Congratulations to Ms. Jody Chu

Ms. Jody Chu has been named one of the four recipients of this year’s Faculty Teaching Medal. This award recognizes her outstanding contributions to teaching and her efforts to enhance educational practices.

 

Welcome to Dr. Mohamad Dayoob

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to Dr. Mohamad Dayoob, who has joined our department as a Lecturer starting 15 December 2025.

Congratulations to Ms. Eliza Tam and Dr. Ann Leung

On behalf of the Head of Department, we would like to extend our congratulations to Ms. Eliza Tam and Dr. Ann Leung for promoting from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy with effect from 1 November 2025.

Best wishes to Eliza and Ann for continued success in their new roles.

Welcome to Ms. Louise Sin

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Ms. Louise Sin, who joins us as a Lecturer with effect from 21 July 2025.

Long Service Award

It is our pleasure to announce that Mr. Chan Chi Fai (IT Manager) will receive the Long Service Awards 2024-25 for his 35 years of service in the University. The presentation ceremony will be held on 20 June 2025. Details of the ceremony will be announced in due course. Congratulations!

報刊專欄 (am730) -香港真實世界研究及應用中心（二）

報刊專欄 (am730) -香港真實世界研究及應用中心（二）

上星期跟大家介紹了什麼是「真實世界研究」，今次就來聊聊它到底能怎麼應用，怎麼幫我們把醫療資源用得更精明。

在每個社會，醫療開支都是一筆龐大的開銷。資源永遠不夠分，如何「把錢花在刀刃上」成了關鍵。我們可以利用真實世界數據，精準評估不同疾病對病人、醫療系統以至社會福利的實際影響，從而把有限資源優先投放到威脅最大的疾病上。如果多個地區攜手進行跨地區研究，結論更可能改變全球公共衞生政策。

舉個真實例子：我們曾經聯同19個地區，利用各地真實世界數據庫，發現全球髖部骨折個案正急劇上升，但骨折後真正接受藥物治療的病人，竟然只有大約四分之一！這項發現震動國際，一個全球頂尖衞生組織最近特意邀請我參與撰寫兩份骨質疏鬆症的全球報告，目標就是推動全世界提升對這「隱形流行病」的管理水平。

除了影響政策，真實世界研究還能大大幫助新藥臨床試驗。藥廠做臨床研究要花上天價的金錢，最頭痛的是不知道在香港能否召集到足夠合資格的病人接受臨床試驗。但我們只需翻查真實世界數據，就能準確告訴他們：「這間醫院過去三年有3,000名符合條件的糖尿病患者，那間醫院有1,800名高膽固醇患者」，讓藥廠做到心中有數，加快試驗進度。

更重要的是，臨床試驗和現實世界往往有落差。試驗為了搜集到「乾淨」的數據，會設一大堆「納入」與「排除」的條件，最常見就是把80歲以上的長者剔除——因為他們的預期壽命較短，會增加研究風險。但現實臨床中，80歲以上的病人多的是！真實世界研究正好補足這塊拼圖，讓我們清楚知道藥物在普通病人，尤其是長者身上的真實效果。有了這些鐵證，衞生當局跟藥廠談判藥價時就更有底氣，既能為市民爭取合理價格，也讓醫療系統用得其所。

以上只是冰山一角。香港真實世界研究及應用中心的成立，正是要將這片數據金礦好好開採，讓香港的醫療質素再上一層樓，同時為經濟注入新動力。

真實世界數據，不僅守護港人健康，更讓香港在全球醫療舞台上繼續發光發亮。

張正龍教授
香港大學李嘉誠醫學院
藥理及藥劑學系副教授

Last week, I introduced what "real-world research" is. This time, let's talk about how it can be applied and how it helps us use healthcare resources more wisely.

In every society, healthcare spending is massive. Resources are always limited, so the key question is how to spend money where it matters most. We can use real-world data to precisely assess the actual impact of different diseases on patients, the healthcare system, and even social welfare. This allows us to prioritize limited resources toward the most threatening diseases. If multiple regions collaborate on cross-regional studies, the findings are even more likely to influence global public health policy.

