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"The University of Hong Kong has nurtured many generations of outstanding haematologists. They have been making great contributions to teaching, training, research and clinical services in haematology. The Professorship is established by the Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation in recognition of this legacy, aiming to further empower professional development, augment research capacity and improve quality patient care in the field of clinical haematology in Hong Kong."

Dr Walton W T Li
Chairman, Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation

Dr Walton W T Li
Chairman, Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation
Anskar Y H Leung

Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation Professorship in Haematology

Leukemia is a heterogeneous cancer of the blood cells that strikes more than 300 people a year in Hong Kong. For the majority of patients who suffer from acute myeloid leukemia there is no cure at the moment. But unique research work at The University of Hong Kong is investigating how to develop new and novel drugs to fight the disease with less harmful side effects.


Professor Anskar Leung, Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at HKU is leading the search for a cure in acute myeloid leukemia. He is also the Assistant Dean (Platform Technologies) of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine. His research team examined the process of blood formation from embryonic development to adult individuals, how this process may go awry and how an intervention of this aberration may lead to a cure of leukemia. He and his team focus on finding a cure for the lethal acute myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts (a type of primitive white blood cell) instead of mature white cells, red blood cells, or platelets.


Professor Leung and his team have established a unique laboratory model using zebrafish that enables them to better understand the basic process of blood formation in embryonic development and adult individuals. By creating the zebrafish model they have been able to develop drugs that potentially can be useful to sufferers.


His detailed research focuses on the study of hematopoiesis under normal and neoplastic conditions. In particular, he made use of the zebrafish model to examine the regulatory mechanisms of hematopoiesis in a developmental context and revealed the so far undescribed role of methionine aminopeptidase, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and Janus kinase 2a (jak2a) in zebrafish definitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and erythropoietic development. Based on these studies, clinical trials of therapy targeting FLT3-ITD and ALDH are now in progress with a view to improve the treatment outcome of patients.


Professor Leung graduated in 1996 with MB, ChB (Hons) and PhD from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and joined The University of Hong Kong as Clinical Assistant Professor in 1999. He obtained his specialist qualification in Haematology and Haematological Oncology in 2003 and was promoted to Associate Professor and Professor in 2007 and 2012.


On a professional level, Professor Leung is the Vice President of The Hong Kong Society of Transplantation, a council member of The Hong Kong College of Physicians and The Hong Kong Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. He is also the Deputy Director of the Centre of Reproduction, Development and Growth in the LKS Faculty of Medicine. While on a community level, he is an honorary advisor to The Hong Kong Bone Marrow Transplant Patients' Association Limited.


He is widely published with more than 120 peer-reviewed articles including Nature, Blood, Leukemia, and Developmental Biology. He is also on the editorial boards of a number of leading journals which include World Journal of Stem Cells, American Journal of Blood Research, Frontiers in Biosciences as managing editor, and BioMed Research International as lead guest editor.

Anskar Y H Leung

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