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Prof. Hein Min TUN
黃世萬教授

Prof. Hein Min TUN
BVSc, MSc, PhD (HKU), FRSPH
Associate Director (Global Engagement) / Associate Professor
heintun@cuhk.edu.hk

Research Links

ORCID: 0000-0001-7597-5062

Personal website: https://www.thetunlab.com/

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Editor, Frontiers in Microbiology
  • Editorial Board Member of various journals including Global Health Journal; Sustainable Horizons and Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
  • Visting Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, National University of Singapore.
  • Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University
  • Honorary Associate Professor, HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong
  • Member of the working group on AMR and the development of innovative alternatives to antibiotics, STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium
  • Member of the Quadripartite technical expert group

Bio

Prof. Tun is a trained public health veterinarian, currently an Associate Director (Global Engagement) and Associate Professor at the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK); the Associate Director of Microbiota I-Center (MagIC); and the PI of the System Microbiology and Antimicrobial Resistance (SMART) lab at the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Science, CUHK. In parallel, he is also an Adjunct Professor at the Nanjing Medical University, an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong, and a Visiting Associate Professor at National University of Singapore. He is also a domain lead of “One, Planetary and Eco Health Nexus (OPEN)” at JCSPHPC, CUHK. His research interests range from studies on the role of microbiome in health and diseases to One Health surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and use (AMR/AMU). In addition, his SMART Lab is developing innovative phage therapeutics and antimicrobial peptides as alternatives to antibiotics (ATAs) and he also contributes to regional (Asia Pacific) and global policies regarding AMR and ATAs. He was the Programme Director of Phase 2 Fleming Fund Fellowships for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He published more than 150 original peer-reviewed articles in high impact journals such as Gut, Gastroenterology, Cell, Lancet Microbe, Cell Host & Microbe, Nature Communication, Microbiome, JAMA Pediatrics, Gut Microbes, etc. His publications were cited more than 7500 times with a H-index of 47 (according to Google Scholar on 1 Apr 2026). He is continuously recognized as a world’s top 2% scientist in 2024 and 2025. He serves the editorial boards of Gut, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, Frontiers in Microbiology and Sustainable Horizons and Global Health Journal. Moreover, he received several international research awards and fellowships including Gold award at 3rd Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong, Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, Health and Medical Research Fund Fellowship, Canadian Institute of Health Research Fellowship and Dik Zwart Award.

Research Interest

  • Microbiome in Health and Diseases
  • Gut-brain Axis for Mental and Neurodegenerative Disorders
  • Microbiome, Immunity, and Infection
  • Pharmabiotics and Phage Therapeutics
  • Antimicrobial Resistance in One Health

Recent Funded Research Projects

  1. Co-Principal Investigator. Multimodality biopsychosocial evaluation and non-pharmacological interventions for cognitive function decline in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. RGC/Collaborative Research Fund (Ref: C7001-24Y); HKD 4,024,374 (26/06/2025 – 25/06/2028).
  2. Co-Principal Investigator. Clinical and mechanistic investigation of the cross reactivity of antibodies against emerging viral variants to facilitate vaccine design. RGC/Collaborative Research Fund (Ref: C4002-24Y); HKD 4,500,000 374 (30/06/2025 – 29/06/2028).
  3. Principal Investigator. The Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme-Phase II (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). Fleming Fund (Ref: TM2419543); GBP 1,309,011 (2024/02/01 – 2025/12/31).
  4. Principal Investigator. The impact of prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke on epigenetic, modifications, gut microbiome assembly and metabolic consequences in offspring. RGC/General Research Fund (Ref: 14113923); HKD 1,384,000 (2024/01/01 – 2026/12/31).
  5. Co-Principal Investigator. Translating microbiome, multi-omics and dietary innovations to enhance inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis and outcome. RGC/Research Impact Fund (Ref: R4013-21F); HKD 11,071,428 (2023/06/29 – 2026/06/28).
  6. Principal Investigator. Investigating the gut microbiota associated depression and its modifiable effect. RGC/Early Career Scheme (Ref: 27117022); HKD 1,220,550 (2023/01/01 – 2025/12/31).
  7. Co-Principal Investigator. Assess antibiotic resistome flows from pollution hotspots to environments and explore the control strategies. RGC/Theme-based Research Scheme (Ref: T21-705/20-N); HKD 18,905,000 (2021/01/01 – 2025/12/31).
  8. Principal Investigator. Antimicrobial resistance comprehensive etiology study (ACES). The Wellcome Trust-General Award (Ref: AR190052); GBP 344,340 (2020/08/15 – 2022/02/14).
  9. Co-Principal Investigator. MECHABIOME: Computational imaging of the spatiotemporal distribution of forces in gut tissue: a study of the cross talk between cell mechanics, microbiome and infectious processes. Institut Pasteur International Network-PTR Program (Ref: AR190026); EUR 250,000 (2019/10/01 – 2021/09/30).
  10. Principal Investigator. The Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme- Phase I (Sri Lanka). Fleming Fund (Ref: FF56-452); GBP 640,000 (2019/09/01 – 2022/02/28).
  11. Principal Investigator. Acquisition and persistence of antimicrobial resistance following travels to resource-limited countries: a multi-layered metagenomic epidemiological study. Health and Medical Research Fund — Research Fellowship Scheme (Ref: 04180077); HKD 1,090,000 (2019/12/01 – 2022/08/18).
  12. Co-Principal Investigator (Principle Coordinator during Dec 2021 to Aug 2022). Antimicrobial resistance comprehensive etiology study (ACES). Research Grants Council — Research Impact Fund (Ref: R7033-18F); HKD 9,940,000 (2019/06/30 – 2022/12/29).
  13. Principal Investigator. A chemical-proteomics based approach for target discovery in Zika Virus infection. Health and Medical Research Fund (Ref: 17161202); HKD 1,199,424 (2018/09/01 – 2022/05/19).

