THE GLOBAL ASPIRING MEDIC CONFERENCE
2019
Global Aspiring Medic Conference (GAMC) is the largest medical conference in Asia held in Hong Kong every summer to offer students with invaluable insights into the dynamic medical industry. ARCH Community Outreach (ACO) is privileged to have leading professionals from various fields to share their unparalleled insiders’ knowledge in the fields of Medicine, Chinese Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Psychology, Biomedical Science and Medical Technology – disciplines that are truly reflective of the versatile nature and choice in the healthcare industry.
Through inspiring lectures delivered by speakers from world renowned research institutions, we hope to enlighten students on the academic rigor and research that underlies every facet of healthcare. In collaboration with Admission Tutors from top medical schools, students have the opportunity to learn the complexity of the medicine application process and the revered qualities that medical schools are looking for. Lastly clinical workshops allow students to interact with licensed practitioners for a realistic insight into the world of healthcare, and cooperate in small groups to resolve a common clinical case in a problem-based learning approach – a genuinely remarkable feat to organize considering there are 300+ participants!
Through illuminating lectures, interactive workshops and informative medicine application procedure, GAMC positively equips students with the vision in the diverse healthcare discipline. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements about GAMC 2019 and our line-up of incredible speakers!
Students who participate in HKU's "Young Medical and Healthcare Professional Summer Programme 2019" are entitled to the GAMC, no further registration through ARCH Community Outreach or Eventbrite is required.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
PROF. IVAN HUNG
Specialist in Infectious Disease, Gastroenterology & Hepatology
MBChB (Bristol), MD (HK), MRCP (UK), FRCP (Lon, Edin), FHKCP, FHKAM (Medicine), PDipID (HK)
Ru Chien & Helen Lieh Professorship in Health Sciences Pedagogy
Clinical Professor & Assistant Dean (Admissions), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine (HKU)
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
Honorary Consultant, Queen Mary Hospital
Professor Hung is a dual specialist in Infectious Disease and Gastroenterology & Hepatology. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Bristol Medical School, England in 1996. After working at the University of Cambridge Medical School and Charing Cross Hospital, the Imperial College Medical School, London, he returned to Hong Kong in 1999 and joined the Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital. After obtaining his MRCP, he underwent subspecialty training in infectious diseases, followed by gastroenterology and hepatology. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Division of Geographical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, USA. He obtained his M.D. degree from HKU in 2011 and was awarded the Sir Patrick Manson Gold Medal award for best M.D. thesis. He was awarded the Richard Yu Lectureship and medal in 2016 by the Hong Kong College of Physicians. He is currently the Fellow of Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh.
Professor Hung has published more than 180 international peer reviewed original articles, including research articles in the Lancet, the Lancet Infectious Diseases and the Clinical Infectious Diseases. He and his team have pioneered the use of topical imiquimod before intradermal influenza vaccination, which results in protection against heterologous non-vaccine and antigenically drifted viruses. His team was also the first to prove convalescent plasma and H-IVIG reduced mortality in patients with severe influenza infection in prospective clinical trials. He is ranked as a HKU Scholar in the world top 1% in 2013 and 2018.
DR. TOH HAN CHONG
Specialist in Medical Oncology
BSc (London), MB BCHIR (Cambridge), MRCP (UK), FRCP (Edin), FAMS
Deputy Director, National Cancer Centre Singapore
Associate Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School
Chief Medical Officer, Tessa Therapeutics Ltd
Dr. Toh Han Chong is a Senior Consultant and Deputy Director of the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). He is an Associate Professor at the Cancer & Stem Cell Biology Program, Duke-NUS, and adjunct Principal Investigator of the Singapore Immunology Network and Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR. He is the Chief Medical Officer at Tessa Therapeutics Ltd.
Dr. Toh obtained the International Baccalaureate diploma from Pearson College (United World College), Canada. He then graduated from the University of London, UK, with an Intercalated Bachelor of Science in ‘Infection and Immunity’ from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School and qualified as a medical doctor from the University of Cambridge, UK. Dr. Toh obtained his Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians in 2003. He received his medical oncology fellowship training at the Singapore General Hospital, and at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. He then completed a research fellowship in cancer immunotherapy at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Dr. Toh is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.