A real example: we once collaborated with 19 regions, using their local real-world databases, and found that hip fracture cases are rising sharply worldwide—yet only about one-quarter of patients actually receive drug treatment after a hip fracture! This discovery shocked the international community. Recently, a leading global health organization specially invited me to contribute to two global reports on osteoporosis, with the goal of pushing the world to improve management of this "silent epidemic."

Beyond influencing policy, real-world research can greatly assist new drug clinical trials. Pharmaceutical companies spend enormous sums on clinical studies, and their biggest challenge is not knowing whether they can recruit enough eligible patients in Hong Kong. But with real-world data, we can simply check and tell them accurately: "This hospital has had 3,000 eligible diabetes patients in the past three years; that hospital has 1,800 patients with high cholesterol." This gives companies confidence and speeds up trial progress.

More importantly, there is often a gap between clinical trials and the real world. To obtain "clean" data, trials set numerous inclusion and exclusion criteria—the most common being the exclusion of patients over 80 years old, since their shorter life expectancy increases study risks. But in real clinical practice, there are plenty of patients over 80! Real-world research fills this gap perfectly, giving us a clear picture of how drugs perform in ordinary patients, especially the elderly. With this solid evidence, health authorities have stronger leverage when negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, securing reasonable prices for citizens while ensuring resources are used effectively.

The above are just the tip of the iceberg. The establishment of the Hong Kong Real-World Study and Application Centre is precisely to properly mine this data gold mine, further elevating Hong Kong's healthcare quality while injecting new vitality into the economy.

Real-world data not only protects the health of Hong Kong people—it also allows Hong Kong to continue shining brightly on the global healthcare stage.

<刊載於《am730》>
https://www.med.hku.hk/zh-hk/media/knowledge-exchange/newspaper-columns/2025/dec/am730_20251229

報刊專欄 (am730) -香港真實世界研究及應用中心（一)

報刊專欄 (am730) -香港真實世界研究及應用中心（一)

近日，我很榮幸獲邀出任中華人民共和國香港特別行政區政府「真實世界研究及應用中心」的總監。每次跟朋友提起這個新職位，大家第一個反應都是：「什麼是真實世界研究？難道還有『虛假世界研究』嗎？」

說到醫學領域，「真實世界研究」（Real-World Study）就是利用「真實世界數據」（Real-World Data）進行研究。這些數據並非專為研究而設計，而是醫護人員在日常臨床工作中自然產生的，例如醫院或診所裡的診斷記錄、化驗結果、藥物處方等。正因為它們不是「為了研究而刻意收集」，才最能真實反映臨床實況。

在普通人眼中，這些數據平平無奇；但在數據科學家眼中，卻是無價之寶。例如，我們想知道哪一種降血壓藥最能預防心臟病，就可以利用這些數據，分析不同藥物與心臟疾病之間的聯繫。又例如，我們早前發現某種治療骨質疏鬆的藥物，竟然同時可能降低心臟病和肺炎的風險——這類新發現，往往就藏在日常數據之中。

數據科學有句名言：「Garbage in, garbage out」（垃圾進，垃圾出）。如果數據品質差，再厲害的分析也沒有用。就像你想做蛋糕，卻用了過期麵粉和變質的雞蛋，最後還能吃嗎？

幸好，香港擁有全球頂尖的真實世界數據庫。這套數據庫由醫院管理局建立，背後靠的是幾代香港前線醫護人員的一點一滴、幾十年如一日地認真輸入。從1990年代至今，已累積超過1,100萬人的健康數據，時間跨度長、覆蓋人口多、記錄詳盡，國際上都極為罕見。

以前要做一個大型研究，可能要花好幾年才能收集足夠數據。現在有了強大運算能力和人工智能配合，這片「數據金礦」終於可以快速開採。我們中心的其中一個重要使命，就是把這份得來不易的香港寶藏，用得其所，造福市民以至全世界。

這份寶藏究竟能為香港和世界帶來什麼實際的改變？下星期再跟大家詳談。

張正龍教授
香港大學李嘉誠醫學院
藥理及藥劑學系副教授

Recently, I was honored to be invited to serve as the Director of the "Real-World Study and Application Centre (RWSAC)" under the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Whenever I mention this new position to friends, their first reaction is always the same: "What is real-world research? Is there such a thing as 'fake-world research'?"

