HKBU to award honorary doctorates to five leaders in science and medicine
Hong Kong Baptist University will confer honorary doctorates on five distinguished figures in higher education, medicine and research at a ceremony on 16 November. The recipients include former university presidents, an epidemiologist, a nanotechnologist and a surgeon.
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) will award honorary doctorates to five distinguished figures in higher education, medicine and research at a ceremony on 16 November. The recipients are former university presidents Professor Albert Chan and Professor Roland Chin, epidemiologist Professor David Moher, nanotechnologist Professor Zhong Lin Wang and surgeon Professor Manson Fok.
Professor Chan, who served as HKBU president from 2010 to 2015, will receive a Doctor of Science, honoris causa. An applied organic chemist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2001, Chan discovered synthetic chiral catalysis to develop single-enantiomer cancer drug candidates, reducing toxicity and improving efficacy. He also isolated cholesterol-lowering agents from Chinese herbal medicine and fostered collaborative research across Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
Professor Chin, president from 2015 to 2020, will receive a Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa, for contributions to robotic vision and institutional development. As chairman of the Research Grants Council from 2005 to 2012, Chin established key funding frameworks and five public research centres. During his presidency, he launched the Talent100 recruitment drive, integrated artificial intelligence across academic disciplines, funded the Jockey Club Campus of Creativity and steered planning for Hong Kong's first Chinese Medicine Hospital.
Canadian epidemiologist Professor Moher will be conferred a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, for advancing international research transparency. Moher spearheaded the CONSORT guidelines for reporting randomised controlled trials, endorsed by over 500 biomedical journals, and co-created the PRISMA review standards. In 2021, he helped launch an EQUATOR Network Centre at the university to advance evidence-based clinical practices combining Chinese and Western medicine.
Professor Zhong Lin Wang will also receive a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, for pioneering energy-harvesting technologies. Wang discovered piezotronics in 2007 and invented triboelectric nanogenerators in 2012 to power robotics and sensors. He heads the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, holds over 160 patents, has published over 2,000 papers and received the Global Energy Prize and the Albert Einstein World Award of Science.
Surgeon Professor Manson Fok will receive a Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa, for contributions to minimally invasive endoscopy and regional healthcare. Fok founded Macau's first medical school in 2019 at the Macau University of Science and Technology. He has also advised HKBU on preparations for a new medical school integrating Chinese and Western modalities and assisted in establishing its Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute.
With entertainer Dr Andy Lau Tak-wah having received an honorary Doctor of Letters in August, the institution recognises six recipients this year.