The University of Macau (UM) will hold a Doctor honoris causa Lecture on Tuesday 19 December. Dennis Lo Yuk Ming, a world-renowned scholar in molecular biology who is also known as the ‘father of non-invasive prenatal testing’, will give a talk titled ‘Pushing Forward the Frontiers of Prenatal and Cancer Liquid Biopsies’. All are welcome to attend.
Prof Lo is currently the associate dean (research) of the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, a Li Ka Shing Professor of Medicine, as well as a chair professor of chemical pathology at CUHK. His research interests focus on the biology and diagnostic applications of cell-free DNA in plasma. In 1997, Prof Lo discovered the high concentration of foetal DNA in maternal plasma. This discovery led him to develop a new technique which can eliminate the high risk associated with amniocentesis and provide safe and effective prenatal testing for the accurate analysis and measurement of foetal DNA in maternal plasma. This non-invasive method has been quickly adopted by laboratories in more than 90 countries as routine testing for pregnant women, placing Prof Lo and his research team at the forefront of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.
By analysing traces of foetal DNA in maternal plasma with the use of massively parallel sequencing and innovative bioinformatics technologies, Prof Lo and his research team successfully decoded a foetal genome map for the early detection of multiple genetic diseases. The relevant technique can eliminate the risk associated with invasive biopsies and was then further applied to cancer screening and organ transplant rejection monitoring. Prof Lo’s research has had a profound influence on the global medical and scientific community and earned him numerous international honours. He has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society, a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the World Academy of Sciences.
During the talk, Prof Lo will explain how to unveil the body’s secrets with plasma and discuss the latest developments, current challenges, and future directions in prenatal testing and cancer screening using cell-free DNA liquid biopsies, presenting the audience with new insights into liquid biopsy, a world-changing technology.
The talk will begin at 10:00am in the Multi-function Hall of the UM Guest House (N1-G014) and will be conducted in English. Interested individuals can register at https://umac.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6gSvyzSAuWlhoJ8. For enquiries, please call 8822 4892 or email um_fhs@um.edu.mo.