Dr. Toh is a recipient of the National Senior Clinician Scientist Award 2017 for translational research in cancer. He received the National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award 2018. Dr. Toh has published over 100 peer-review journal articles. Dr. Toh is on the Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert (APPLE) council and is the founding chairman of the Singapore Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium. He is on the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) faculty for tumour immunology and immunotherapy.
Dr. Toh is married with 2 children and he enjoys rowing on weekends.
DR. DEREK WONG
Specialist in Neurosurgery
MBBS(HK), MRCSEd, FRCSEd(SN), FCSHK, FHKAM(Surgery)
Council member of Hong Kong Stroke Society
Council member of Hong Kong Society of Interventional & Therapeutic Neuroradiology
Hong Kong Neurosurgery Centre
Dr. Wong graduated from the University of Hong Kong, and has completed his speciality training in Neurosurgery among five hospitals. After obtaining his Fellowship at Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Hong Kong College of Surgeons, he worked at Queen Elizabeth Hospital until joining Hong Kong Neurosurgery Centre in 2018.
Besides general neurosurgical operations, Dr. Wong has spent extensive hours on vascular neurosurgery and interventional neuroradiology. He has been in charge of managing patients with neurovascular diseases, such as acute stroke, cerebral aneurysms, carotid stenoses, cerebral arteriovenous malformations etc.
Dr. Wong is currently one of the council members of Hong Kong Stroke Society, and of Hong Kong Society of Interventional & Therapeutic Neuroradiology; actively taking part in development and education of stroke treatment and neurointervention in Hong Kong.
Apart from being a dedicated neurosurgeon, Dr. Wong is also recognised for being active in sports. He was a member of the Hong Kong Triathlon Team, and is still active in triathlon & marathon races while promoting active lifestyle to the community.
DR. MARIOS LOUKAS
Specialist in Anatomical Sciences
MD (Poland) , PhD (Pathology)
Dean of Basic Sciences
Dean of Research
Professor, Anatomy, St. George's University
Dr. Loukas was appointed Chairman of the Department of Anatomical Sciences at SGU in 2008. He is responsible for managing the anatomy department, developing curriculum, supervising research and inspiring scholarly activities. Under his guidance, the department publishes approximately 70 to 80 academic papers a year. In addition, Dr. Loukas is the University’s Dean of Research and Assistant Dean of Basic and Allied Health Sciences.
Prior to joining SGU, Dr. Loukas taught anatomy, histology, and radiology at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Education and Development for seven years. He also taught anatomy at the American University of the Caribbean and was the Course Director and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy for one year. Dr. Loukas served on the Student Evaluation and Promotion, and Faculty Evaluation Committees and was Chair of the Information Technology Committee at the American University of the Caribbean. With this background, Dr. Loukas has been able to provide his medical knowledge in the anatomical sciences to a larger audience, and in 2015 he was elected as the President of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists. Dr. Loukas has won several awards for research and teaching and has published over 300 works in a variety of publications.
DR. ANGUS HSU
Medical Admissions Consultant , ARCH Education
Dr. Angus Hsu studied medicine at the University of Cambridge and University College London, graduating with a MA (Hons) and MBBS degree. During his time at Cambridge, Dr. Hsu completed an intercalated BSc degree in pharmacology with a research project on the novel nucleic acid binding Alba proteins. After qualifying as a doctor, Dr. Hsu worked at Newham University Hospital and Queen's Hospital. During the tenure, Dr. Hsu was actively involved in teaching medical students and providing training to the nursing staff. He has organized mock exams for medical students and acted as an examiner for undergraduate exams. Dr. Hsu was awarded a Certificate of Commitment to Teaching from the NHS. Dr. Hsu also undertook a diabetes audit commissioned by Clinical Commissioning Group to improve patient care and the findings were presented at a local GP meeting.
