In Focus: More than just a doctor: Professor Joseph Sung 

By: Amanda Lee, Writer (Communications & Outreach) 

Once touted as an "Asian Hero" by Time Magazine for his invaluable contributions in the fight against SARS, not many may have known that Professor Joseph Sung is a gastroenterologist by training.

Prof Sung's interest in medicine began when he was a high school student in Hong Kong, a personal trauma paved the way for him to pursue medicine. While living with his grandparents, Prof Sung's grandfather suddenly vomited blood at home.

"That really scared me. I had to call the ambulance to take him to the hospital and in the whole process, I was pretty much shocked. I feel so hopelessly helpless. At that point I was thinking if I could be a doctor or surgeon. That would be much better," said the 60-year-old in an exclusive interview with The LKCMedicine.

_{Prof Sung was the Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Photo was taken in the Vice-Chancellor's Office in 2017}

He later enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong and graduated with an MBBS in 1983. His personal interest, infinite curiosity, and imaginative mind soon defined his career. Prof Sung has since carved a name for himself in the medical field and is today a world-renowned gastroenterologist.

Today he is serving as Director of the Institute of Digestive Disease of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), as well as the Stanley Ho Big Data Decision Analytics Research Centre. However, that will soon change. 

With his family's blessings, Prof Sung will be relocating to Singapore and begin his tenure at NTU on 1 April next year. He will be succeeding Professor James Best, who will be retiring after close to seven years as LKCMedicine's Dean. 

The father of two will also be NTU's Senior Vice President (Health and Life Sciences) and take responsibility for the integration of university-wide activities in health, medicine, and life sciences. He will also be a Distinguished University Professor, the highest faculty rank at NTU bestowed upon faculty members with extraordinary scholarly achievements that typically span multiple disciplinary boundaries.

Venturing into gastroenterology 
Despite his notable achievements today, Prof Sung shared that he was not always the top student in medical school. During his first year, Prof Sung was near the bottom of his class. However, the tables turned as he progressed to clinical years in Year 3. 

"I had to see more and more patients of different kinds, pregnant women, small kids, elderly persons, and so on. I find that my interest started to blossom, and I become more and more interested in my studies. My results were the best in my final year before I graduated," said Prof Sung.

In 1985, he joined the Prince of Wales Hospital as a medical officer. Prof Sung chose to specialise in gastroenterology as his grandfather died from stomach cancer.

"I wanted to go back to my initial aim that I will want to look after people when they have a problem with the gut," said Prof Sung.

It was timely that when he graduated from medical school, fibreoptics was discovered and flexible endoscopy has just been developed. The field of gastroenterology had progressed, doctors were able to tap into technology that converts electronic signals into images that can be easily processed by a computer. 

"The human gut became much more accessible for doctors and we don't just look, we can even do some therapy. I find this a very exciting field. After all the gut is the largest human organ in terms of surface area and weight," said Prof Sung. 

He soon became a foremost name in the medical field, Prof Sung received strong recognition for his research in gastroenterology, teaching and leadership, as well as obtained substantial grants for his varied research work in gastrointestinal bleeding, Helicobacter pylori treatment and digestive tract cancers. 

For instance, in 1995, Prof Sung and a group of clinicians became the first in the industry to prove that a week-long of antibiotics can cure Helicobacter pylori infection and successfully treat peptic ulcers as well as minimise their relapse. 

"Asian Hero"
In 2003, SARS hit Hong Kong and claimed 299 lives. Prof Sung, who was then chairman of Prince of Wales Hospital's department of medicine and therapeutic, led a medical team to fight against SARS for months. He also conducted daily meetings with the team and looked after patients with pneumonia and health complications arising from the viral respiratory disease. 

Recounting his experience, Prof Sung said many people – including healthcare workers – were caught by surprise when the pandemic happened. For instance, many were unsure about the kind of masks they should wear to protect themselves against SARS.

"For people like me who were working in the hospital, I think it was a much more stressful time. I remember there were doctors and nurses who heard me sharing our initial experiences and they were preparing their hospitals to be SARS hospitals. Many of them were tearing because they were so nervous. They were so anxious about themselves," said Prof Sung.

