Bryan Lin Professorship in Paediatric Cardiology

The Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine has been an integral part of Queen Mary Hospital’s organisation even after it separated from the Department of Medicine and was formally established in 1964. Because of this long-standing relationship, the Hospital is currently the only tertiary referral centre in Hong Kong for paediatric cardiac patients.

Professor Cheung Yiu-Fai is the Bryan Lin Professor in Paediatric Cardiology in the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Professor Cheung is a clinician specialising in paediatric cardiology, a teacher, and a clinician investigator who provides specialist care for children with congenital and acquired heart diseases.

Paediatric cardiovascular science is the main focus of the professor’s research – the scope of which encompasses congenital heart disease, acquired heart disease, and vascular function in health and disease. His research interests include exploration of novel echocardiographic imaging technologies in the early detection of cardiac dysfunction in children and adolescents with complex congenital heart disease and acquired cardiomyopathies, the translation of these new imaging technologies for paediatric clinical application, and defining the structural and functional alteration of blood vessels in children at risk of premature vascular aging. He and his team work in a laboratory specifically dedicated for research in paediatric echocardiography and vascular physiology, and which is equipped with novel non-invasive modalities for comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular function in children.

Professor Cheung provides specialist clinical service for children and adults with congenital heart disease and children with acquired heart diseases. Together with other paediatric cardiologists at Queen Mary Hospital, he provides diagnostic evaluation, postoperative care, and transcatheter interventions for patients ranging from neonates with critical heart conditions to grown-up congenital heart patients. He has been recognised internationally for his clinical expertise in paediatric cardiac imaging and catheter interventions and frequently invited to give talks on these areas on the Mainland and abroad. He is also the principal investigator in Hong Kong of an international drug trial involving children with congenital heart disease and trials responsible for assessing the cardiac function of children and young adults with beta-thalassaemia major and cancers.

Professor Cheung graduated from HKU in 1990. He received his Doctorate of Medicine in 2004, became a full professor at the University in 2007, and was awarded the Faculty Teaching Medal in the same year. He is Chairman of the Board of Studies of Master of Medical Sciences programme and is a member of the Education Committee and helps to co-ordinate undergraduate teachings of medical students. Externally, he is a member of the Examination Committee of Hong Kong College of Paediatricians. He serves as examiner of the MBBS examinations, MRCPCH clinical examination, and Licensing Examination of the Medical Council of Hong Kong. He is responsible for the teaching of paediatric cardiology to medical students, paediatric residents, and cardiology fellows.

He has written more than 130 peer-reviewed papers, two books, and nine book chapters, produced a multimedia CD-ROM on diagnosis of congenital heart disease, and delivered more than 100 invited lectures. In addition, he is the co-director of a Child Health Survey of approximately 7,500 Chinese children of local residents aged 15 years and below being commissioned by the Department of Health.