Professor Cheung received a PhD in Medicine from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute For Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Harvard Medical School under the mentorship of Prof. Doug Kiel and Dr. David Karasik; Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore; and HKU. He is currently an Associate Professor at HKU. Professor Cheung’s research focuses on the epidemiology and precision medicine of osteoporosis and other endocrine and metabolism related diseases and includes studies using cell and animal models, real-world big data, and clinical trials. He is the principal investigator of the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study (HKOS). He has published over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He currently serves as an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) and Associate Editor of Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia.

Dr. Cheung and his research associates

Memberships & Editorships

Memberships:

• President, Osteoporosis Society of Hong Kong (OSHK)
• Honorary Treasurer, Asian Federation of Osteoporosis Societies (AFOS)
• Member, Endocrine Society
• Member, American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR)

Editorships:

• Associate Editor, Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia
• Editorial Board Member, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM)

Honours and Awards

• New Investigator Award, joint meeting of European Calcified Tissue Society and International Bone and Mineral Society, Athens, Greece (2011)
• Early Career Award, The Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee, Hong Kong (2016)
• The Most Promising Young Research Award, Food and Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2021)

Precision medicine is an emerging form of disease prediction, diagnosis, and prevention that uses genetics, biomarkers, and other personalized information to deliver the right treatment, to the right person, at the right time. As the underlying cause of disease could be different among patients, the use of Precision Medicine should both improve patient outcomes and deliver benefits to the health service, based on patient's individualized makeup. In addition, the use of information from research of precision medicine can also lead to new drug and biomarker discovery.

Currently, there are several strategic areas under the supervision of Professor Cheung, including osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and other endocrine and metabolism related diseases.

Professor Cheung is the principal investigator of the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study, a cohort study of osteoporosis that established in 1995 by Prof. Annie Kung. Together with the availability of other related omics (genome-wide genotyping and metabolomics with > serum 1000 metabolites) and real-world big data, we are currently working in the following areas:

• Epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology
• Multiomics of osteoporosis
• Development of fracture prediction algorithm using machine learning
• Development of novel biomarkers, drugs, and supplements for osteoporosis and sarcopenia
• Cancer and its skeletal-related adverse events

Publications Highlights

• Hsu WWQ, Zhang X, Sing CW, Tan KCB, Wong IC, Lau WCY, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author) (2024) Unveiling unique clinical phenotypes of hip fracture patients and the temporal association with cardiovascular events. Nat Commun.;15(1):4353 (2022 ISI Impact factor: 16.6)
  
  Brief note: Major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) frequently occur in hip fracture patients, although it remains unclear whether the subphenotype of hip fracture can explain this association. Our multi-national cohort study evaluated hip fracture subphenotypes, revealing their clear presence in both the Hong Kong and United Kingdom populations. Notably, heart failure was predominantly and exclusively present within a specific subphenotype. Furthermore, our study demonstrated a temporal association between MACEs following hip fractures. We employed both conventional cohort analysis and self-controlled case series analysis across different subphenotypes, revealing substantial differences in MACE incidence rates, which could be as large as approximately fivefold.
• Li GH, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author), Tan KCB, Kung AWC, Kwok TCY, Lau WCY, Wong JSH, Hsu WWQ, Fang C, Wong ICK (2023) Development and validation of sex-specific hip fracture prediction models using electronic health records: a retrospective, population-based cohort study. EClinicalMedicine;58:101876 (2022 ISI Impact factor: 15.1)
  
  Brief note: This is a machine learning study evaluating the use of electronic medical records without BMD data in predicting 10-year risk of hip fracture. Using electronic medical records as the only predictors, logistic regression models performed better than ML algorithms in predicting the 10-year hip fracture risk in both female and male. Upon further validation, the logistic regression models may be integrated to the routine clinical workflow. These prediction models may be applied at both public healthcare service setting and the community-dwelling individuals at population-level, aiding to triage individuals who are at high risk of hip fracture for prioritized DXA scan, and subsequent treatment initiation. Such measures are expected to facilitate early prevention, timely diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis.
• Sing CW, Lin TC, Bartholomew S, Bell JS, Bennett C, Beyene K, Bosco-Levy P, Bradbury BD, Chan AHY, Chandran M, Cooper C, de Ridder M, Doyon CY, Droz-Perroteau C, Ganesan G, Hartikainen S, Ilomaki J, Jeong HE, Kiel DP, Kubota K, Lai EC, Lange JL, Lewiecki EM, Lin J, Liu J, Maskell J, de Abreu MM, O'Kelly J, Ooba N, Pedersen AB, Prats-Uribe A, Prieto-Alhambra D, Qin SX, Shin JY, Sørensen HT, Tan KB, Thomas T, Tolppanen AM, Verhamme KMC, Wang GH, Watcharathanakij S, Wood SJ, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author), Wong ICK. (2023) Global Epidemiology of Hip Fractures: Secular Trends in Incidence Rate, Post-Fracture Treatment, and All-Cause Mortality. J Bone Miner Res.;38(8):1064-1075 (2022 ISI Impact factor: 6.2)
  
