Professor Ian C.K. WONG 黃志基
Professor
Lo Shiu Kwan Kan Po Ling Professorship in Pharmacy
BSc (Hons) Pharmacy, MSc, PhD
Lo Shiu Kwan Kan Po Ling Professor in Pharmacy
Head, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy
Director of Centre for Safe Medication Practice and Research
Biography
Professor Wong is the Head of Department of Pharmacology & Pharmacy and holder of the Lo Shiu Kwan Kan Po Ling Professorship in Pharmacy. He is also the Co-Director of the Centre for Safe Medication Practice and Research. His brief profile can be found at Lancet Psychiatry.
His expertise is using big data research to investigate safety and optimum use of medications for treatment of various conditions specifically cardiovascular, neurological and psychological conditions. As part of this work, he conducts research at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of medication in patients with these and other illnesses.
Professor Wong qualified as a pharmacist in 1992 and received his PhD from The University of Manchester in 1998 for his work at the David Lewis Centre for Epilepsy. In 2002, he was appointed as the Founding Director of the Centre for Paediatric Pharmacy Research at the School of Pharmacy, University of London, and the UCL Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital, which is recognised as a leading research centre in medicines for children. He was also the Co-Director of the Centre for Medication Optimisation Research and Education (CMORE) at University College London Hospital and UCL School of Pharmacy.
After joining HKU in 2011 as Head of the Department of Pharmacology & Pharmacy, Professor Wong led the accreditation of the BPharm programme by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong. He was also responsible for setting up the new Master of Clinical Pharmacy programme and the Centre for Safe Medication Practice and Research. The Centre for Safe Medication Practice and Research has focused on the methodological development and application of health big data research in Hong Kong.
Professor Wong has also advised the Departments of Health in England and Hong Kong, the World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency, and the pharmaceutical industry. He has over 500 peer-reviewed papers published in prominent journals including Nature portfolio journals, JAMA Network Journals, Lancet family journals and BMJ journals. Professor Wong was cited among the top 1% of scholars in the Clarivate Analytics' Essential Science Indicators in eight consecutive years between 2015 and 2022.
In recognition of his research, Professor Wong has received various awards and fellowships for his work as an academic pharmacist. He was awarded the Chemist and Druggist Pharmacy Practice Research Conference Medal from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 2004. He is the only pharmacist to date to have received a UK Department of Health Public Health Career Scientist Award in 2002. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the UK in 2011, an Honorary Fellowship from the College of Pharmacy Practice in Hong Kong in 2013, and a Fellowship from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 2013. Professor Wong was commissioned by the Hong Kong SAR Government to monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Department of Health, for his contribution to the fighting against COVID-19 pandemic, he received commendation from the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR Government in 2022.
Professor Wong was the Vice-President of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance between 2016 and 2019. He has also been an expert witness for many legal cases in the UK and Hong Kong regarding medication safety on behalf of victims of medication errors and adverse drug reactions, and for pharmaceutical companies.
Memberships & Editorships
Memberships:
Hong Kong
- Fellow of College of Pharmacy Practice of Hong Kong (Honorary)
- Member of Advisory Panel on COVID-19 Vaccines. Department of Health of Hong Kong Government
- Member of Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunisation assesses
- Member of Data Advisory Committee. the Hong Kong Genome Institute
- Member of Pharmacy and Poisons Board Hong Kong (Regulatory authority of medicine licensing)
- Chairman of Examination Committee of Pharmacy and Poisons Board Hong Kong
- Member of Expert Advisory Group on Bioavailability and Bioequivalence Studies of Pharmacy and Poisons Board Hong Kong
- Member of Poisons Committee of Pharmacy and Poisons Board Hong Kong
- Registered Pharmacist in Hong Kong
International
- Fellow of International Society of Pharmacovigilance
- Fellow of Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
- Fellow of British Pharmacological Society
- Fellow of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (Honorary)
- Fellow of Faculty of Public Health, Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK)
- Registered Pharmacist in the UK
Editorships:
- Member of International Editorial Board of Drug Safety
- Member of International Editorial Board of Pediatric Drugs
- Member of International Editorial Board of CNS Drugs
- Executive Editor of British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (until 2018)
Honours & Awards
- Chief Executive's Commendation for Community Service (in the fight against COVID-19 to safeguard the health of the public in Hong Kong) (2022).
