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Our People

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Academic Staff
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Prof. Tsz Ho KWAN

關子浩教授

PhD, PgD, LLB, GDL, BSc, CertTrans, PMP, CEng, MIET, MIEEE

Research Assistant Professor

Email: thkwan@cuhk.edu.hk

 

ORCID: 0000-0002-2855-5038

Scopus Author ID: 56915406700

ResearcherID: GSE-2729-2022

Academic Appointments

  • Member, Committee on General Education, United College

Biography

Dr. Tsz Ho Kwan is currently a Research Assistant Professor at the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, and S.H. Ho Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). His research focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). His research work spans from using molecular and network approaches for understanding transmission dynamics to conducting clinical trials using drugs (e.g. HIV PrEP and doxyPEP), vaccines (e.g. meningococcal group B vaccine), and digital innovations (e.g. mobile health, social network approach, and augmented reality) for preventing HIV/STI in the sexual minority community.

 

Dr. Kwan, as a Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator, received research grants of over HK$17 million. He is also the award recipient of Gilead Sciences Research Scholars Program in HIV in 2023. He has published peer-reviewed papers in international journals including Emerging Microbes & Infections (impact factor: 19.568), JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (impact factor: 14.557), and International Journal of Infectious Diseases (impact factor: 12.074). Dr. Kwan also gave oral presentations in various international conferences, such as The Lancet-CAMS Health Conference. He is an associate editor of JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (since 2023), an editorial board member of BMC Infectious Diseases (since 2022), BMC Public Health (since 2023), and PLOS Global Public Health (since 2024), and an advisory board member under the Infectious Diseases section of Heliyon (since 2022). He is also guest editing a special issue on HIV and chemsex in Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (since 2024). He served as a technical programme committee member of multiple Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) conferences. He is a Chartered Engineer in the Engineering Council of the United Kingdom, and a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the IEEE. He is a proposal reviewer for the EPICS in IEEE Projects, and a mentor of the IAS Mentorship Programme. He is currently a member of the Hong Kong Advisory Council on AIDS, and Community Forum on AIDS (since Aug 2023).

 

Dr. Kwan obtained his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from City University of Hong Kong and completed the PhD degree in Public Health at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also obtained a law degree and a postgraduate diploma in the field of professional and vocational education. Before joining the School, he received postdoctoral training in Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, CUHK.

Research Interests

  • Biomedical and digital health intervention trials for HIV/STI prevention

  • Infectious diseases epidemiology with bioinformatics and social network analysis

  • Application of data mining, machine learning and artificial intelligence on structured and unstructured health data

  • Legal epidemiology

Recent Funded Research Projects 

  • Superiority of on-demand pre-exposure prophylaxis versus post-exposure prophylaxis on using doxycycline for preventing sexually transmitted infections in men who have sex with men, Health and Medical Research Fund (Principal Investigator)

  • Facilitating routine HIV testing among MSM by a subscription-based HIV self-test distribution model: a stepped wedge randomised controlled trial, Gilead Sciences Research Scholars Program in HIV (Principal Investigator)

  • Exposure risk and serological survey for human mpox infection among men who have sex with men, Health and Medical Research Fund Commissioned Research on Control of Infectious Diseases (Principal Investigator)

  • Molecular epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of human coronaviruses among people with influenza-like illnesses during two consecutive winter flu seasons in Hong Kong, CUHK Direct Grant for Research (Principal Investigator)

  • Acceptability and efficacy of a meningococcal B vaccine against Neisseria gonorrhoea infections among men who have sex with men, Health and Medical Research Fund (Principal Investigator)

  • Application of augmented reality (AR) in HIV self-test in men who have sex with men community, AIDS Trust Fund (Principal Investigator)

  • Combined epidemiologic and molecular network analyses of newly diagnosed HIV infection in Hong Kong for evaluating progress towards ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030, AIDS Trust Fund (Co-Investigator)

  • HIV epidemiology consultancy Hong Kong 2021 project, Department of Health (Co-Investigator)

  • Molecular differentiation of HIV and HCV transmission networks in HIV/HCV co-infected men who have sex with men in Hong Kong, Health and Medical Research Fund (Co-Investigator)

  • Diversity of HIV and virus co-infections in newly diagnosed HIV patients – an integrated epidemiological approach with whole genome sequencing, Health and Medical Research Fund Commissioned Research on Control of Infectious Diseases (Co-Investigator)

  • Population burden of sexually transmitted infections and implication for intervention in Hong Kong, Health and Medical Research Fund Commissioned Research on Control of Infectious Diseases (Co-Investigator)

  • A simplified approach to PrEP service delivery in real-world setting in Hong Kong, AIDS Trust Fund (Co-Investigator)

  • Social network approach for increasing testing coverage among men who have sex with men, AIDS Trust Fund (Co-Investigator)

Selected Publications

  1. Kwan TH, Chan DPC, Wong SYS, Lee SS. Implementation cascade of a social network-based HIV self-testing approach for men who have sex with men: a prospective cross-sectional study. J Med Internet Res. 2023;25:e46514.. doi: 10.2196/46514

  2. Kwan TH, Wong NS, Chan CP, Yeoh EK, Wong SYS, Lee SS. Mass screening of SARS-CoV-2 with rapid antigen tests in a receding Omicron wave: population survey for epidemiologic evaluation. JMIR Public Health Surv. 2022;8(11):e40175. doi: 10.2196/40175

  3. Kwan TH, Wong BCK, Wong KH, Lee SS. Hepatitis C co-infection in people living with HIV – epidemiologic differences between men who have sex with men (MSM) and non-MSM. Front Public Health. 2022;10:925600. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.925600

  4. Kwan TH, Chan DPC, Lee SS. User Experience and Usability of Neumorphism and Gamification User Interface Design in an HIV Self-test Referral Programme for Men who have Sex with Men: Prospective Open-Label Parallel-Group Randomised Controlled Trial. JMIR Serious Games. 2022;10(2):e35869. doi: 10.2196/35869

  5. Kwan TH, Wong NS, Yeoh EK, Lee SS. Shifts of SARS-CoV-2 exposure settings in the transmission clusters of 2 consecutive epidemic waves in Hong Kong. Int J Environ Health Res. 2022;1-13. doi: 10.1080/09603123.2022.2064438

  6. Kwan TH, Chan CP, Wong NS, Lee SS. Awareness of HIV functional cure and willingness in participating in related clinical trials: comparison between antiretroviral naïve and experienced men who have sex with men living with HIV. BMC Infect Dis. 2022;22(1):383. doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07346-x

  7. Kwan TH, Wong NS, Yeoh EK, Lee SS. Mining relationships between transmission clusters from contact tracing data: an application for investigating COVID-19 outbreak. J Amer Med Info Assoc. 2021;28(11):2385-92. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab175

  8. Kwan TH, Lui GCY, Lam TTN, et al. Comparison between daily and on-demand pre-exposure prophylaxis for men who have sex with men in Hong Kong: a randomised, controlled, open-label, crossover trial. J Int AIDS Soc. 2021;24(9):e25795. doi: 10.1002/jia2.25795

  9. Wong NS, Lee SS, Kwan TH, Yeoh EK. Settings of virus exposure and their implications in the propagation of transmission networks in a COVID-19 outbreak. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2020;4,100052. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100052

  10. Kwan TH, Wong NS, Lui GCY, et al. Incorporation of information diffusion model for enhancing analyses in HIV molecular surveillance. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2020;9(1):256-62. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1718554

Last Updated: 22 May 2024

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