CUHK – BCM Joint Centre for Medical Genetics

Executive Summary and Mission

Executive Summary

  • In June 2016, The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and The Department of Paediatrics of CUHK, had jointly worked together with The Department of Molecular and Human Genetics of Baylor College of Medicine to set up the Chinese University of Hong Kong – Baylor College of Medicine Joint Center for Medical Genetics (the Center).

The specific goals of this joint center are:

  1. to continue to provide Medical Genetics care and clinical training at CUHK by BCM MHG faculty;
  2. to establish a training center in clinical genetics which is then ready for accreditation once such subspecialty is formally founded by Hong Kong College of Paediatricians and other relevant professional bodies in Hong Kong;
  3. to achieve certification in professional training in clinical geneticists and genetic counsellors in Hong Kong and to model similar efforts in Asia;
  4. to expand the CUHK’s Master of Science in Medical Genetics including an e-learning platform for students from Asian-Pacific countries;
  5. to establish a new annual Asian Pacific congress in clinical genetics jointly organized by BCM and CUHK;
  6. to establish a new, BCM-CUHK branded course-series on medical genetics throughout Asia targeted at medical providers and researchers; and
  7. to establish a funding mechanism at CUHK to facilitate research collaborations between both institutions.

Milestone – 2020

Establishment of Hong Kong Society of Genetic Counselling.

Milestone – 2020

  • CUHK Pioneers Whole Genome Sequencing for Identifying the Chromosomal Abnormalities in Couples with Recurrent Miscarriages.
  • Boom in research output under the Joint Centre.

Milestone – 2019

A series of Regional Training Workshops in Medical Genetics were organized in mainland China and Southeast Asia with total over 500 participants.

Milestone – 2019

3rd BCM-CUHK Joint Symposium in Clinical Genetics was organized on 12-14 April 2019 in Beijing with 1,400 participants.

Milestone – 2019

CUHK Pioneers Whole Genome Sequencing for Prenatal Diagnosis in Hong Kong – FetalSeq, ChromoSeq and GenomSeq.

Milestone – 2018

A series of Regional Training Workshops in Medical Genetics were organized in mainland China and Southeast Asia with total over 200 participants.

Milestone – 2018

2nd BCM-CUHK Joint Symposium in Clinical Genetics was organized on 18-21 May 2018 in Hong Kong with 870 participants.

Milestone – 2018

Reach a new high record of admission number of MSc in Medical Genetics, 27 postgraduate students entered the programme in the academic year 2018-19. 9 are non-local students from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the mainland China.

Milestone – 2018

  • Boom in research output and grant awarded under the Joint Centre.
  • CUHK Establishes Hong Kong Hub of Paediatric Excellence (HK HOPE) Multidisciplinary Efforts Across the Globe to Advance Children’s Health and Well-being, Prof. TY Leung is the member of Executive Committee and Prof. Richard Choy is the member of Sub-Committee- Molecular & Genomics.

Milestone – 2017

1st BCM-CUHK Joint Symposium in Clinical Genetics was organized on 19-21 May 2017 in Hong Kong with over 450 participants.

Milestone – 2017

  • Deputy Director of Joint Centre, Dr. Josephine Chong was accredited as one of the first five fellows of Genomic & Genetics Paediatrics subspecialty by Hong Kong College of Paediatricians.
  • According to the LC Paper No. CB(2)23/17-18(03) on 16 October 2017, Legislative Council Panel on Health Services endorsed the Food and Health Bureau to set up a steering committee to lead the 15 studies on strategies for developing genomic medicine in Hong Kong. The Centre Director, Prof TY Leung was invited to be the Steering Committee member.
  • We trained the first batch of visiting scholars from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Maternal and Child Health Hospital (廣西壯族自治區婦幼保健院), Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University (首都醫科大學附屬 北京友誼醫院) and Jinan Maternal and Child Health Hospital (濟南市婦幼保健院) in genetic counselling.

Milestone – 2016

MSc in Medical Genetics was recognized as a quotable qualification by The Medical Council of Hong Kong and Hong Kong College of Paediatricians.

Milestone – 2016

The Centre has set up the territory’s first outpatient genetics clinic to provide one-stop diagnosis and consultation services which are not available in Hospital Authority (HA). The Centre has been consulted by HA in the development of public genetics services.

Milestone – 2016

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) – Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Joint Centre for Medical Genetics (Joint Centre) established on 10 May 2016.