- Faculty Outstanding Research Output Award. The University of Hong Kong six consecutive years (2016 -2022).
- Chemist and Druggist Pharmacy Practice Research Conference Medal by Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain 2004.
- National Public Health Career Scientist Award by the Department of Health in England 2002.
- John M Harrison Award (Travel) by the UK College of Pharmacy Practice 1999.
Research Interests
Medicines for Children
- Development of appropriate medicines for children
- Pharmaceutical care for children
- Medication errors
Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
- Pharmacovigilance
- Methodological research
- Drug utilization
Neuropsychopharmacology
- Antiepileptic drugs
- ADHD treatment
- Antipsychotic drugs
- Antidepressants
Diagramme from Lancet Psychiatry. 2021 Dec;8(12):1071-1082. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00292-3. PMID: 34801129. Consumption rates of individual countries varied substantially. Disparities in access to psychotropic medicines remain a challenge across most of the world, especially in middle-income countries. Strategies to improve access to psychotropic medicines that should be considered include training health-care workers who can prescribe cost-effective, essential, psychotropic medicines; public education; and involving community leaders to promote appropriate understanding of psychotropic medicine use.
From: Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 Jan;22(1):64-72. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00451-5. The results suggest an overall increased risk of Bell's palsy after CoronaVac vaccination. However, the beneficial and protective effects of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine far outweigh the risk of this generally self-limiting adverse event.
Publications
Publications Highlights
Chan AYL, Gao L, Hsieh MH, Kjerpeseth LJ, Avelar R, Banaschewski T, Chan AHY, Coghill D, Cohen JM, Gissler M, Harrison J, Ip P, Karlstad Ø, Lau WCY, Leinonen MK, Leung WC, Liao TC, Reutfors J, Shao SC, Simonoff E, Tan KCB, Taxis K, Tomlin A, Cesta CE, Lai EC, Zoega H, Man KKC, Wong ICK*. Maternal diabetes and risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring in a multinational cohort of 3.6 million mother-child pairs. Nat Med. 2024 Apr 8. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02917-8. |
Lam ICH, Zhang R, Man KKC, Wong CKH, Chui CSL, Lai FTT, Li X, Chan EWY, Lau CS, Wong ICK*, Wan EYF*. Persistence in risk and effect of COVID-19 vaccination on long-term health consequences after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 26;15(1):1716. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45953-1. |
Brikell I, Yao H, Li L, Astrup A, Gao L, Gillies MB, Xie T, Zhang-James Y, Dalsgaard S, Engeland A, Faraone SV, Haavik J, Hartman C, Ip P, Jakobsdóttir Smári U, Larsson H, Man KK, de Oliveira Costa J, Pearson SA, Hostrup Nielsen NP, Snieder H, Wimberley T, Wong IC, Zhang L, Zoega H, Klungsøyr K, Chang Z. ADHD medication discontinuation and persistence across the lifespan: a retrospective observational study using population-based databases. Lancet Psychiatry. 2024 Jan;11(1):16-26. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00332-2. |
Chan AYL, Yuen ASC, Tsai DHT, Lau WCY, Jani YH, Hsia Y, Osborn DPJ, Hayes JF, Besag FMC, Lai ECC, Wei L, Taxis K, Wong ICK*, Man KKC*. Gabapentinoid consumption in 65 countries and regions from 2008 to 2018: a longitudinal trend study. Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 17;14(1):5005. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40637-8. |
Huang C, Wei Y, Yan VKC, Ye X, Kang W, Yiu HHE, Shami JJP, Cowling BJ, Tse ML, Castle DJ, Chui CSL, Lai FTT, Li X, Wan EYF, Wong CKH, Hayes JF, Chang WC, Chung AKK, Lau CS, Wong ICK, Chan EW. Vaccine effectiveness of BNT162b2 and CoronaVac against SARS-CoV-2 omicron infection and related hospital admission among people with substance use disorder in Hong Kong: a matched case-control study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2023 Jun;10(6):403-413. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00111-6. |
