Dennis Lo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dennis Lo
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盧煜明
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Lo attending an academic conference at University of Cambridge on 20 April 2023
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| 9th Vice-Chancellor and President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong | |
| Assuming office 8 January 2025 |
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| Chancellor | John Lee |
| Succeeding | Rocky Tuan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 12, 1963 British Hong Kong |
| Spouse | Alice Siu Ling Wong |
| Education | University of Oxford (DPhil, DM, BM BCh) University of Cambridge (MA) |
| Known for | Non-invasive prenatal testing Liquid biopsy Cell-free fetal DNA detection in blood plasma |
| Awards | King Faisal Prize in Medicine (2014) Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2021) Royal Medal (2021) Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2022) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Molecular biology |
| Institutions | Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Oxford |
| Thesis | Genetic analysis of fetal cells in maternal blood (1994) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kenneth Anthony Fleming |
| Dennis Lo | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 盧煜明 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 卢煜明 | ||||||||
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Dennis Lo Yuk-ming (born 12 October 1963) is a famous Hong Kong molecular biologist. He became the head of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) on January 8, 2025.
Professor Lo is well-known for his work on finding cell-free fetal DNA in a mother's blood plasma. This led to the creation of non-invasive prenatal testing. This special test helps doctors check on babies before they are born without needing to do risky procedures.
At CUHK, Professor Lo is also an Associate Dean of Research and a Professor of Medicine. He leads the Chemical Pathology department and directs the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Dennis Lo was born in Hong Kong in 1963. His mother was a music teacher. His father, Lo Wai-hoi, was a psychiatrist who came to Hong Kong in 1946. He used to be the head of Castle Peak Hospital. Dennis also has a younger brother.
He went to St Joseph's College for his primary and secondary school. After that, he was accepted to study electrical engineering at Stanford University. He also got into University of Hong Kong and University of Cambridge for medicine. He chose to study medicine abroad.
In 1983, when he was 20, Lo went to Cambridge. He spent two years there studying medicine and earning a BA degree. He spent his third year studying genetic cloning. In 1986, Lo moved to the University of Oxford to finish his medical training. He completed his medical degree (BM BCh) in 1989.
After getting his medical degree, Lo continued his studies at Oxford. He earned a DPhil in 1994 and a Doctor of Medicine (DM) degree in 2001.
Amazing Discoveries in Science
Professor Lo started his research career by studying a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This is a way to quickly make millions of copies of a specific DNA sequence. He learned about PCR from a lecture at Oxford.
He worked with Kenneth Anthony Fleming, who later became his PhD advisor. They found that PCR could sometimes create false positives because of contamination.
Finding Fetal DNA in Blood
Lo then wondered if fetal DNA could be found in a mother's blood. Using PCR, he successfully found the Y chromosome in mothers who were expecting baby boys. This showed that tiny bits of the baby's DNA were floating in the mother's blood.
During his PhD, Lo wanted to use this discovery to create a prenatal diagnostic test. This test would use fetal DNA from fetal cells in the mother's blood. However, it was hard to do because there were very few fetal cells, and they could stay in the mother's blood even after birth.
In 1997, Lo made a big breakthrough. He read that circulating tumor DNA could be found in the blood of cancer patients. He changed his approach and looked for cell-free fetal DNA in the mother's blood plasma. He again used the Y chromosome as a marker for baby boys and found cell-free fetal DNA in most of the mothers he tested.
This was a huge discovery! It was like "finding your car's engine somewhere other than under the bonnet," as he later described it.
Developing Non-Invasive Tests
After this discovery, Lo returned to Hong Kong with his wife in 1997. He became a senior lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
One of the first conditions Lo developed a non-invasive prenatal test for was Rh disease. This is a type of anaemia that can happen if the baby's blood type is Rh-positive and the mother's is Rh-negative.
Lo also found RNA from the baby in the mother's blood. This showed which genes were active. In 2002, he found a new way to separate fetal DNA based on differences in DNA methylation between the mother and the baby.
Helping During the SARS Outbreak
In 2003, the SARS outbreak interrupted Lo's research. The Prince of Wales Hospital, which is connected to CUHK Faculty of Medicine, became a major center for treating SARS patients.
Professor Lo's team was one of the first to study the SARS virus. They helped discover that there were different viral strains.
Advanced DNA Sequencing
After the SARS outbreak, Lo went back to studying cell-free fetal DNA. In 2008, he started using next-generation sequencing (NGS). This new technology could read DNA much faster than older methods.
When used to detect Down syndrome, which is caused by an extra chromosome 21, this method was very accurate. It was introduced into clinics in 2011.
In 2012, while watching a Harry Potter movie, Lo got an idea for how to sequence the baby's entire genome. He figured out how to look at the two halves of DNA the baby inherited from each parent. This new method allowed doctors to find fetal mutations without invasive procedures. In 2013, his team also showed that they could learn about the baby's epigenome from the mother's blood.
Cancer Research
Besides prenatal testing, Professor Lo also began using NGS to study cancer in 2012. He looked at circulating tumor DNA in patients' blood plasma to help with cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
Business and Leadership
Professor Lo co-founded two biotechnology companies in 2014. One company, Cirina, focused on detecting cancer using circulating tumor DNA. It was later bought by GRAIL, which was then bought by Illumina.
He also co-founded Xcelom, which turned his research on non-invasive prenatal testing into real-world products.
On September 22, 2024, Professor Lo was chosen to be the next president and vice-chancellor of CUHK. He officially started this important role on January 8, 2025.
Awards and Recognition
Professor Lo has received many important awards for his scientific work:
- 2000 - Ten Outstanding Young Person of Hong Kong
- 2001 - Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World
- 2005 - State Natural Science Award, Second-class, Ministry of Science and Technology, China
- 2011 - Fellow of the Royal Society
- 2013 - Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences
- 2014 - King Faisal Prize in Medicine
- 2016 - Future Science Prize Life Science Prize
- 2021 - Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
- 2021 - Royal Medal
- 2022 - Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Personal Life
Dennis Lo is married to Alice Siu Ling Wong. They met while studying for their DPhil degrees at the University of Oxford. They got married in 1994. Alice Wong also has a DPhil in semiconductor physics.
As of 2016, Alice Wong was an associate professor and head of the Mathematics and Science Education Division at the University of Hong Kong.