Being a highly motivated individual, Dr. Hsu has worked as a private tutor when he was an undergraduate and a doctor. He has over ten years of experience in one-to-one and small group tuitions, focusing on biology and chemistry at all levels. Dr. Hsu also took pride in guiding many prospective students into top UK medical schools, leveraging on insider knowledge on what admission tutors are looking for so that students can avoid common pitfalls.
MS. JENNIFER MA
Director of University Admissions Consultation & Co-Founder, ARCH Education &
ARCH Community Outreach
Ms. Ma graduated from Oxford University with First Class Honors in Economics and Management (B.A., Hon M.A.), and achieved her Masters of Education from the University of Hong Kong in 2011. Jennifer is the Founder & Director of ARCH Community Outreach and ARCH Education. She is responsible for curriculum development and as the Head of University Counseling for UK and HK, Jennifer leads a team of 100+ counselors with subject expertise across 30+ disciplines and specialises in MMI, UCAT and BMAT training.
Medicine has always been one of the most popular subjects amongst students in Asia. Achieving more than 210+ offers in the past 5 years, medicine is indeed one of the ARCH team’s strongest areas. Jennifer has been invited to deliver large scale pre-university preparation talks and workshops at Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Hong Kong Outstanding Student Association and HKU Academy for the Talented.
CLINICAL WORKSHOP SPEAKERS
DR. JENSEN POON
Specialist in General Surgery
Honorary Clinical Associate Professor (HKU)
MBBS (UNSW), FRCSEd, FCSHK, FHKAM (Surgery), MS (HK)
Dr. Poon is a colorectal surgeon with special interest in minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Poon graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1995 and completed his surgical training at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong. He has been awarded with fellowships at professional authorities including the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the American College of Surgeons, the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. He has served as the Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong and the Deputy Chief of Colorectal Surgery at Queen Mary Hospital.
Dr. Poon is a surgeon as well as a scholar. He has conducted a series of research on minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of colorectal cancer. From the results of his studies, Dr. Poon has explored new strategies to achieve optimal outcomes for patients and has published his findings in more than 70 articles in international journals, two book chapters and one thesis for his doctorate degree. Together with his team at Queen Mary Hospital, Dr. Poon has introduced advanced minimally invasive surgery for colorectal cancer in Hong Kong. These innovative techniques include single-port laparoscopic colectomy and robotic assisted rectal cancer resection.
Dr. Poon’s research is internationally recognised. In 2012, he won a Top International Abstract Award at the annual scientific meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. The following year, he was awarded the Inaugural Carlos Pellegrini Travelling Fellowship from the American College of Surgeons. He has shared his knowledge of minimally invasive surgery and colorectal diseases at more than 40 global conferences and scientific meetings. Through different workshops on minimally invasive surgery, he has trained many young surgeons in Hong Kong.
DR. CHAN SIU KIM
Specialist in Nephrology
Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (CUHK)
MBBS (HKU), MRCP (UK), FHKCP, FHKAM (Medicine)
Dr. Chan graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 2001 and has served both public and private sectors. He is a specialist in internal medicine and nephrology with special interest in kidney transplantation. Besides that, he has also obtained Master of Business Administration from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011 with good academic standing (Dean's Honor List).
He is also actively participating in medical education and is currently appointed as a Clinical Associate Professor (Honorary) in the Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, CUHK. His respectable teaching attitude is recognised by the award of “Exemplary Teacher’s Award” for 3 consecutive years since the year 2015/2016.
He also serves as a council member of the Hong Kong Medical Association and is responsible for helping mediating dispute between the public and the medical practitioners.
DR. LORRAINE CHOW
Specialist in General Surgery
Honorary Clinical Assistant Professor (HKU)
Honorary Consultant in General Surgery, Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital
Chairlady of Woman’s Chapter, College of Surgeons of Hong Kong
Honorary Medical Consultant, Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation
Medical Advisor, Global Chinese Breast Cancer Organisation Alliance
Dr. Chow is the Honorary Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at The University of Hong Kong, and the Chairlady of the Women’s Chapter, College of Surgeons of Hong Kong. She completed her undergraduate medical training with the University of Hong Kong. She then received her surgical training at the Department of Surgery in Queen Mary Hospital, the University of Hong Kong, and obtained her tripartite fellowship in General Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, College of Surgeons of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. She was the Associate Consultant at the Division of Breast Surgery in Queen Mary Hospital before entry into private practice this year. She is specialized in Breast Surgery and completed the Oncoplastic Masterclass at the Ecole Eruopeenne de Chirurgie, Paris.