  Brief note: This multinational study draws upon databases from 19 countries and regions to evaluate critical aspects of hip fractures. Specifically, we examine secular trends in incidence rates, post-fracture treatment, and 1-year all-cause mortality. Our findings reveal several key points. First, despite decreasing incidence rates observed in many countries and regions, the estimated total annual number of hip fractures nearly doubled between 2018 and 2050. Second, across the studied countries and regions, treatment rates within the first year after hip fracture remain disappointingly low—falling below 50% in almost all study sites (except the UK). Third, while overall outcomes for hip fractures appear to be improving continuously among females, the same trend is not observed in males. Our study provides valuable insights for policymakers and healthcare professionals, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to mitigate the projected impact of hip fractures on the aging population.
• Zhang X, Man KW, Li GHY, Tan KCB, Kung AWC, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author) (2022) Osteoporosis is A Novel Risk Factor of Infections and Sepsis: A Cohort Study. EClinicalMedicine;49:101488 (2022 ISI Impact factor: 15.1)
  
  Brief note: Osteoimmunology is an important topic investigating the interaction of bone metabolism with the immune system. However, osteoimmunology was mainly studied in in vitro and in vivo animal models, and the role of bone metabolism on the risk of infections and sepsis in humans has never been studied. This is the first cohort study evaluating the relationship of bone mass and risk of infections and sepsis. We showed that low bone mass was significantly associated with a higher risk of common infections and sepsis, and the results were significant in multiple sensitivity analyses. These findings are novel and support the interaction of bone metabolism with the immune system in humans.

Selected Publications

• Au PCM, Tan KC, Lam D, Cheung BM, Wong ICK, Sing CW, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author) (2023). Association of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor vs Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor Use With Risk of Incident Obstructive Airway Disease and Exacerbation Events Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Hong Kong. JAMA Network Open;6(1):e2251177 (2021 ISI impact factor: 13.8)
• Zhang X, Krishnamoorthy S, Tang CTL, Hsu WWQ, Li GHY, Sing CW, Tan KCB, Cheung BMY, Wong ICK, Kung AWC, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author). (2023) Association of Bone Mineral Density and Bone Turnover Markers with the Risk of Diabetes: Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study. J Bone Miner Res;38(12):1782-1790. (2022 ISI Impact factor: 6.2)
• Hsu WWQ, Zhang X, Sing CW, Li GHY, Tan KCB, Kung AWC, Wong JSH, Wong ICK, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author) (2022) Hip Fracture as a Predictive Marker for the Risk of Dementia: A Population-Based Cohort Study. J Am Med Dir Assoc;23:1720.e1-1720.e9 (2022 ISI impact factor: 7.6)
• Zhang X, Hsu WWQ, Sing CW, Li GHY, Tan KCB, Kung AW, Wong JSH, Wong IC, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author) (2022) Low Bone Mineral Density with Risk of Dementia: A Prospective Cohort Study. J Am Med Dir Assoc;23:1719.e9-1719.e19 (2022 ISI impact factor: 7.6)
• Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author), Sing CW, Lau WC, Li GH, Lip GY, Tan KC, Cheung BM, Chan EW, Wong IC (2021) Treatment with Direct Oral Anticoagulants or Warfarin and the Risk for Incident Diabetes Among Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Population-based Cohort Study. Cardiovascular Diabetology:25;20(1):71 (2022 ISI impact factor: 9.3)
• Sing CW, Tan KC, Wong IC, Cheung BM, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author) (2021) Long-term outcome of short-course high-dose glucocorticoids for SARS: a 17-year follow-up in SARS survivors. Clinical Infectious Diseases;72(10):1830-1833 (2022 ISI impact factor: 11.8)
• Li GHY, Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author), Au PCM, Tan KCB, Wong ICK, Sham PC (2020) Positive effects of low LDL-C and statins on bone mineral density: an integrated epidemiological observation analysis and Mendelian Randomization study. Int J Epidemiol;49(4):1221–1235 (2022 ISI Impact factor: 7.7)
• Cheung CL* (*Corresponding author), Tan KCB, Au PCM, Li GHY, Cheung BMY. (2019) Evaluation of GDF15 as a Therapeutic Target of Cardiometabolic Diseases in Human: A Mendelian Randomization Study. EBioMedicine;41:85-90 (2022 ISI impact factor: 11.1)
• Lau WCY, Chan EW, Cheung CL, Sing CW, Man KKC, Lip GYH, Siu CW, Lam JKY, Lee ACH, Wong IC. (2017) Association between Dabigatran versus Warfarin and Risk of Osteoporotic Fractures among Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation. JAMA; 317(11):1151-1158 (2022 ISI impact factor: 120.7)
• Cheung CL* (*Co-corresponding author), Lau KS, Ho AY, Lee KK, Tiu SC, Lau EY, Leung J, Tsang MW, Chan KW, Yeung CY, Woo YC, Cheung ENY, Hung VHF, Pang HK, Hung CS, Sham PC*, Kung AWC*. (2012) Genome-wide association study identifies a susceptibility locus for thyrotoxic periodic paralysis at 17q24.3. Nature Genetics;44:1026-1029 (2021 ISI impact factor: 30.8)

Seeking PhD candidates and Post-Doctoral Fellows (PDFs)

We are seeking highly motivated PhD candidates and PDFs for research in the areas of precision medicine and epidemiology (including big data and AI) in osteoporosis, cancers, and endocrine and metabolic diseases. Candidates with a background in health-related science, epidemiology, statistics, and/or engineering may have an advantage. Interested candidates can email Professor Cheung (lung1212@hku.hk) for further discussion.

Regular Student Consultation Hours
Every Friday at 11:00am - 12:00pm

Office
2/F, 21 Sassoon Road, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, Hong Kong SAR, China

For further information about the project and suitability, please email Professor Ching-Lung Cheung (email: lung1212@hku.hk).