Ivan Fanngai Hung

Dr. Ivan Fan Ngai HUNG is currently Clinical Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in the Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong. He is a dual specialist in Infectious Disease and Gastroenterology & Hepatology. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Bristol Medical School, England in 1996. After working in the University of Cambridge Medical School and Charing Cross Hospital, the Imperial College Medical School, London, he returned to Hong Kong in 1999 and joined the Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital. After obtaining his MRCP, he underwent subspecialty training in Infectious Diseases, followed by Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Division of Geographical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, USA. He obtained his M.D. degree from the University of Hong Kong in 2011 and was awarded the Sir Patrick Manson Gold Medal award for best M.D. thesis. He is currently the Fellow of Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh. He has published 107 international peer reviewed original articles, including research articles in the Lancet and the Clinical Infectious Diseases. His research interest includes vaccine, innovative treatment of severe influenza and pneumococcal infection, treatment of resistant Helicobacter pylori infection, novel endoscopy techniques, and hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma. He is ranked as University of Hong Kong top 1% scientists in 2013, with an H-index of 24. He is a regular reviewer for journals including the Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine, Vaccine, Clinical Vaccine and Immunology, Endocrine, Clinical Obesity, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Helicobacter, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestion and the Hong Kong Journal of Medicine. He is the editorial board member of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, BMC Infectious Diseases, and the Scientific World Journal. With regards to the 4 submitted research output submitted to RAE, he was first-author and principal investigator to all 4 research articles. The first 3 articles were published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases (IF 9.3), ranked second top journal in Infectious Diseases. The article titled Convalescent plasma treatment reduced mortality in patients with severe pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus infection was the first prospective study to demonstrate treatment of severe influenza infection with convalescent plasma reduced respiratory viral load, serum cytokine response and mortality. This provides important treatment option for patients with severe influenza infection who are often late presenters where the effect of antiviral therapy is limited. The article titled Effect of clinical and virological parameters on the level of neutralizing antibody against pandemic influenza A virus H1N1 2009 was the first study to investigate the neutralizing antibody level in convalescent patients infected with a novel influenza virus in pandemic situation. The findings provide both the clinical and virological markers to identify potential convalescent plasma donors for treatment of patients with severe pandemic influenza infection. The article titled Prevention of acute myocardial infarction and stroke among elderly persons by dual pneumococcal and influenza vaccination: a prospective cohort study was the first large population study (36,636 subjects) to provide concrete evidence that dual influenza and pneumococcal vaccination will protect elderly persons with chronic illness from developing respiratory, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, thereby reducing mortality. The final manuscript titled Recurrence of hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with high viral load at the time of resection published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology (IF: 7.553), and ranked sixth out of 74 scientific journals in gastroenterology & hepatology. The study was the first to demonstrate high hepatitis B viral load was the most important correctable risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after tumor resection, suggesting that early antiviral therapy might decrease tumor recurrence.