Professor Leo Poon, a virologist and public health scientist, received his doctoral training at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford. Currently, he serves as a Chair Professor at the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He is also a Co-director of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole at HKU and a founding member of the Hong Kong Jockey Global Health Institute.
Professor Poon's research primarily focuses on emerging and re-emerging viruses that pose significant threats to human health. In 2003, he played a pivotal role in identifying a novel coronavirus as the etiological cause of SARS, and was among the first to decode the SARS coronavirus sequence. This groundbreaking discovery of the SARS coronavirus in both humans and animals fuelled his subsequent exploration, leading to the identification of numerous coronaviruses in wildlife, including the first bat coronavirus. In 2009, he actively participated in combating the H1N1 pandemic and identified the first reassortant of the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus in pigs. Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, his substantial contributions have significantly advanced our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and facilitated the application of these scientific findings to public health practices.
Professor Poon has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles. In recognition of his contributions to combating COVID-19, he received the highly prestigious Louis Pasteur Bicentenary Prize from the Institut Pasteur in 2023. As a public health practitioner, he also serves as an expert advisor for various task groups focusing on infectious disease control within the WHO, FAO, and WOAH. He is also the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Virology Journal.
Hong Kong, with its dense population and global connectivity, faces unique public health challenges in disease prevention and control. In this presentation, we will focus on the challenges posed by infectious diseases, particularly animal viruses such as influenza viruses and coronaviruses. These viruses have the potential to cause significant health threats to humans, as evidenced by past pandemics of these respiratory viruses. The emergence and spread of these pathogens have necessitated systematic virus surveillance activities, with the aim of understanding their origins and the factors contributing to their transmission.
To address the challenges posed by emerging and re-emerging viruses, we should emphasise more on the importance of adopting a One Health approach. This approach recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, and promotes collaborative efforts between various sectors, including public health, veterinary medicine, and environmental science. By integrating knowledge from animal surveillance, ecological studies, and risk factor analysis, Hong Kong's public health system can enhance its understanding of animal viruses, their transmission dynamics, and the potential risks they pose to human health. Ultimately, this comprehensive understanding, coupled with the application of the One Health concept and long-term surveillance, plays a pivotal role in controlling emerging and re-emerging viruses and safeguarding public health in Hong Kong.
We will also briefly introduce our newly established Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute.
