehensive policy in caring for elders. Combining her insights and experiences in both branding and elderly services, Queenie established The Project Futurus in 2019 to transform the way people perceive aging through advocacy, education, and community service. Queenie established “Captain Softmeal” (軟餐俠) to raise awareness on dysphagia health and recently expanded the platform to Singapore. In addition, she created an immersive experiential dim sum program “Sensory Restaurant on Wheels” (流動五感大茶樓) serviced over 2000 elders living with dementia to deliver the joy of dim sum dining. Queenie also designed a Nordic-inspired senior community “Forward Living” and an aging-in-place concept experience store “The Living Gallery”.
Queenie was named “Harper’s Bazaar Visionary Women Award 2023”, “Prestige Women of Power 2023”, “Tatler Gen.T 2022 Leaders of Tomorrow” and “Jessica Most Successful Women 2021” . She is also a TEDx and KODW speaker, an Enterprise Advisor at CLAP@JC, and a MingPao columnist.
Queenie holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, specializing in Marketing and Information Systems from the University of Washington (USA). She is also pursuing a Masters Degree in Dementia at the University of Stirling (UK) (2022-2025). She is also a certified Personal Care Worker and an Eden Alternative Associate advocating for human-centric care.
Dr. Lam is a specialist in paediatric and community medicine and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Haven of Hope Christian Service. Under Dr. Lam’s leadership, Haven of Hope Christian Service has advocated the “Healthy City” concept since 1997 in the Sai Kung district in Hong Kong.
With his extensive knowledge of local public health policies and services, Dr. Lam has sat on multiple statutory and advisory bodies. He is a non-official member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government and has been a member of the Hospital Governing Committee of the Haven of Hope Hospital since 1997. A staunch advocate of community care for the elders, he heads the Elderly Care Service Industry Training Advisory Committee, advising the Government on related policy reforms. In addition, Dr. Lam serves as a member of the Steering Committee on Primary Healthcare Development of the Health Bureau and is a member of the Supervisory Board and Nominating Committee of the Hong Kong Housing Society.
Recently, Dr. Lam has also been appointed as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, the Steering Committee on Review of Manpower for Healthcare Services in Residential Care Homes and the Healthcare & Wellness Training Board of the Vocational Training Council.
Dr. Lam was honoured by the HKSAR Government with the Justice of Peace in 2003 and Silver Bauhinia Star in 2019. In 2018, apart from receiving Honorary Fellowship from Lingnan University, he received the Ageing Asia Global Ageing Influencer Award (Special Recognitions) in recognition of his devotion to public services and his influence on policy-making for the global ageing trend.
Bertram E. Shi is a Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Director of the Center for Aging Science and Associate Director of the HKUST-HKSI Joint Institute on Sports Science and Technology at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He has been a faculty member at HKUST since 1994 and served previously as Acting Dean of the School of Engineering and as Head of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering. He has held visiting positions in the EECS Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his B.S. and M.S. Degrees in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.
His research interests lie in the areas of human-robot interaction, neuromorphic engineering, artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience, with a particular focus on the use of machine learning in visual information processing and visually guided robot control. His research group has developed award winning systems for video-based emotion recognition gaze-based human-robot interaction. He was named IEEE Fellow in “for contributions to the analysis, implementation and application of cellular neural networks” in 2001. He was a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society for 2001-2002 and 2007-2008. He is or has been an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I and II, the IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems and Frontiers in Neuromorphic Engineering. He was a Chair of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Technical Committee on Cellular Neural Networks and Array Computing from 2003-2005. He was Technical Program Chair of the 2004 IEEE International Workshop on Cellular Neural Networks and their Applications, and General Chair of the 2005 IEEE International Workshop on Cellular Neural Networks and their Applications.
Mr. Chua Hoi Wai is the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), which represents over 500 non-governmental social services organisations. The HKCSS aims at building a socially sustainable society through enhancing the development of social services and policies. The HKCSS provides a joint platform for cross-sectoral collaboration and social innovation, and has championed gerontechnology and transitional social housing in recent years.
Mr. Chua is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong in Mechanical Engineering. He studied Master of Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago and is now a social worker by profession. He was the President of the Hong Kong Social Workers Association (2004–2008).
Ms. Stephanie Law is the Managing Director of Culture Homes and Forward Living, a leading integrated care provider in Hong Kong with service scopes including Wholesale and Retail of Lifestyle and Rehabilitation Products, Senior Community, Home Modifications for Ageing-in-place, as well as Community Collaborations.
As an owner, operator & developer, Stephanie has founded Hong Kong’s first Nordic Inspired Senior Community, Forward Living, with applications of smart technology and age-friendly design, which is considered as the ‘next generation’ aged care model in the industry.