Specialist in Anaesthesiology
Honorary Clinical Tutor (CUHK)
DR. Etonia Pang
Dr. Pang graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2009 and serves at the Prince of Wales Hospital since graduation. She is a specialist in Anaesthesiology, with special interest in thoracic and obstetric anaesthesia. On top of that, she also spent a year in medical research and obtained a Bachelor in Science (Medical Science) with first class Honour in 2006.
Apart from clinical duties, she is also an honorary clinical tutor, taking part in regular teaching and tutorial for medical students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
She is actively participating in simulation courses organized by the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists and is one of the instructors of the Air Crew Resuscitation Simulation course for the Government Flying Service team.
DR. AKIN CHAN
Surgeon of Global humanitarian work
MBChB (CUHK), MRCS (Edinburgh), FRCS (Edinburgh), FCSHK, FHKAM (Surgery)
Dr. Chan had been working with the Hospital Authority for more than 10 years, previously in the position of Associate Consultant in the department of surgery of United Christian Hospital, and honorary clinical assistant professor of the two medical schools in Hong Kong. He had been serving the million population in the Kowloon East, providing different scopes of surgical services. He also contributed to the training of medical students & junior surgical trainees.
Dr. Chan is also devoted to humanitarian work. He joined the Médecins Sans Frontières and Red Cross in 2011, and had been working in different conflict zones since then, providing lifesaving surgical services to the underprivileged.
Dr. Chan is currently working in the private sector while staying active in the global humanitarian work.
DR. HARRIET STUART-CLARKE
General Practitioner, Central Health Medical Practice
MBBS (Lond), LMCHK, DRCOG
Dr. Stuart-Clarke grew up in the UK and lived in London after University. She moved to Hong Kong in 2015 and is a General Practitioner.
Dr. Stuart-Clarke is a keen volunteer doctor of the Patient Care Foundation, which seeks to provide medical and healthcare support to those most in need. The organization provides probono healthcare to refugees. Its mental health initiative, Mind Hong Kong (Mind HK), provides bilingual mental health information and resources, with the goal of destigmatising mental health and raising awareness of it. In November 2017, the PCF co-organised an international mental health conference with the purpose of destigmatisation in Hong Kong. This year Mind HK is launching a youth mental health initiative, Coolminds, which will provide training for parents, teachers and online mental health support for young people.
MR. ROHIT KUMAR VERMA
BSc. in Public Health (CUHK - Health Services, First Class Hons.)
AFHKCCHP, M.B.B.S. (HKU) Year 5
Rohit Kumar Verma is currently a penultimate year medical student at the University of Hong Kong prior to which he received a degree in Public Health at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, graduating with First Class Honour.
Over the years, Rohit has accrued expertise in research, bioethics as well as healthcare systems management and financing. Rohit currently aspires to be a surgeon, and is particularly interested in Orthopaedics and Traumatology. He also actively engages with the community through TEDx and NGO initiatives.
Rohit also happens to be a former attendee of the GAMC, having participated in the inaugural year of the conference.
MR. WHARTON CHAN
MBiochem (Oxon.)
MD-PhD Candidate, Duke-NUS Medical School
Mr. Chan graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry (MBiochem) and is currently pursuing a clinician scientist career at Duke NUS Medical School, Singapore. With special interests in immunology, genetics and bioinformatics, he hopes to advance healthcare by understanding disease processes using big data approaches. He holds the strong belief that being both a research and a clinician will create the necessary synergy to tackle understudied medical questions.
Currently, Mr. Chan is working in the field of comparative immunology, with a special interest in using the bat as a model organism to dissect the interesting paradigms of inflammation and ageing. He uses cutting edge genomics and transcriptomics technologies to answer these questions. Did you know the bat is the longest living mammal with respect to biomass? Come talk to him about how animals can solve medical problems!