To recognise him and his team for their contributions in the fight against SARS, Time Magazine named them as the "Asian Heroes" of 2003. Prof Sung also received the Silver Bauhinia Star Award, the second rank in the Order of the Bauhinia Star, from the Hong Kong SAR Government. 

Pathway to teaching
While treating patients during the SARS outbreak, Prof Sung realised medicine is more than just prescribing drugs and taking blood from the laboratory.

"Even if I invented a marvellous drug for SARS or any other illness, in my whole life I can only see that many patients. But if I am a medical doctor and a teacher, then I can train doctors with a heart, with skilful hands and knowledge, I will be able to influence and help more people," said Prof Sung. 

Professor Joseph Sung discusses research development with his research team at the State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease (CUHK)

As he progressed in his career, Prof Sung was often seeking advice from his previous teacher in medical school, the late Professor Sir David Todd. A remarkable hematologist/oncologist who transformed medical education and training in Hong Kong, Prof Sir Todd moved to Cambridge in the United Kingdom for his retirement. Despite the distance, Prof Sung visited his mentor every year. 

"He became more and more frail, but even when it came to the final stage of his life, he still guided me and advised me on my career. He still emphasised that I should stay in academic medicine; I should stay in teaching young students, so I learnt a lot from him," said Prof Sung

In 1992, he became a lecturer at CUHK's department of medicine and received a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Calgary in Canada. Five years later, Prof Sung received a medical doctorate from CUHK in 1997.

His teaching career continued to blossom. In 2008, Prof Sung became head of Shaw College, one of CUHK's four constituent colleges.

From 2010 to 2017, he was also the Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK. As the President of CUHK, Prof Sung was popular among students, particularly after he visited protest scenes during the 2014 Occupy movement to speak to the youths.

Hong Kong is today still in a state of flux, and Prof Sung continues to keep his ear peeled to the ground, speaking positively about the youths there, saying giving up upon the local youths is equivalent to giving up in the future. 

Moving to Singapore
Calling Hong Kong his "sweet home forever", Prof Sung shared that his wife and 85-year-old mother are supportive of his move. 

"They feel that I can still do a little bit more before retirement. So, when this opportunity came, they said since I was not that old and still have the energy and aspiration, I may as well take up another challenge" he added. 

In his new roles at NTU, Prof Sung hopes to foster interdisciplinary research between medicine and engineering, as well as the various sciences including environmental science. 

As a clinician-scientist, Prof Sung believes that research is important for the future of medicine – a field that is always evolving.

"The more you find out, the more you know that there are some missing links that you have to improve on your knowledge. So I think research is helping us to improve our care for patients and you don't just repeat and repeat whatever that's been done 50 years ago, because you know, that is not good enough," said Prof Sung.

With his years of experience in education, Prof Sung hopes to teach medical students at LKCMedicine. As medicine is advancing, he said students should be updated with the latest technological advancements in medicine such as Big Data and working with Artificial Intelligence. 

"This is coming. What we are doing today will be very different from what people will be doing in 10 years' time. So, we should be preparing our students for the change," said Prof Sung. 

Beyond the classroom, he also feels that students need to keep abreast of current affairs. 

"I urge students not to be tunnelled in their vision. They should still keep their eye on the many developments in the world, because life is much bigger than just human diseases and that will make their life more interesting," said Prof Sung.  

While he wears many hats, Prof Sung finds relaxation in running. 

He also practices Chinese calligraphy, a hobby Prof Sung acquired when he was the Vice-Chancellor at CUHK. 

_{"Chinese calligraphy makes me relaxed and refreshed," said Prof Sung.  Photo was taken at the Vice-Chancellor's Office in 2016}

He picked up calligraphy as he had to write his well-wishes in a book at the end of each university visit in China.

As his wife will likely move to Singapore only in 2022, Prof Sung is beginning to take Chinese painting lessons in his homeland. "I hope to take as many lessons as possible before coming to Singapore, because I will be living alone for some time. So I need something to keep me occupied!"