Dennis Lo

Professor Dennis Lo is a renowned Hong Kong molecular biologist and the Vice-Chancellor and President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) since 2025. He holds the Li Ka Shing Professor of Medicine title and serves as Associate Dean (Research) and Director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences at CUHK's Faculty of Medicine. His groundbreaking work in non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and cell-free fetal DNA detection has revolutionized prenatal diagnostics and cancer genomics.

Research Interests: Dennis Lo's research spans molecular biology, focusing on cell-free DNA analysis in maternal blood plasma for prenatal testing and cancer profiling. He pioneered NIPT using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and DNA methylation differences to detect fetal and tumor mutations. His work also includes SARS virus sequencing during the 2003 outbreak and exploring fetal RNA expression in maternal circulation.

Key Awards:

• Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2021)
• Royal Medal (2021)
• Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2022)
• Future Science Prize (2016)

Scientific Leadership: Lo co-founded biotech companies Cirina (acquired by GRAIL) and Xcelom to commercialize his discoveries. He serves as Associate Editor of Clinical Chemistry and has held leadership roles in Hong Kong's Technology and Innovation Functional Constituency.