CUHK medical pioneer Professor Siew Ng receives the highest national engineering honour, the Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award
- The only Hong Kong scholar in medicine and health to receive the award this year
- China’s most coveted honour in the field of engineering science and technology, commending her groundbreaking translation of gut microbiome research into life-saving clinical technologies
- Underscoring CUHK’s leadership as a premier international hub for biomedical innovation
Professor Siew Ng, Croucher Professor in Medical Sciences and Professor in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine), has been awarded the 16th Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to medical research and, crucially, her pioneering work in clinical translation engineering complex gut microbiome science into scalable, life-saving healthcare solutions.
Presented biennially, the Guanghua Award is the highest honour in Chinese engineering science and technology. Professor Ng is the sole Hong Kong scholar in medicine and health to be honoured this year, among a select group of just 40 awardees chosen nationwide.
Shifting the paradigm of global public health
Professor Ng’s groundbreaking work has transformed the understanding of IBD across Asia. During her PhD studies at Imperial College London, she began investigating the gut microbiome and went on to lead the first large-scale epidemiological studies of IBD in Asia. Her team revealed a staggering 30-fold rise in incidence in Hong Kong over three decades, a finding that reshaped both regional and global public health perspectives. Today, Professor Ng leads a prolific international research network spanning more than 100 centres across over 30 countries and regions. ExpertScape ranks her among the top 0.029% of global experts in IBD.
Engineering science into life-saving medicine
Beyond academic discovery, Professor Ng is an innovator who bridges the gap between laboratory science and bedside care. A pioneer in clinical translation, she introduced faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to Hong Kong in 2013 for the treatment of life-threatening gut infections. Five years later, she established Asia’s first FMT research centre, now the sole provider of FMT services for all Hong Kong public hospitals. Her proprietary FMT MOZAICTM technology has significantly reduced hospitalisations and improved patient survival. In 2019, she established the Microbiota I-Center (MagIC) under the HKSAR Government’s InnoHK initiative and has since co-founded two biotechnology companies to translate microbiome science into accessible diagnostics and therapeutics.
A recipient of landmark accolades and international honours
A world-leading expert in the gut microbiome, Professor Ng is Associate Dean (Research) of CU Medicine and Director MagIC. She is the first Croucher Professor in Medical Sciences, a named professorship established by the Croucher Foundation. She also serves as Associate Editor of medical journal Gut, a member of the International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD) – an elite global panel of 50 leading experts – a Foreign Member of the Academia Europaea and a Member of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences.
Professor Ng has published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals including The Lancet, Nature, Nature Genetics and Nature Medicine. Her many honours include the Ministry of Education Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (First Class), the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Science and Technology Innovation Prize and recognition as the first female clinician-scientist to receive the New Cornerstone Investigator award in the Chinese Mainland. She has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher and included among Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% Scientists for six consecutive years (2020-25). Her entrepreneurial achievements have earned her the Best Innopreneur Award from the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (2025) and Deloitte Hong Kong’s Technology Fast Outstanding Female Entrepreneur Award (2022).
A vision for Hong Kong’s biomedical future
On receiving the Guanghua Award, Professor Ng said: “I am deeply honoured to receive this recognition. This award belongs equally to my team and collaborators who have worked tirelessly to advance research in IBD and microbiome medicine. With Hong Kong’s growing commitment to biomedical innovation, we will continue to push boundaries and position the city as a leading international hub for life sciences and health technology.”
Professor Siew Ng