Selected Publications

  1. Ng SC*, Peng Y*, Zhang L*, Zhao S, Wong O, Liu X, Li H, Zhu J, Liu Y, Su Q, Tam WH, Leung TY, Chan S, Leung P, Ching JY, Cheong P, Ip L, Chang AMK, Zhang X, Wu X, Chen Y, Yan S, Tang W, Cheung CP, Leung TF, Tun HM#, Chan FKL#. (2026). Epigenome-microbiome interplay in early life associates with infants’ neurodevelopmental outcomes. Cell Press Blue. Online 100009.
  2. Zhu C, Liu R, Liu X, Xu H, Chan O, Chen Y, Zhu Y, Zheng B, Tun HM. (2026). Slaughtered swine as convergence hotspots for antimicrobial-resistant and disinfectant-tolerant Escherichia coli originating from humans and farm animals. J Hazard Mater. 509::141964.
  3. Peng Y*, Zhu J*, Wang S*, Liu Y*, Liu X, DeLeon O, Zhu W, Xu Z, Zhang X, Zhao S, Liang S, Li H, Ho B, Ching JYJ, Cheung CP, Leung TF, Tam WH, Leung TY, Chang EB, Chan FKL, Zhang L, Ng SC#, Tun HM#. (2025). A Metagenome-Assembled Genome Inventory for Children (MAGIC) Facilitates Early-life Gut Bacteriome and Virome Studies. Cell Host Microbes. 32(12):2212-2230.
  4. Tsui Y, Wu X, Zhang X, Peng Y, Mok CKP, Chan FKL, Ng SC, Tun HM#. (2025). Short-chain fatty acids in viral infection: the underlying mechanisms, opportunities, and challenges. Trends Microbiol. 33(3):302-320.
  5. Tun HM#, Peng Y*, Massimino L, Sin ZY, Parigi TL, Facoetti A, Rahman S, Danese S, Ungaro F. (2024). Gut virome in inflammatory bowel disease and beyond. Gut. 73(2):350-360.
  6. Peng Y, Zhang L, Mok CKP, Ching JYL, Zhao S, Wong ML, Zhu J, Chen C, Wang S, Yan S, Qin B, Liu Y, Zhang X, Cheung CP, Cheong PK, Ip KL, Fung ACH, Wong KY, Hui DSC, Chan FKL, Ng SC#, Tun HM#. (2023). Baseline gut microbiota and metabolome predict durable immunogenicity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 8(1):373.
  7. Ng SC*, Peng Y*, Zhang L*, Mok CKP, Zhao S, Li A, Ching JYL, Liu Y, Yan S, Chan DLS, Zhu J, Chen C, Fung ACH, Wong KKY, Hui DS, Chan FKL#, Tun HM#. (2022). Gut microbiota composition modulates SARS-CoV-2 vaccine immunogenicity and vaccine-related adverse events. Gut. 71(6):1106-1116.
  8. Tun HM*#, Peng Y*, Chen B, Konya TB, Morales-Lizcano NP, Chari R, Field CJ, Guttman DS, Becker AB, Mandhane PJ, Moares TJ, Sears, MR, Turvey SE, Subbarao P, Simons E, Kozyrskyj AL#. (2021). Ethnicity associations with food sensitization are mediated by gut microbiota development in the first year of life. Gastroenterology, 161(1):94-106.
  9. Tun HM, Bridgman SL, Chari R, Field CJ, Guttman DS, Becker AB, Mandhane PJ, Turvey SE, Subbarao P, Sears MR, Scott JA, Kozyrskyj AL, the CHILD study investigators. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of overweight and obesity from mother to offspring: roles of birth mode and infant gut microbiota. JAMA Pediatr, 172(4):368-377.
  10. Tun HM, Konya T, Takaro TK, Brook JR, Chari R, Field CJ, Guttman D, Becker AB, Mandhane PJ, Turvey SE, Subbarao P, Sears MR, Scott JA, Kozyrskyj AL and the CHILD Study Investigators. (2017). Exposure to household furry pets influences the gut microbiota of infant at 3-4 months following various birth scenarios. Microbiome, 5(1):40.