Jimmy and Emily Tang Professorship in Molecular Genetics

Professor Stephanie K Y Ma obtained her B.Sc. (Cell Biology and Genetics) and M.Sc. (Experimental Medicine) degrees from the University of British Columbia (Canada), and graduated from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) with a Ph.D. of outstanding ranking that was awarded the Li Ka Shing Prize for the Best PhD Thesis of that year. Since then, she has been working at HKU where she is currently the Jimmy and Emily Tang Professor in Molecular Genetics and Associate Director at the School of Biomedical Sciences in Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU (HKUMed), the Assistant Dean (Innovation and Technology Transfer) at HKUMed, and the Associate Director of the Knowledge Exchange Office at HKU. Professor Ma is also a Principal Investigator at the State Key Laboratory of Liver Research.

Professor Ma is recognised for her scientific accomplishments in the field of cancer and biomedical sciences, in particular on how a more stemness state in cancer can contribute to therapy resistance and tumor recurrence, making significant contributions towards better comprehension of functional markers and intrinsic and extrinsic properties that regulate cancer cell plasticity in gastrointestinal tumors, and identifying potential novel treatment therapies. In her field, she has been listed by Clarivate as a top 1% most-cited scholar and by Stanford University as a top 2% scientist worldwide. She has been recognised by numerous awards, including the 2008 Young Scientist Award in Life Sciences from the Hong Kong Institution of Science, the 2012-13 Outstanding Young Researcher Award from HKU, the 2014 Croucher Innovation Award, the 2014 Scientific Research Outstanding Achievement Award (Second-class Award in Science and Technology Section) from the Higher Education Institution of China, the 2017 University of British Columbia Alumni Builder Award (Canada), the 2021 Research Grants Council (RGC) Research Fellow Scheme, the 2023 Croucher Senior Research Fellowship as well as the 2022-23 Outstanding Researcher Award from HKU. She has authored over 150 papers published in international peer-reviewed journals and serves as a member of editorial boards of reputable journals and grant review panels.

Professor Ma is a Founding Member of the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences, where she currently serves as Vice-President and Co-Chair of their Outreach Committee. In addition to her personal achievements, Professor Ma is passionate about promoting science education and dedicated to mentoring future generations of scientists. Her mentees are recipients of prestigious awards and scholarships and have secured independent faculty positions in reputable institutes.

Professor Ma is active in community services and currently serves as a board member at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP), as well as a member of the Science Sub-committee under the Museum Advisory Committee of the HKSAR Leisure and Cultural Services Department.