In the field of medicine, "Real-World Study" refers to research conducted using "Real-World Data". This data is not specially designed or collected for research purposes; instead, it is naturally generated by healthcare professionals during their routine clinical work—things like diagnosis, laboratory results, and medication prescriptions from hospitals or clinics. Precisely because it is not "deliberately collected for research," it most accurately reflects real-world clinical situations.

To ordinary people, this data may seem unremarkable. But to data scientists, it is priceless treasure. For example, if we want to know which antihypertensive drug is most effective at preventing heart disease, we can analyze the relationship between different medications and cardiac events using this data. Another example: we previously discovered that a certain drug for treating osteoporosis may also reduce the risk of heart disease and pneumonia. Discoveries like these are often hidden in everyday data.

There is a famous saying in data science: "Garbage in, garbage out." If the data quality is poor, no matter how sophisticated the analysis, the results will be useless. It's like trying to bake a cake with expired flour and spoiled eggs—would the final product still be good?

Fortunately, Hong Kong possesses one of the world's top real-world databases. This database, built by the Hospital Authority, is the result of decades of meticulous input by generations of frontline healthcare workers in Hong Kong. Since the 1990s, it has accumulated health data from over 11 million people, with long time spans, broad population coverage, and detailed records—something extremely rare internationally.

In the past, conducting a large-scale study could take years just to collect enough data. Now, with powerful computing capabilities and artificial intelligence, this "data gold mine" can finally be mined quickly. One of the key missions of our RWSAC is to make proper use of this hard-earned Hong Kong treasure, benefiting our citizens and the world at large.

What concrete changes can this treasure bring to Hong Kong and the world? I'll discuss that in more detail with you next week.

<刊載於《am730》>
https://www.med.hku.hk/zh-hk/media/knowledge-exchange/newspaper-columns/2025/dec/am730_20251222

報刊專欄 (am730) -藥到病除的「病除」

報刊專欄 (am730) -藥到病除的「病除」

之前的文章介紹過「藥到病除」的「藥到」，本文將會繼續解説藥物如何做到「病除」。

藥物需要跟特定的藥物標靶結合才會產生藥效。藥物標靶的種類廣泛，目前臨床應用的藥物，主要針對的標靶結構爲蛋白質類，也有一部分針對核酸類標靶。蛋白質類的標靶又細分為受體、酵素、離子通道和轉運蛋白。因爲受體是最普及的藥物標靶類別，所以要理解藥物跟目標之間的關係時，通常都會用受體作爲所有藥物標靶的代表，解釋如下。

藥物的化學結構與外觀，很大程度上決定了該藥物如何影響受體的功能，因為藥物與受體結合的條件，就是雙方的形狀能夠相容。這也表示，當個別藥物可跟某一種受體結合時，卻會因另一種受體形狀跟該藥物不相容而不能結合。

藥物跟受體結合之後，受體功能會因藥物的不同類別而上升或下降。致效劑會刺激受體功能，譬如令細胞内某些物質產生或某些離子濃度上升，進而加强細胞與身體組織而作出反應。一些可能比較常聼到的藥物，如某些氣管擴張藥、安眠藥，都是致效劑的例子。相反地，阻斷劑跟受體結合後，會阻止受體被刺激、減低細胞作出的反應。一種阻斷劑的例子就是個別的降血壓藥，透過阻斷特定受體 （包括如上述的酵素或離子通道），減低血管的收縮度，讓血管内血液流通的阻力降低，達到降血壓的效果。

