Dennis Lo
Director, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences
Professor, Department of Chemical Pathology
25-year award
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” says Paulo Coelho in his enchanting tale The Alchemist. Widely known as father of non-invasive prenatal testing, Professor Dennis Lo treads a research path strewn with serendipities. A picture of James Watson and Francis Crick, co-discoverers of the double-helix structure of DNA, on a Lower Six biology textbook planted in him a Cambridge dream, and foretold a lifelong engagement with the hereditary molecules. Banter with Oxford classmates led him to look for the Y chromosome—a carrier of heredity present only boys—in a pregnant mother’s blood, proving foetal DNA does exist there. And in 1997, he made a decision no less momentous—going against the pessimism of the times and returning to Hong Kong, joining CUHK as a senior lecturer in chemical pathology.
“Hong Kong is my home. After years of education in Britain, I had always been looking for an opportunity to come back,” Professor Lo recalls. Soon after joining the University, he overcame an eight-year bottleneck and located foetal DNA: in maternal plasma, not the red blood cells. What ensued was a miraculous journey, with non-invasive testing for Down’s syndrome and plasma-based screening test for nasopharyngeal cancer getting off the ground in 2011 and 2017 respectively, benefiting countless mothers and patients. The recognition streamed in, including a Breakthrough Prize and the Lasker Award, dubbed the Oscars of science and Nobels of America respectively, confirming him as one of the brightest stars in the international scientific firmament.
“The atmosphere at CUHK is generally very friendly and there are good interdisciplinary collaborations. These elements are all very important for the development of my research programme,” the molecular biologist says.
Looking back on his quarter-century at the University, Professor Lo is most pleased to see his students, Rossa Chiu and Allen Chan, become chair professors at CUHK. For years, the trio have worked together to turn paradigm-shifting prenatal and cancer testing into reality. In 2021, they co-founded the Centre for Novostics—which stands for novel diagnostics—to develop the technologies.
“It is a joy to pass the torch of scholarship onto the next generation and is one reason why working in a university is so fulfilling,” he says.
The year Professor Lo joined the University, it was cancer research that prompted him to change tack and look for foetal DNA in plasma. Now, he wants to spend more time developing DNA screening tests for the disease.
“Cancer is the number one killer in many places around the world. If we can detect cancer early and treat it in a timely manner, we can potentially save many lives,” says the professor, adding this will be his main goal until retirement.
Working in science, more often than not, is a quixotic quest whose results are uncertain. To the clement scientist who knows well to keep calm and carry on, the gauntlets are worth it, and about the future, he remains buoyant.
“The atmosphere for innovation and technology has become much more intense in Hong Kong,” he says. “I believe that we are entering the golden age for innovation and technology, and the next 25 years should be very exciting.”
By Amy Li
Photo by Eric Sin
