International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, IEAS

Academician

Joseph J. Y. Sung

Profile:

Elected Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences in 2011, Professor Joseph J. Y. Sung is a distinguished Hong Kong gastroenterologist whose research and professional work have focused on gastrointestinal diseases, Helicobacter pylori infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, and digestive-system cancers. Born on 22 October 1959 in Hong Kong, with ancestral roots in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, he received his M.B.B.S. from the University of Hong Kong in 1983, joined Prince of Wales Hospital, the teaching hospital of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), in 1985, and subsequently received his Ph.D. in Life Sciences from the University of Calgary, Canada, in 1992 and his M.D. from CUHK in 1997. He was appointed Chair Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics at CUHK in 1998 and Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics in 1999. From 2010 to 2017, he served as Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK. He was elected Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2011 and became a Founding Member of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences in 2015. In 2021, he joined Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, as Senior Vice President (Health and Life Sciences) and Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and was appointed Distinguished University Professor, the university’s highest faculty rank. In 2026, he was elected a Member of the Singapore National Academy of Sciences. He also serves as an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Eurasian Academy of Sciences, and as a Founding Member of the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong.

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Professor Sung’s research has focused on Helicobacter pylori, peptic ulcer disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, colorectal cancer, and other digestive-system disorders. His research group established evidence for the relationship between H. pylori infection and peptic ulcer disease and demonstrated that antibiotic treatment could eradicate the infection and reduce ulcer recurrence; his work also contributed to the development and application of endoscopic treatment for ulcer bleeding. His research programme has subsequently expanded to colorectal cancer screening, digestive-system cancers, gut microbiome research, and the application of artificial intelligence in clinical medicine. He has published more than 1,000 scientific articles and authored or edited around 30 books and numerous textbook chapters. His contributions have been recognised through the Marshall and Warren Lecture Award, the World Gastroenterology Organisation Master Award, the World Outstanding Chinese Award, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Advancement Prize, and other national and international honours. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, he led a medical team involved in the clinical response and infection-control effort in Hong Kong. Through sustained clinical research, academic leadership, and medical education, Professor Sung has contributed to connecting advances in gastroenterology and translational medicine with clinical practice, disease prevention, public-health preparedness, and the development of medical education.