Professor Juliana Chan receives Yutaka Seino Distinguished Leadership Award First Hong Kong scholar to attain Asia’s highest honour in diabetes research and education
Professor Juliana Chan Chung-ngor from the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at The Chinese University (CUHK)’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine), Founding Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity, was awarded the Yutaka Seino Distinguished Leadership Award by the Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD). She is the first Hong Kong researcher to receive this highest honour, for her lifetime achievements and contributions to diabetology. The award was presented to Professor Chan at the 18th Scientific Meeting of the AASD in Osaka on 23 May.
Professor Juliana Chan received the Yutaka Seino Distinguished Leadership Award in the 18th Scientific Meeting of the Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) in recognition of her global leadership in diabetes epidemiology and young-onset diabetes, which have advanced diabetes research and care across Asia. (Photo source: The Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes)
(From Left) Professor Juliana Chan Chung-ngor from the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at The Chinese University’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine), Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity; Professor Shimomura Iichiro, the Congress President of the 18th Scientific Meeting of the Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes, and Professor of Metabolic Medicine at Osaka University.
The award recognises her global leadership in diabetes epidemiology, young-onset diabetes and chronic kidney disease, including her leadership of the JADE (Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation) Programme and the Lancet Commission on Diabetes, which have advanced diabetes research and care across Asia. Her translational, data-driven work has directly influenced clinical practice by demonstrating the impact of structured, target-driven diabetes care at scale.
Professor Juliana Chan was awarded the Yutaka Seino Distinguished Leadership Award by AASD. She was the first Hong Kong researcher who received this highest honour for her lifetime achievements and contributions to diabetology in Asia.
Professor Chan expressed her gratitude to everyone including her family who have supported her throughout her research journey. She said: “This honour belongs to my mentor, colleagues, research team, collaborators, patients with diabetes and their families. All of this has been possible thanks to the support of the faculty, which has allowed me to dedicate my knowledge to the diabetes community.”
Professor Chan joined CUHK in 1989. She and her team have established the Hong Kong Diabetes Register (HKDR), a comprehensive, data-driven tool accompanied by a biobank to identify care gaps, discover biomarkers for diabetes and inform prevention and treatment strategies.
Drawing on a research model developed by a team at the University of Oxford, Professor Chan’s team has used big data continuously collected from the HKDR to develop the Chinese Diabetes Outcome Model (CDOM). This mathematical model, validated using a Hong Kong-wide dataset, can predict the lifetime risks of 10 major complications in individual patients with type 2 diabetes, based on routine measurements. Her team is also dedicated to building global capacity in health economics. In addition to developing long-term risk prediction models, Professor Chan is currently developing an integrated precision care and prevention programme to improve the physical and psychological health in adults with or at risk of developing young-onset diabetes, using biogenetic markers, digital wearables and personalised care through public-private partnership,, demonstrating her commitment to advancing personalised, data-driven diabetes care with both urgency and compassion.
She said: “Diabetes is preventable and treatable. The challenge lies in delivering the right treatment to the person with the right diagnosis at the right time, by the right people, in the right setting and with the right strategy. This is the essence of precision medicine. We aim to translate a wealth of knowledge into a sustainable solution through transforming self-management, clinical practice and policy focusing on the prevention of young-onset diabetes.”
Professor Juliana Chan delivered an award lecture entitled “Physician Scientist – The Missing Link in Precision Medicine” at the ceremony, emphasising the importance of developing career paths for young talents to become physician-scientists who can combine clinical practice and research to advance care and education, with a focus on prevention. (Photo source: The Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes)
At the ceremony, Professor Chan delivered an award lecture, “Physician Scientist – the Missing Link in Precision Medicine”, emphasising the importance of developing career paths for young talents to become physician-scientists. She expressed her hope that more doctors will become scientists who can combine practice and research to advance care and education, with a focus on prevention.
She remarked: “In clinical medicine, there are many unknowns, uncertainties, and unmeasured factors. Doctors, by their nature, stand between patients and technologies, and should understand the complexities of biomedical, psychosocial and behavioural health, as well as patients’ multiple needs. Importantly, they are in a unique position to diagnose, treat, explain and evaluate. With the right infrastructure and support, these physician-scientists will bring out the best of medical knowledge as well as the values of many therapeutics and technologies to create impactful and sustainable solutions to help people live better lives.”
In recognition of her work, Professor Chan has received numerous international awards and honours. She was given the China Medical Women’s Association Wuzhou Women Sciences & Technology Award by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology in 2011. She received the 2019 Harold Rifkin Award for Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), recognising her outstanding research, evaluation and care in the field of diabetes from a global perspective and with an international impact. Last year, she was honoured to be the first Hong Kong scholar to receive the highly prestigious 2025 Kelly West Epidemiology Award from the ADA.
About the Asian Association for The Study of Diabetes (AASD)
The AASD was established in 2009 as an international academic organisation corresponding to the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Twenty associations and societies from East and South-East Asian countries and regions have joined the organisation. The AASD is committed to promoting diabetes research across the region and strengthening academic collaborations among international societies and associations by organising annual scientific meetings and publishing the Journal of Diabetes Investigation.
About the Yutaka Seino Distinguished Leadership Award
This award is the AASD’s highest honour, established in 2013, and recognises lifetime achievements and contributions to diabetology in Asia. Professor Yutaka Seino, one of the founders of the AASD, is well known for his scientific contributions and devotion to understanding of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes in Asians, especially insulin secretion and incretin.
