The National Health Commission recently announced the list of the inaugural “National High-Level Talent Programme in Medicine” (醫學高層次人才計劃), in which Professor Yu Jun, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics and Assistant Dean (Mainland Affairs) of the CUHK Faculty of Medicine, was selected as one of the “National Distinguished Doctors” (國家傑出醫師). She is the first and only academic in Hong Kong to receive the honour.

Professor Yu has been involved in the study of digestive diseases for 30 years, and is currently the Director of both the State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease (CUHK) and the University’s Institute of Digestive Diseases. She has made significant contributions in unravelling the molecular mechanisms of the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal tumours, elucidating the relationship between gut microbiomes and tumours as well as the relationship between fatty liver and liver cancers, and developing early diagnostic markers and target therapies. She holds more than 30 patents, and her patented early diagnostic markers for colorectal and gastric cancers have been approved by the National Medical Products Administration for clinical trials. In addition to being a member of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, an Academician of the Academy of Europe, and an Academician of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, she has received more than 50 major academic awards from the mainland and overseas.

The national programme aims to support and cultivate talents in medicine and healthcare who have long been at the forefront of their profession, with particular emphasis on those who have excellent medical skills, a wealth of experience and amassed influence. A total of 100 “National Distinguished Medical Professionals” were selected this year, with candidates recommended by local departments, evaluated and then approved by the National Health Commission as well as the Ministry of Finance, before being announced to the public.