Science as springboard for doing good
Allen Chan helps CUHK translate research into real-world impact
11 February 2026
In 2001, as a freshly trained gastroenterologist poised for a secure, high-earning career, Professor Allen Chan Kwan-chee chose the road less travelled. He left clinical medicine to pursue a PhD under Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming at CUHK, inspired by the latter’s breakthrough in detecting foetal DNA in maternal blood. That bold step of faith led him to many discoveries and inventions, and last year, to a University leadership role that would strive to turn research into real-world benefits.
“If you practise medicine, you follow established protocols, but research lets you explore the unknown and potentially change how the world diagnoses disease,” says Professor Chan, CUHK’s Associate Vice-President (Knowledge Transfer), explaining his venture into uncharted waters.
Professor Chan’s passion for learning began outside the classroom. A self-described “naughty child” who struggled with languages, he discovered curiosity in unconventional ways – calculating restaurant revenue from the flow of dishes and asking waiters about their bonuses. His playful, analytical mind and love of math and science propelled him to medical school at the University of Hong Kong and laid the foundation for a career blending medicine, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
During the interview with CUHK in Focus, he delved into the transformative power of knowledge transfer, sharing insights from his pioneering work in medical diagnostics to CUHK’s plans for social betterment through scholarly triumphs.
What knowledge transfer really means
Knowledge transfer, as Professor Chan defines it, is the vital bridge between academic innovation and societal good. “Universities generate new knowledge through research, but to benefit the world, society or Hong Kong, we need mechanisms to translate that into impact,” he explains.
The process is not just about publishing papers; it is also about protecting discoveries through patents, licensing innovations to industry, or spinning off trailblazing projects into start-ups.
He stresses the role of resources – time, funding and expertise – for a laboratory breakthrough to evolve into a marketable product. “Without protection such as patents, it’s hard to attract investment. Patents turn ideas into commodities that can be traded, drawing in the capital needed for development.”
At CUHK, Professor Chan leads a robust ecosystem designed to support scientists in this process. “If you want research to benefit society, you have to understand regulations, financing, intellectual property and market needs, not only science,” he says.
He oversees the Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO), which takes care of day-to-day tasks, from patent applications to licensing deals, with a business development unit that reaches out actively to investors. For instance, when CUHK researchers make a groundbreaking invention such as a new drug, KTO helps them partner up with pharmaceutical companies or form spinoffs.
The idea is to assist the scientists in overcoming challenges of academia-to-industry transition. “Professors often excel in research but may have limited business acumen, particularly in areas such as financing, management and regulatory compliance.” CUHK advances this mission by providing institutional support for academics to take part in the HKSAR Government’s flagship initiatives. For example, the 13 CUHK teams that receive funding through the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+) get guidance from KTO to comply with regulations.
CUHK Innovation Limited, the University’s wholly owned investment arm, operates like a dedicated venture capital firm that funds promising start-ups emerging from CUHK’s research community and builds investor confidence.
This support structure has produced notable successes, he says, particularly in the medical and biomedical sectors, where discoveries have turned into impactful commercial solutions.
Bench-to-bedside track record
Professor Chan’s credibility in translational medicine, transforming research into practice, is grounded in personal experience. His background as a clinician-scientist trained in medicine and chemical pathology helped him pioneer non-invasive prenatal testing alongside Professor Lo and Professor Rossa Chiu. Their blood-based diagnostic for Down syndrome is now used in over 100 countries and has benefited more than 100 million pregnant women – a textbook case of university research becoming a global health-care standard.
He is a co-inventor of more than 140 inventions and over 1,800 patents worldwide, and has co-founded biotechnology companies including Cirina, which merged with GRAIL and was later acquired by Illumina in a transaction valued at above USD8 billion. For Professor Chan, these milestones illustrate how academic entrepreneurship can amplify impact far beyond what a laboratory alone could achieve.
An embracing culture
Looking five to 10 years ahead, Professor Chan envisions expanding beyond medicine, where CUHK has excelled, to engineering, science and other fields. “We have success stories such as non-invasive prenatal testing, robotic surgery by Dean of Medicine Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan and Professor Samuel Au Kwok-wai, and probiotics by Professor Francis Chan Ka-leung and Professor Ng Siew-chien , but they’re mostly medical. We want to replicate these successes across the university.”
Towards this end, CUHK has put in place enabling policies: sabbatical-like leave for entrepreneurship, where fundraising and team development in a start-up are recognised as research and teaching contributions during an evaluation. “If a venture fails, academics can return to their scholarly roles without adverse impact on their career progression. This reduces personal risk and encourages more people to participate.”
Professor Chan is also candid about the cultural change required. Promotion and assessment in universities have long prioritised publication and grant income, leaving time spent on translational work or company building largely invisible. If institutions want knowledge transfer to flourish, he argues, appraisal systems must recognise patents, licences and start-up leadership as legitimate scholarly contributions.
Income from patents, he adds, can be reinvested in research infrastructure and training, creating a virtuous cycle.
‘Love what you do’
Professor Chan envisages a university where thinking about translational research is routine – whether through start-ups, licensing, clinical guidelines or policy influence. Knowledge transfer, in his view, is not a specialist activity at the margins but a mindset embedded across the CUHK community.
For the next generation of academics and clinician-scientists, Professor Chan’s advice is both pragmatic and aspirational: learn about regulations and the business environment early in the career, and seek interdisciplinary expertise to complement one’s strengths. Above all, he reminds them that the true measure of their work is in real-world impact – whether their discoveries improve lives – rather than metrics, rankings or company valuations alone.
“Love what you do, prepare for failure, and validate your idea – has it been done? Why would you succeed?” He also values teamwork and a playful spirit, drawing from his myriad roles as department chair, hospital consultant, researcher and entrepreneur. “Work feels like gaming – solving puzzles, levelling up.” He continues: “We’ve started early and strong, but the goal is to create more stories of societal transformation.”
By Jenny Lau
Photos by Steven Yan
