Molecular biologist Dennis Lo ‘sole candidate’ to head Chinese University of Hong Kong – reports
Hong Kong Free Press
Molecular biologist Dennis Lo is the “sole candidate” to become the next president and vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), local media reported on Sunday.
Lo is the associate research dean of the Faculty of Medicine and the director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences at CUHK. The university’s council, its governing body, is set to meet on Friday to discuss the nomination, local media reported citing sources.
If approved, Lo will succeed outgoing president Rocky Tuan, who will step down next January.
CUHK on Sunday told HKFP that the selection process of the vice-chancellor and the president was underway and that an appointment will be announced once the council has made a decision.
Lo is known for pioneering the development of non-invasive prenatal testing, a technique that uses blood tests from the mother to diagnose genetic diseases in the foetus.
The scholar joined CUHK in 1997 and has since received awards such as the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2021. Last year, he was elected into the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a top science institution in China.
Embattled head
Tuan, a biomedical scientist, announced his departure in January following an overhaul of the university’s governance structure.
Last November, the city’s legislature passed a bill which saw the number of seats in the governing CUHK council fall from 55 to 34. It also reduced the influence of staff and academics upon the university’s governance.
Under the new rules, the appointment of CUHK’s president and vice-chancellor must be approved by at least 75 per cent of the council members.
Tuan assumed the roles in 2018 but was soon embroiled in controversy following the city’s pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019, when the CUHK campus became the scene of intense clashes between protesters and police.
Tuan was criticised by prominent pro-establishment figures – including former chief executive Leung Chun-ying – as being too sympathetic towards student protesters.
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