Danny Chan

The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Danny Chan is a professor at the School of Biomedical Science in the University of Hong Kong, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine. He graduated from the University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Science (Hons), Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy.

His research interest is in skeletal biology, focusing on development, growth and degenerative processes of the skeleton in health and disease. Professor Chan is currently coordinating a Human Genetic Programme to identify genetic risk factors for intervertebral disc degeneration, a major cause of back pain. He has a particular interest in rare diseases of the skeleton and in recognition of his achievements, he received an award for excellence in medical research from the Premier of Victoria in Australia, and recently, the Croucher Senior Research Fellow Award in Hong Kong, and the SY and HY Cheng Professor in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. In knowledge exchange, he and his research team helped to initiate “The Little People of Hong Kong” Foundation in Hong Kong, an NGO for the patient groups, and to increase the community’s awareness of the needs of patients with rare skeletal disorders in Hong Kong. He is also a council member of Hong Kong Alliance for Rare Diseases, advocating for the needs of rare disease people in our society.

Professor Chan is the Assistant Dean for Research and Research Postgraduate studies, as well as the Deputy Director for Development and Education for Research Integrity at the University of Hong Kong. He is involved in the education of responsible conduct of research to students and academic staff, and has a strong interest in promoting high quality research environment at the university, and sharing experience through networking with regional and international institutions to foster responsible conduct of research.

Trust in research has been challenged when reproducibility is been questioned.  The lack of reproducibility is one of the top priorities for many institutions and funding bodies that needs to deal with. However, these can have legitimate and biological reasons that are not due to slopping or fraudulence science, but it is become a slippery slope for many researchers under the current funding and award systems.  Thus, while many institutions, HKU included, wish to promote the fostering of open science and to enhance scientific rigor in research, it is important to understand the root of the problem and to critically evaluate the research environment to enable effective education and development of responsible conduct of research.  In this presentation, activities within HKU addressing these issues will be discussed from the perspective of my role as an educator in laboratory research, research postgraduate student affairs, and responsible conduct of research at HKU.