致效劑或阻斷劑的應用，又怎樣幫助到「病除」呢？一般非傳染性疾病的起因，是體内某一或多種受體的功能過強或不足，而該些受影響的受體，正常情況下是依賴跟自身製造的致效物質結合而讓細胞產生合適的反應。普遍來説，當自身製造的致效物質不足，致效劑可以增强受體功能過弱的「病」 。至於阻斷劑，就是透過跟受體結合而阻擋太多致效物質去接觸到受體，從而治療受體功能過強的「病」。

梁偉文博士
香港大學李嘉誠醫學院
藥理及藥劑學系高級講師

In an earlier article, how a drug reaches its target site to treat an illness was described. This article will continue with how the drug actually brings about a “cure.”

For a drug to work, it needs to bind to a specific target in the body, known as a drug target. There are many types of drug targets. Most of the drugs we use in clinical practice act on targets made of proteins, and some act on targets made of nucleic acids (such as DNA or RNA). Protein targets are further classified into receptors, enzymes, ion channels, and transport proteins. Since receptors are the most common type of drug target, receptors are often used as the main example when explaining how drugs interact with their targets.

The chemical structure and shape of a drug largely determine its effect on a receptor. Binding is only established when the receptor is compatible to a drug, like a key fitting into a lock. This also means that a particular drug may be able to bind to one kind of receptor, but not to another whose shape does not match the drug.

Once a drug binds to a receptor, receptor activity may increase or decrease, depending on the type of drug.

An agonist stimulates the receptor. For example, it may cause a cell to produce certain substances or increase the level of certain ions, leading to increased activity in various cells and tissues of the body. Some commonly known drugs, such as certain bronchodilators (used to relax the airways) and sleeping pills, are examples of agonists.

An antagonist binds to the receptor and prevents it from being stimulated, thereby reducing activity. One example of an antagonist is certain blood pressure–lowering drugs. By blocking specific receptors (which can include enzymes or ion channels mentioned above), they reduce the extent of blood vessel constriction. Blood flow resistance is reduced which helps to lower blood pressure.

So how do agonists and antagonists help cure disease?

For many non-communicable diseases, the underlying problem is that activity of one or more types of receptors in the body is either too strong or too weak. Under normal circumstances, these receptors are activated by “natural” agonists produced by the body itself, which then trigger appropriate responses in the cells.

However, when the body does not produce enough of its own natural agonist, receptor activity becomes too weak. In such cases, agonists can enhance receptor function and “cure” this kind of “illness.” In contrast, when receptor activity is too strong, antagonists can bind to the receptors and block excessive natural agonists from reaching them in order to treat conditions owing to overactive receptors.

<刊載於《am730》>

https://www.med.hku.hk/zh-hk/media/knowledge-exchange/newspaper-columns/2025/dec/am730_20251215

 

報刊專欄 (am730) -帶狀疱疹疫苗 守護銀髮健康關鍵一步

報刊專欄 (am730) -帶狀疱疹疫苗 守護銀髮健康關鍵一步

隨著人口老化，香港社會面對愈來愈多與年齡相關的健康挑戰，其中帶狀疱疹(俗稱「生蛇」)便是一項不容忽視的疾病。帶狀疱疹由水痘病毒(Varicella-Zoster Virus)引起，病毒可在體內潛伏多年，隨著年齡增長，免疫力減弱，潛伏的病毒便可能重新活躍。

根據本地及國際研究，50歲以上人士患上帶狀疱疹的風險顯著上升，感染後不但引發劇烈疼痛和皮疹，更可導致「帶狀疱疹後神經痛」。這種痛楚可持續數月甚至數年，影響睡眠、情緒及日常活動，屬銀髮族常見而被忽略之健康威脅。值得注意的是，即使曾患水痘或已康復，年老後仍有可能「生蛇」。