Lai FTT, Fan M, Huang C, Chui CSL, Wan EYF, Li X, Wong CKH, Cheung CL, Wong ICK, Chan EWY. Effectiveness of BNT162b2 after extending the primary series dosing interval in children and adolescents aged 5-17. Nat Commun. 2023 Apr 3;14(1):1845. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37556-z. |
Man KKC, Häge A, Banaschewski T, Inglis SK, Buitelaar J, Carucci S, Danckaerts M, Dittmann RW, Falissard B, Garas P, Hollis C, Konrad K, Kovshoff H, Liddle E, McCarthy S, Neubert A, Nagy P, Rosenthal E, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Zuddas A, Wong ICK*, Coghill D*; ADDUCE Consortium.Long-term safety of methylphenidate in children and adolescents with ADHD: 2-year outcomes of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Drugs Use Chronic Effects (ADDUCE) study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2023 May;10(5):323-333. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00042-1. |
Wan EYF, Yan VKC, Mok AHY, Wang B, Xu W, Cheng FWT, Lai FTT, Chui CSL, Li X, Wong CKH, Li PH, Cowling BJ, Hung IFN, Lau CS, Wong ICK, Chan EWY. Effectiveness of Molnupiravir and Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 : A Target Trial Emulation Study. Ann Intern Med. 2023 Apr;176(4):505-514. doi: 10.7326/M22-3057. Epub 2023 Mar 14. |
Luo H, Lau WCY, Chai Y, Torre CO, Howard R, Liu KY, Lin X, Yin C, Fortin S, Kern DM, Lee DY, Park RW, Jang JW, Chui CSL, Li J, Reich C, Man KKC, Wong ICK*. Rates of Antipsychotic Drug Prescribing Among People Living With Dementia During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 1;80(3):211-219. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.4448. |
Noh Y, Jeong HE, Choi A, Choi EY, Pasternak B, Nordeng H, Bliddal M, Man KKC, Wong ICK, Yon DK, Shin JY. Prenatal and Infant Exposure to Acid-Suppressive Medications and Risk of Allergic Diseases in Children. JAMA Pediatr. 2023 Mar 1;177(3):267-277. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.5193. |
Selected Publications
- Wan EYF, Chui CSL, Lai FTT, Chan EWY, Li X, Yan VKC, Gao L, Yu Q, Lam ICH, Chun RKC, Cowling BJ, Fong WC, Lau AYL, Mok VCT, Chan FLF, Lee CK, Chan LST, Lo D, Lau KK, Hung IFN, Leung GM, Wong ICK*. Bell's palsy following vaccination with mRNA (BNT162b2) and inactivated (CoronaVac) SARS-CoV-2 vaccines: a case series and nested case-control study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 Jan;22(1):64-72. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00451-5.
- Ju C, Wei L, Man KKC, Wang Z, Ma TT, Chan AYL, Brauer R, Chui CSL, Chan EW, Jani YH, Hsia Y, Wong ICK*, Lau WCY*. Global, regional, and national trends in opioid analgesic consumption from 2015 to 2019: a longitudinal study. Lancet Public Health. 2022 Apr;7(4):e335-e346. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00013-5.
- Kuan V, Denaxas S, Patalay P, Nitsch D, Mathur R, Gonzalez-Izquierdo A, Sofat R, Partridge L, Roberts A, Wong ICK, Hingorani M, Chaturvedi N, Hemingway H, Hingorani AD; Multimorbidity Mechanism and Therapeutic Research Collaborative (MMTRC). ). Identifying and visualising multimorbidity and comorbidity patterns in patients in the English National Health Service: a population-based study. Lancet Digit Health. 2022 Nov 29:S2589-7500(22)00187-X. doi: 10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00187-X.
- Brauer R, Alfageh B, Blais JE, Chan EW, Chui CSL, Hayes JF, Man KKC, Lau WCY, Yan VKC, Beykloo MY, Wang Z, Wei L, Wong ICK*. Psychotropic medicine consumption in 65 countries and regions, 2008-19: a longitudinal study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2021 Dec;8(12):1071-1082. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00292-3.
- Man KKC, Lau WCY, Coghill D, Besag FMC, Cross JH, Ip P, Wong ICK. Association between methylphenidate treatment and risk of seizure: a population-based, self-controlled case-series study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020 Jun;4(6):435-443. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30100-0.
