HK academic leader to be dean of NTU medical school

Joseph Sung has been lauded for his research in gastroenterology, teaching and leadership

Hong Kong gastroenterologist Joseph Sung will formally start his tenure at NTU on April 1 next year.
Hong Kong gastroenterologist Joseph Sung will formally start his tenure at NTU on April 1 next year. PHOTO: NTU
Hong Kong gastroenterologist Joseph Sung will formally start his tenure at NTU on April 1 next year.
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT SUBRA SURESH

Hong Kong gastroenterologist and academic leader Joseph Sung will be joining Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as the new dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), NTU announced on Tuesday.

Professor Sung will be concurrently appointed as NTU's senior vice-president (health and life sciences), assuming responsibility for the integration of university-wide activities in health, medicine and life sciences.

He will also be appointed to the tenured faculty rank of Distinguished University Professor, which is the highest NTU faculty rank given to members with extraordinary scholarly achievements that typically span multiple disciplinary boundaries.

The formal start of his tenure at NTU will be April 1 next year.

Prof Sung will be succeeding Professor James Best, who will be retiring after nearly seven years as dean of the medical school.

Prof Sung was the vice-chancellor and president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) from 2010 to 2017, and has held the title of the Mok Hing Yiu Professor of Medicine at CUHK's department of medicine and therapeutics since 2007. Before serving as vice-chancellor, he was associate dean of CUHK's faculty of medicine and head of Shaw College.

Prof Sung has achieved high recognition for his research in gastroenterology, teaching and leadership. He has also received grants for his research work covering a variety of healthcare concerns - from gastric disorders and cancers to the severe acute respiratory syndrome and infectious diseases.

He has served on the board of Singapore's National University Health System and as a council member of the University of Melbourne.

From 2016 to 2018, he chaired the Worldwide Universities Network, a leading global higher education network of 23 research-intensive universities committed to addressing urgent challenges.

NTU said that Prof Sung was "unanimously recommended after a global search" by the LKCMedicine dean search advisory committee.

NTU president Subra Suresh said he is looking forward to working with Prof Sung, adding: "NTU is well positioned to focus our interdisciplinary strengths on tackling grand challenges in healthcare, and we are delighted that an individual of Prof Sung's calibre will lead this next chapter of development at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine."

On his impending move to Singapore, Prof Sung said: "I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead LKCMedicine and to join the current senior leadership team to contribute to the university-wide development of activities that will improve healthcare in Singapore, the region and across the globe."

Prof Sung completed his MBBS degree at the University of Hong Kong in 1983. He obtained his PhD from the University of Calgary in 1992 and Doctor of Medicine degree from CUHK in 1997.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 13, 2020, with the headline HK academic leader to be dean of NTU medical school. Subscribe