In 2019, Stephanie has been granted the Greater Bay Area Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Award, as well as Ageing Asia Global Ageing Trailblazer of 7th Eldercare Innovation Awards. Stephanie is also a Co-opted Steering Committee Member of The Gerontechnology Platform and Co-opted Council Member of Hong Kong Association of Gerontology. She is also columnist for ETNET “The Artisan for Eldercare.”
Stephanie holds a Bachelor Degree in Asian Studies and Psychology from The University of Michigan, and a Master Degree in Real Estate General Practice Surveying from The University of Hong Kong.
Ms. Lee Lai Chan has over twenty years of on-going commitment to the Haven of Hope Christian Service (HOHCS) and is currently a nurse consultant at the organization. She worked as a service manager at the residential care services of HOHCS between 2000 to 2015, and as a health care course tutor at the professional training institute of HOHCS between 2015 to 2017. Since 2017, she has been actively involved in the Dementia community support scheme of HOHCS.
Dr. Edmund Kwok Yiu Sha graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a specialist in Geriatric Medicine. He is now the Head of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, United Christian Hospital. He is also the Service Director (Primary and Community Health Care), Kowloon East Cluster, Hospital Authority. He overlooks a comprehensive range of geriatric services extending from the acute setting to the community. Besides, he is currently one of the council members of the Hong Kong College of Physicians.
Dr. Sha has expertise and clinical experience in many areas of geriatrics, including acute care of elderly, dementia, transitional care, and community geriatric services.
Dr. BC Tong is the Vice-Chairman of The Hong Kong Society for the Aged. He is also Consultant Geriatrician at the Department of Medicine and Geriatrics of Princess Margaret Hospital, a member of the Guardianship Board of the HKSAR government and a council member of the Hong Kong Association of Gerontology. He holds the title of Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at both HKU and CUHK.
Dr. Donna Brown is the Associate Director of the Institute of Translational Research at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) where her main role is to facilitate HKSTP BioMedical Technology and Health Technology ecosystem building and commercialization in market. In addition to serving entrepreneurs of BioMedical and Health Technology throughout the value chain, Dr. Brown also host strategic initiatives and business matching program to bridge innovators with various stakeholders to turn ideas into market-ready solutions.
Dr. Brown is a seasoned healthcare professionals with more than 20 years’ experience in commercial, industrial and leadership roles with various reputable Fortune 500 multinationals firms. With her career spanning pharmaceuticals and medical device technology in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, Dr. Brown is well-equipped with solid and proven experiences in both strategic and operational aspects of the business, as well as people management and talent development.
Dr. Brown plays an active role in startup community, catalyzing translational development of Biomedical or Health technology in the region. In addition to steering startups to develop and present their business case, value propositions, Dr. Brown also provides network and channel resources for the startups for their capacity building. Dr. Brown was involved in Poly U Lean Launchpad Program as Mentor for Health and Wearable Technology startups for 5 years. In addition, Dr. Brown serves as the steering committee of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund (SIE) Gerontechnology Platform. She is also the project owner for HKSTP as a collaborative partner to SIE Gerontech Platform to foster ecosystem development in Hong Kong.
Besides her current role in Institute of Translational Research at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Dr. Brown is also part-time lecturer for Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance with HKU Space College of Life Science and Technology.
Dr. Brown is a research scientist by training, earned a PhD degree in Pharmacology from the University of Hong Kong major in Pharmacology.
Janette is a Hong Kong Part I registered Occupational Therapist. She obtained her MSc in Stroke and Clinical Neurosciences from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Janette has over 18 years extensive clinical experience in public hospitals, non-government organizations and schools, serving a diverse population across life-span. Her clinical focus is Holistic, Mind-body Connection and Occupation-based Practice. Her clinical expertise is Sensory Processing and Sensory Integration, Well-eating, Neuro- and Neurodevelopmental Rehabilitation. She has obtained various post-graduate certifications and qualifications surrounding the above areas.
Ms. Tam has pioneered and involved in various pioneer services / funded projects, e.g. ASI® and Sensory Processing for elderly, adolescents and adults with ASD, supported oral-feeding program and supported wound healing scheme for elderly in long-term and palliative care; neuro-protective strategies for people with dementia, Occupational Lifestyle Resdesign Program for people with spasticity or chronic conditions (The ReLive Project) and involved in developing and pioneering the “Synergy” Approach for Case Management for people with ASD. She shared her experiences in various local and international conferences.
Ms. Tam has been serving as an education committee member of the Hong Kong Occupational Therapists Board; an editorial board member and peer reviewer of Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy; an executive committee (continue education) and a core member of various specialty / special interest groups of the Hong Kong Occupational Therapy Association; and a chairperson of the Hong Kong Sensory Integration Society. She is also an honorary consultant of several self-help groups. She is also a clinical educator of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, guest lecturer and clinical educator of Tung Wah College and invited speaker of various associations’ talks and trainings.