RGC Public Lectures - Public Health and Community

Two leading scholars have been invited to deliver public lectures organized by the Research Grants Council. Details of the lectures are as follows:

Topic Speaker Time
Useful Knowledge on Resilience and Psychological Health under the Pandemic Dr. Hou Wai-kai
(Director of Centre for Psychosocial Health and Associate Professor of Department of Psychology of The Education University of Hong Kong)
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Tackling COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Kelvin To
(Department Chairperson and Clinical Associate Professor of the Department of Microbiology, LKS Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong)
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Venue: Lecture Theatre G/F, Hong Kong Central Library (Location Map)
Language: Cantonese
Admission is free and on a first-come, first-served basis.
Interested parties can also watch the live broadcast of the lectures through the Multimedia Information System of the Hong Kong Public Libraries via the internet (mmis.hkpl.gov.hk) for free.

If online participants would like to raise questions to the speakers, they can send email with the heading of “Questions for speakers” to rgc@ugc.edu.hk during the live broadcast of the lectures (9 October 2022 3:30pm to 5:15pm). The questions will be passed to the speakers for feedback during Q&A session.

Poster

First Session

Topic: Useful Knowledge on Resilience and Psychological Health under the Pandemic
Speaker: Dr. Hou Wai-kai
Date/Time: 9 October 2022 (Sunday) 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm


Brief introduction:

COVID-19 has also brought radical changes to the daily lives of many people, including school closures for students and work from home arrangement for employees. The Department of Psychology of The Education University of Hong Kong has conducted a series of studies to show that such disruption to daily routines not only causes psychological distress but also relates to the development of anxiety and depression. Based on the research results, the research team has made some recommendations for different walks of life to help enhance their mental health and well-being.

About the Speaker:

Dr Hou Wai-kai is Director of Centre for Psychosocial Health and Associate Professor of Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong. He was Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University, USA. Currently, he is a Fellow of Association for Psychological Science (APS). His research seeks to further our understanding on the everyday life processes of resilience, public mental health, and social and environmental determinants of population health.

 

Second Session

Topic: Tackling COVID-19 pandemic
Speaker: Dr. Kelvin To
Date/Time: 9 October 2022 (Sunday) 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm


Brief introduction:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is estimated to cause over 15 million deaths worldwide, and has led to socioeconomic disruptions. As vaccines and antivirals became available, morbidity and mortality were substantially reduced. However, there is still a threat from novel variants. Research on the characteristics of novel variants and the development of innovative therapeutics and vaccination are pivotal in minimising the impact of COVID-19. The Department of Microbiology at The University of Hong Kong has conducted research on this and will discuss the way forward.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Kelvin To is currently the Department Chairperson and a Clinical Associate Professor of the Department of Microbiology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. He obtained his medical degree from The University of Hong Kong in 2003. He then received specialist training in clinical microbiology and infection, and subsequently became fellows of the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Hong Kong College of Pathologists, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. His research focuses on emerging respiratory virus infection, including pandemic and avian influenza viruses and emerging coronaviruses. During the COVID-19 outbreak, his work includes the use of saliva for diagnostic testing, viral genomics, seroprevalence, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants.