Prof. WANG Kailu Volcano, who graduated from CUHK PhD in Public Health in 2019, and became Research Assistant Professor in 2022, was invited to share the story of his PhD journeys.
(1) Before you started PhD studies in our School, what did you do and what have you studied?
Before starting my PhD student career in our School, I was an undergraduate student in Preventive Medicine in Peking University, where I learnt the basics of medicine, biomedical science, and public health.
(2) Why did you decide to become a PhD student?
In the courses related to public health and preventive medicine, I found it fascinating that various factors and interventions for human health were identified and tested in such clever and rigorous ways. These methodologies and experience developed and established by the scientists and practitioners inspired my interests in thinking of what else we can do to improve the knowledge and solve the problems in this area, and this led to my decision to pursue PhD.
(3) Why did you pursue PhD at CUHK Public Health?
Among all the institutions that I have approached, CUHK School of Public Health and Primary Care is the only one that provides a wide and comprehensive range of research expertise and resources that integrate public health, medicine, statistics and engineering, and social and behavioral science together, where I can get supports from the professionals in different disciplines of Public Health.
(4) Would you briefly describe what have you learned during your PhD journey and then becoming a post-doc fellow and RAP?
As my research topic was not determined when I was admitted to our School, my supervisors gave me adequate flexibility to explore my interests and provide proper guidance on the decisions for my research directions and other key issues, from which I was trained to be an independent researcher that is tremendously helpful in the career after graduation. With their supports, I was able to get a deeper understanding to different aspects of research and build up my own expertise.
(5) What are your future plans? E.g. your plans in 5 years and 10 years?
In the future, I wish to continue my work in academia, refining my ability in research and teaching and expanding my research areas; more importantly, I wish to make my work available in public health practice where they can help improve population health.
(6) What would you do if you do not pursue PhD in our School?
If I were not a PhD student in our School, I could have joined some non-for-profit research organizations, including universities, or research department of biomedical companies. These are alternatives for me to develop my future career and get access to emerging research topics in health science.