e-Bulletin August 2024

Praising Cognitive Emotions
What Makes Public Health Awesome

In his 1977 lecture, “In Praise of Cognitive Emotions”, Harvard philosopher Israel Scheffler decried the false wall between cold scientific knowing and the experienced inner world of our feelings. Then as now, university hierarchies valorised science and barely tolerated the humanities based on what Scheffler thought was an incorrect theory of the mind. He held, that we cannot effectively learn or teach without attaching to facts an emotional valence of concern. Students and teachers need to mark facts with excitement and curiosity, or horror and disgust or else a fact becomes a byte as banal as the 113^th digit of Pi.

Scheffler presaged modern neuroscience with a claim that human knowing is not possible without emotion. As you look at the figure below your ventral tegmental area (VTA) is triggering dopamine release into the nucleus accumbens. This micro-dose of dopamine will determine how long you remember this sentence’s self-referential fact as its electrons zip through the hippocampus to your memory banks. The prior sentence may have tickled, perplexed, or excited you, and that feeling is a cognitive emotion. If you felt nothing, you are well on your way to forgetting this entire essay.

Cognitive emotions are the life blood of a university. They motivate us to launch studies, write papers, find collaborators, and critique errors. Our best moments in the classroom come from tying facts to feelings of wonder.

We all have an immense privilege of working at a School of Public Health where the facts we share save lives. Robots cannot feel what we feel and can never replace the enthusiasm that only we can bring to our work in this amazing field. We have plenty of knowledge to get excited about, plenty of problems to despair, and no shortage of heroes who can connect people with solutions that they can put into practice. I want to welcome arriving classes of undergraduates, masters and doctoral students, to this great profession where our cognitive emotions unite the joy of service with the perpetual awe of new knowledge.

Professor David Bishai
Director and Clinical Professor
School of Public Health, HKU

References

1. Scheffler, Israel. In Praise of the Cognitive Emotions (Routledge Revivals): And Other Essays in the Philosophy of Education. Routledge, 2010.
2. Setlow, Barry. “The nucleus accumbens and learning and memory.” Journal of neuroscience research 49, no. 5 (1997): 515-521

Professor Guan Yi Ranked 1^st in Immunology in China by Research.com in 2024
Significant Contributions to the Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases in China and the World

Professor Guan Yi, Daniel CK Yu Professor in Virology, Chair Professor of Emerging Viral Diseases and Cluster Leader (Influenza and Infections of Public Health Significance) of our School, was ranked 1^st in Immunology in China and 131^st among his peers worldwide by the international academic website Research.com in 2024.

Professor Yi is the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases at HKU, whose research focuses on the ecology, evolution and pathogenesis of influenza and other emerging respiratory viruses. Over the past decade, his research team has made ground-breaking and distinguished contributions to research in virology and the control of emerging infectious diseases in China and the world. More about Professor Guan’s biography and his work can be found here.

The rankings by Research.com are determined by a scientist’s D-index (Discipline H-index), which solely considers publication and citation data within a specific discipline. This recognition highlights Professor Guan’s significant contributions to his field and the substantial impact his work has had on society. To learn more about other top-ranked HKU scholars, please visit here.

The School extends our heartfelt congratulations to Professor Guan.

Professor Michael Ni and His Team Received the Faculty Knowledge Exchange Award 2024
FAMILY Cohort Serving as a Health and Wellbeing Barometer for Hong Kong for over a Decade and Counting

Together with his team, Professor Michael Yuxuan Ni, Clinical Associate Professor of our School, won the “Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award” in 2024 with their project “A Health and Wellbeing Barometer for Hong Kong: Translational Impact Attained over a Decade and Counting”.

The FAMILY Cohort was the first large-scale programme in Hong Kong to track physical, mental, and social well-being over time. The cohort has been a territory-wide health and wellbeing barometer. Impacts include:

1. District Health Profiles: The FAMILY Cohort’s findings on different health profiles around Hong Kong directly influenced the establishment of District Health Centres across all 18 districts, and their research findings have been cited in the Policy Address and the Legislative Council briefing paper as the “most relevant” and the only non-governmental source used for decision-making.
2. Longevity Insights: Their research has provided empirical support for tobacco control policies, showing how tobacco control helped Hong Kong to become the world’s longest-living population.
3. Real-time Monitoring: The FAMILY Cohort’s real-time monitoring during population health shocks has guided policy formulation, health services planning, and resource allocation. Their epidemiological work directs care towards affected populations.

This award is a recognition of Professor Ni and his team’s dedication to cross-disciplinary collaboration and evidence-based impact. Their work has captured the essence of the School’s mission, and will continue to serve as an inspiration to our School.

Publications in June and July 2024
Scholars’ Output Highlighted

The following are research papers published by SPH researchers in June and July 2024:

Remark:

• This list is compiled by searching in Scopus using the keywords “School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong” for June and July 2024
• * Member of School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong
• Arranged by date of publication

HKU-Pasteur Research Pole and Andong National University Signed MOU
Collaborate to Advance Vaccine Development and Biotechnology

On June 7, 2024, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole (HKU-PRP) of our School and the Andong National University (ANU) of the Republic of Korea, to establish a formal partnership for advancing academic exchange and scientific research, laying the groundwork for further collaboration between the two institutions in the fields of vaccine development and biotechnology. The MOU was signed by Professor David Bishai, Director and Clinical Professor of our School; Professor Leo Poon, Co-Director of HKU-PRP; and Professor Sun-woo Yoon, Project Coordinator of the Glocal University Project Group at ANU. “Andong National University has a vaccine factory on their campus. Their capability in making vaccines complements our capability in discovering them,” expressed Professor Bishai.