- Li X, Lai FTT, Chua GT, Kwan MYW, Lau YL, Ip P, Wong ICK*. Myocarditis Following COVID-19 BNT162b2 Vaccination Among Adolescents in Hong Kong. JAMA Pediatr. 2022 Jun 1;176(6):612-614. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0101.
- Wang Z, Chan AYL, Coghill D, Ip P, Lau WCY, Simonoff E, Brauer R, Wei L, Wong ICK*, Man KKC*. Association Between Prenatal Exposure to Antipsychotics and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Preterm Birth, and Small for Gestational Age. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Oct 1;181(10):1332-1340. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.4571.
Funding
Principal Investigator:
- HONG KONG RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL. GENERAL RESEARCH FUND (17126722). Antidepressant Discontinuation and the association of Suicide (ADS). HK$961,091, (2022/2023)
- HONG KONG RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL. GENERAL RESEARCH FUND (17114921). RIsk factors in Mother and Autism spectrum disorder in offspring (RIMA). HK$1,056,156 (2021/2022)
- HONG KONG RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH FUND (C7154-20G). A multinational big data Covid-19 Epidemiological Study on post-infection Outcomes (ACESO). HK$9,691,060 (2020/2021)
- Health and Medical Research Fund (COVID19F01). COVID-19 vaccines Adverse events Response and Evaluation (CARE) Programme. HK$10,000,000 (2020/2021)
- HONG KONG RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL. GENERAL RESEARCH FUND (17112020). Diamond-A: DIAbetes in Mother and Off-spring with Neurodevelopmental Disorder – ADHD. HK$ 837,006 (2020/2021)
- HONG KONG RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH FUND (C7009-19G) International Big Data Network for Attention Deficit and / Hyperactivity Disorder: Development and Application of Data Platform. HK$2,203,537 (2019/2020)
- HONG KONG RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL. GENERAL RESEARCH FUND (17125419) Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Poisoning : Pharmaco-epidemiological Research (TAPPER) HK$ 339,770 (2019/2020)
Patents
Professor Wong is the Founder and a Director of Therakind Ltd
http://www.therakind.com/UK
Since Nov 2006
- In association with UCL School of Pharmacy, UCL Institute Child Health and Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and IPSO Ventures Professor Wong set up Therakind Ltd.
- Therakind is a commercial research organisation which works exclusively in paediatric drug research.
- The first product (Buccolam®) was granted the first “Paediatric Use Marketing Authorisation” under the new European regulation at the beginning of 2012.
- The second product (Ayendi®) was granted a product license by the Medicines and Healthcare products Agency in 2014.
Other Information
Research Collaborators
- Institute of Child Health, University College London. Professor Deborah Christie, Professor Alastair Sutcliffe and Professor Russell Viner.
- Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. Professor Emily Simonoff.
- Global Research in Pediatrics (GRIP) European Network of Excellence.
http://www.grip-network.org/index.php/cms/en/home - Asian Pharmacoepidemiology Network (AsPEN).
http://aspennet.asia/pubs.html - Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs use chronic effects (ADDUCE) Consortium
http://www.adhd-adduce.org/page/view/2/Home
Seeking PhD candidates
We are seeking highly organised and motivated PhD candidates for research in the areas of medication safety, pharmacoepidemiology and pharmaceutical care in children and the elderly. Candidates with a background in healthcare may have an advantage, however it is not a requirement. For further information, please email Prof Ian Wong with your CV (email:wongick@hku.hk).
Selected media releases and communications
Treatment of psychiatric illness:
(Oriental Daily Chinese)
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20130201/00176_059.html
(Apple Daily Chinese)
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20130201/18153118
(BBC Website English)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8462358.stm
(BBC Website English)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7334067.stm
(Guardian Newspaper English)
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/18/behaviour-drugs-four-year-olds
(Guardian Newspaper English)
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/apr/07/mentalhealth.drugs
Medication error:
(BBC website English)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8465351.stm
Public seminar on immunization:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp33Uo6K2prznORDvB_2j8g
Regular Student Consultation Hours
Every Tuesday at 11:00am - 12:00pmOffice
2/F, 21 Sassoon Road, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, Hong Kong SAR, China