幸而，現時已有有效的疫苗可預防帶狀疱疹。香港衛生署建議，年滿50歲或以上的人士，特別是患有慢性疾病或免疫功能較弱者，應考慮接種帶狀疱疹疫苗，以減低患病風險及相關併發症的發生。目前市面上主要有兩種疫苗：活性減毒疫苗及重組疫苗。重組疫苗在臨床研究中顯示出更高的保護效能，適合大部分長者使用，包括免疫力較低者。接種程序一般為兩劑，間隔2至6個月完成，其副作用多為輕微短暫的注射部位紅腫或疲倦。值得一提的是，疫苗防護力可維持多年，對減輕長者併發症所帶來的公營醫療系統負擔具重要作用。

在香港，帶狀疱疹疫苗尚未納入政府資助的疫苗計劃，市民需自費接種。不過，部分醫療保險或長者健康計劃可能涵蓋相關費用，建議市民向家庭醫生或藥劑師查詢，了解自身風險及接種安排。

總括而言，帶狀疱疹疫苗是守護銀髮族健康的重要一步。透過預防勝於治療的理念，我們不但能減少疾病負擔，更能提升長者的生活質素。希望更多市民能認識疫苗的益處，及早採取行動，為自己及家人築起健康防線。

冼樂賢
香港大學李嘉誠醫學院
藥理及藥劑學系講師

<刊載於《am730》>
https://www.med.hku.hk/zh-hk/media/knowledge-exchange/newspaper-columns/2025/dec/am730_20251208

Shingles Vaccine — A Key Step in Protecting Senior Health

As Hong Kong’s population continues to age, society faces an increasing number of age-related health challenges. Among these, shingles is a condition that deserves special attention. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus responsible for chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus can remain dormant in the body for decades. As the immune system weakens with age, the virus may reactivate and cause shingles.

Local and international research shows that the risk of developing shingles increases significantly after the age of 50. The infection not only leads to painful skin rashes but can also result in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)—a chronic pain condition that can last for months or even years. This persistent pain commonly affects sleep, mood, and daily functioning, making it a serious yet often overlooked health concern among older adults. Notably, even individuals who have previously had chickenpox remain at risk of developing shingles later in life.

Fortunately, an effective vaccine is now available to help prevent shingles. The Hong Kong's Department of Health recommends vaccination for people aged 50 or above, particularly those with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems, to reduce their risk of infection and complications. Currently, two main types of shingles vaccines are available: live-attenuated vaccines and recombinant vaccines. Clinical studies have shown that recombinant vaccines offer higher protection and are suitable for most older adults, including those with reduced immunity. The vaccination regimen typically consists of two doses given two to six months apart. Side effects are usually mild and temporary, such as redness or swelling at the injection site or mild fatigue. Importantly, the vaccine provides long-lasting protection and plays a key role in reducing the healthcare burden associated with shingles complications.

In Hong Kong, the shingles vaccine is not yet included in government-funded vaccination programs, so individuals must pay out of pocket. However, some private health insurance plans or elderly health schemes may cover the vaccination cost. People are encouraged to consult their family doctor or pharmacist to assess their personal risk and obtain professional advice on vaccination arrangements.

As a conclusion, the shingles vaccine represents a vital step in safeguarding the health of older adults. Embracing the principle of “prevention is better than cure,” vaccination helps reduce disease burden and enhance quality of life among seniors. Greater public awareness and timely vaccination can help every individual build a stronger health shield for themselves and their loved ones.

Conference at Macau

Conference at Macau

Prof. Aviva Chow, Prof. Ching-Lung Cheung and Prof. Shirley, Xue LI were contributing to the “2025 港澳醫藥領域發展論壇：共建醫藥發展生態圈 (Learning from Neighbours: Fostering an Ecosystem for Medical and Pharmaceutical Advancement)” on Saturday.

Their participation highlights our department’s commitment to advancing medical and pharmaceutical innovation across Hong Kong and Macau, and to strengthening collaboration with partners in academia, industry, and government.

Congratulations to our team for sharing their expertise on building a sustainable ecosystem for drug development and healthcare innovation.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7403646207316992000