Initiated by Professor Sook-san Wong, Assistant Professor of our School, and Professor Sun-Woo Yoon, the collaboration will not only facilitate personnel exchange among faculty, staff, and students, particularly those enrolled in master’s or doctoral programmes in fields of virology, vaccine biotechnology and related disciplines, but also provide a framework for organising joint seminars, conferences, and other scientific meetings. Moving forward, the institutions will share project-relevant information and technology, and explore opportunities for co-developing research initiatives and other forms of cooperation.

Public Health Newspaper Column
Bringing Real-life Impact to Community

As an institution committed to sharing knowledge for the world, members of the School of Public Health contributed articles in the LKS Faculty of Medicine’s weekly column of Oriental Daily News （東方日報）. The following are articles (Chinese only) published in July and August 2024:

Little Dr Flu 2.0 Keeps Inspiring Public Health’s Young Scientists
Programme Featured in ViuTV and Now News

Around 20 primary school students participated in the Little Dr Flu 2.0. programme with our School in May this year. Participants explored laboratories and learned about bacteria and viruses. The visit was featured in ViuTV and Now News (Chinese only).

Launched in 2013 by Professor Michael Chan, Associate Professor at our School, Little Dr Flu aims to raise awareness of influenza virus infection, promote understanding of public health, etiological agents and the human respiratory system, and inspire children’s interest in science. In 2024, the programme was upgraded to Little Dr Flu 2.0, with information on COVID-19 introduced.

To watch the programme, please click here.

Future Public Health Leaders
Professor Chung Pui-hong and Students Promoted BASc(GHD) Programme

Professor Chung Pui-hong, Assistant Dean (Health Sciences Admissions) of LKS Faculty of Medicine, Clinical Associate Professor of Practice and Director of BASc in Global Health and Development [BASc(GHD)] Programme, gave a media interview with two students, Vincy Yau (2023 graduate) and Zoe Chan (Year 1). They introduced the unique features of the BASc(GHD) programme, showcasing the School’s commitment to nurturing students to become future public health leaders.

They emphasised that diverse student and teacher populations creates a rich and dynamic learning experience that prepares students to mitigate transnational health problems as global citizens. Professor Chung shared that approximately one-third of the annual intake are international students. The teaching team is composed of faculty members from the US, the UK, and Southeast Asia.

A highlight of the programme is the 6-month field placement, in which students gain hands-on experience at placement sites such as United Nations agencies, NGOs, and charitable foundations. Vincy, who interned at UNICEF New York, explained how the programme’s interdisciplinary nature equipped her to better collaborate with colleagues from various academic backgrounds. As a first-year student, Zoe also shared her experience in engaging with the wider Faculty of Medicine community through student society activities.

To read the news, please click here (Chinese only).

HKUMed Developed Medical-Grade Smartphone Stethoscope to Support Valvular Heart Disease Detection
The “AI Doctor in Your Pocket” to be Launched in the Market Soon

An interdisciplinary team from the LKS Faculty of Medicine developed an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) software system that can turn an ordinary mobile phone into a medical-grade stethoscope, allowing anyone to use a smartphone to detect heart disease symptoms at their fingertips, and subsequently seek immediate medical attention, without the need for specialised devices. Professor Joseph Wu, Professor of our School and Managing Director of the Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D²4H), was among the research team and demonstrated to the press how this invention, namely Vitogram, worked at a press conference held on July 31, 2024.

This patented AI technology enables the detection of valvular heart disease, with an estimated accuracy of 81% – a level comparable to a doctor’s assessment using a stethoscope. Soon to be launched in the market, the invention promotes early detection of valvular heart disease, personalised health management, heart disease screening, the use of telemedicine, and remote disease monitoring.

To read more about the invention, please click here.

Research Highlights the Impact of Heatwaves in Hong Kong
Professor David Bishai Suggests Devising a Unified Action Plan

Recent research conducted by Professor David Bishai with Research Assistant, Ms Liu Zhenyuan, reveals alarming findings regarding heatwaves in the city. Findings were presented at the 4^th Greater Bay Area Public Health and Safety Conference in Shenzen on July 4, 2024. The study estimates that between 2014 and 2023, heatwaves may have contributed to approximately 1,677 excess deaths. This significant figure underscores the urgent need for effective heat action plans to mitigate health risks.

The research defines a heatwave as a period when the average daily temperature reaches 30.6°C or higher. It highlights that vulnerable populations, particularly those aged 60 to 84, face the highest risk of excess mortality during these extreme weather events. Professor Bishai emphasises that many of these deaths could be preventable with proactive measures and community engagement.

The study serves as a call to action for local authorities in developing comprehensive strategies to protect residents from the adverse effects of extreme heat. By prioritising public health initiatives, Hong Kong can enhance its resilience to climate-related challenges.

To read the news, please click here.