KEYNOTE SPEAKER FORUMS
FORUM I
From SARS to influenza pandemics, what have we learnt?
PROF IVAN HUNG
The SARS epidemic in 2003 infected more than 8000 patients, resulting in 774 deaths in 37 countries. During the epidemic, Hong Kong was severely affected both socially and economically. Nevertheless, health care workers in Hong Kong stood firm and took a leading role in both the treatment and research in SARS. Scientists from the HKU was the first team to identify coronavirus to be the cause of SARS and to describe the clinical and virological presentation. The team also identified the horseshoe bats in Hong Kong and the southern part of China to be the origin. Similarly, influenza poses a heavy burden to both global and local health services. The WHO estimates half a million death worldwide annually is secondary to influenza infection and its complication. Elderly subjects, young children and patients with chronic illness are at high risk in acquiring severe influenza infection. We also face new threats of the antigenically drifted H1N1 and H3N2 infection and the avian influenza virus including the H5N1 and H7N9.
In this talk, I will share with you my experience in clinical research, from the bench-to-bedside, and from SARS to influenza pandemics.
FORUM II
Cancer Immunotherapy
The Cinderella of Cancer Treatment is finally having a Ball !
DR. TOH HAN CHONG
Last year, Jim Allison and Tasuku Honjo shared the 2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for their pioneering work in cancer immunotherapy. This is the first ever Nobel Prize awarded for any form of cancer therapy. The road to successful, globally impactful immune based treatments across so many cancers did not happen just in the past 10 years. It began over 100 years ago. This road has been rocky, winding, uncertain, and fraught with failures, heartbreak, yet sparked with some successes along the rollercoaster ride. Cancer immunotherapy was long regarded as the Cinderella of cancer treatment. The list of giants in the field are many, and each stands on the shoulders of the previous generations, building on the discoveries of one another, contributing to a clearer picture in a medical jigsaw puzzle. This journey towards the now widespread role of cancer immunotherapy that has benefitted so many cancer patients worldwide is filled with remarkable scientists and doctors of vision, resilience, grit and courage. These are life lessons of challenging dogma, following one’s instincts, pushing frontiers, rising above failure and connecting many dots.
FORUM III
Neurosurgery - achieving the impossible
DR. DEREK WONG
Neurosurgery is a relatively new surgical discipline, performing surgical interventions on the central nervous system. A hundred years ago, any surgery performed on the brain is so risky that merely surviving the surgery is considered a success. As technology develops, we are now capable to perform neurological surgeries with safety and precision, or even without having to open up the skull! We are now treating diseases once considered untreatable; and not only saving lives but improving the quality of life. I will be talking about how this specialty has been changing, and the vast potential in future development.
FORUM IV
Translational Research in Clinical Anatomy, the way forward
DR. MARIOS LOUKAS
Basic sciences and specifically anatomical sciences are essential components of medical curricula worldwide. Although anatomical sciences and specifically gross anatomy is essential to medical students and physicians, gross anatomy research has proven challenging to directly have an impact on patient care. As a result, the model of translational research has been applied to address the gap between gross anatomy and patient care. This presentation will provide cases from published studies from peer reviewed journals of our research group using gross anatomy as the main tool for conducting translational research and shows its direct impact on patient care. In addition, this presentation will show examples of research in the areas of clinical anatomy research, translational research, reverse translational research and the impact on patient care. Finally, this presentation will show concrete examples of future projects of feasibility studies and their direct relation with patient care.
FORUM V
Navigating the Maze of Medical School Admissions &
Life as a Medic Student
DR ANGUS HSU & MS JENNIFER MA
Medicine is one of the most competitive subjects to gain entry to in the world. But beyond top grades, what else can students do to prepare ahead of applications to medical schools? Students will have the opportunity to learn from experienced university consultants about pathways for studying medicine and related subjects in Hong Kong and abroad. Students will gain an understanding of what qualities medical schools are really looking for, as well as discover ways in which they can enhance their chance to enter medical schools.
Student representatives from the University of Hong Kong will share their personal experiences as applicants and current medical students!