Professor David Hui Shu Cheong BBS JP
許樹昌敎授
Class of 1978 - Prime Public Health Consultant
1978屆畢業 — 公共衞生要臣
David Hui transferred to St. Paul’s College in 1974 and graduated in 1978. He is in charge of the medicine and therapeutics department in the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. During the 2002–03 Sars outbreak, Hui was on the front lines, heading the respiratory medicine department in Sha Tin’s Prince of Wales Hospital. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Hui has served as a government expert adviser, shaping the city’s public health policy and virus response efforts. His younger brother, Ron, also studied at St. Paul’s.
Hui’s research is primarily clinical and centres around respiratory illnesses, including their effects and treatment. Having written/co-written over 350 publications, he is among the most-cited researchers in the field. He was awarded the BBS in 2017 and appointed JP in 2022.
The decision to practise medicine came because of family. Hui’s grandmother suffered from asthma, and his grandfather died young; after determining it was likely to have been tuberculosis and seeing the disease remain a common affliction, Hui was determined to do what he could to help.
As for the decision to transfer, Hui says it was primarily because he liked playing football. Yet Hui got more than football in his student years — lifelong friendships with Pauline were another gain. Hui retains close ties with the College, and has attended our 170th anniversary celebrations.
Click here for an interview with Hui, specially prepared as part of this exhibition.