WEBINAR INFORMATION
20 March 2025 (Thu)
19 June 2025 (Thu)
25 September 2025 (Thu)
11 December 2025 (Thu)
Format : Online
The official language of the webinar is English.
Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure that all aspects of the summit announced will take place as scheduled, we reserve the right to make changes at any time should the need arise.
Exploring MagIC Microbiome Series
MagIC Microbiome Webinar is set to unveil revolutionary discoveries and explore the immense potential of microbiome research. Join us and immerse yourself in this extraordinary event where renowned experts, researchers, and industry leaders exchange valuable insights that can revolutionize healthcare. Don't miss this opportunity to be at the forefront of microbiome health knowledge.
Who should attend?
Researchers and Scientists
Students
Medical Academic and Healthcare Professionals
Healthcare, Innovation, and Technology Start-Ups and Entrepreneurs
20 MAR 2025 20:00 HKT
Unlocking the Gut: Integrative Approaches to Microbiome Research
Moderator
Prof. Su Qi
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Prof. Su Qi is a specialist in bioinformatics and fecal microbiome-based artificial intelligence. With several years of experience across gut microbiome and human diseases, he brings a highly skilled approach to the analysis of large multi-omics datasets for clinical and research purposes. He has more than 50 scientific publications with interests in the use and advancement of big data and AI technologies in consumer products and public health. He has developed the world's first non-invasive stool test for long COVID and currently is committed to developing machine learning tools for autism screening and early detection based on the fecal microbiome. His invention has received a series of international recognitions including FDA breakthrough device design and a gold medal from the Geneva Inventions Exhibition 2023.
Speaker
Prof. Sunjae Lee
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Professor Sunjae Lee is a field expert in data-driven life sciences, developing systems biology tools and applications for the human microbiome and metabolism. He has been recruited as Associate Professor of Bioinformatics, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), one of leading research-oriented institutes in Korea. He has received Ph.D. in bioinformatics/data mining at KAIST, and had professional experiences in world-leading systems biology groups of human and microbiome in Sweden and UK. He has contributed one of the largest bio-molecular map projects of humans, including Human Gut Microbiome Atlas, Human Pathology Atlas, and Human Cell Atlas within Swedish Human Protein Atlas Program. His research activities focus on analysing big-data approaches to identify drivers of microbiome-associated diseases for the deeper understanding of how dysregulated microbiomes can disrupt the metabolic homeostasis between host and microbes. By this way, better diagnosis and therapeutic options for microbiome-associated diseases can be addressed in a patient-specific manner.
Speaker
Prof. Xiaotao Shen
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Dr. Xiaotao Shen serves as an Assistant Professor at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He completed his PhD in metabolomics and bioinformatics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Shanghai, China, in December 2018. Following his PhD, he undertook postdoctoral training at Stanford University under the guidance of Prof. Michael Snyder starting in April 2019. His postdoctoral research primarily centers on the integration of multi-omics data and its applications in precision medicine. Dr. Shen has a broad interest in the development of bioinformatics algorithms for multi-omics data, aimed at advancing precision medicine. His specific research interests include developing bioinformatics algorithms for comprehensive analysis workflows and deep learning for LC-MS data, metabolic network analysis, and the integration of wearable and multi-omics data, as well as microbiome and metabolome data integration. Furthermore, Dr. Shen utilizes these bioinformatics algorithms in a systems biology approach to explore potential biomarkers and mechanisms related to pregnancy and associated diseases, as well as aging and its related diseases.
19 JUN 2025 20:00 HKT
Gut Microbiome and Healthy Ageing: Insights from Research to Practice
Moderator
Prof. Hein Tun
Associate Director
Microbiota I-Center (MagIC)
Prof. Hein Tun is a public health veterinarian and microbiome scientist, currently an Associate Professor at the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Associate Director of the Microbiota I-Center (MagIC). Prof. Tun has been a key member of several microbiome innovations that have significant potential for clinical applications and commercialization. He has published more than 100 original research articles in high-impact journals such as Gut, Gastroenterology, Lancet Microbe, Nature Communication, JAMA Pediatrics, etc. Prof. Tun has received several international research awards and fellowships including the 2023 MolecularCloud Most Social Impact Teams Award, the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva 2021 and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship in 2016. Prof. Tun also serves as an editorial board member of Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences and Frontiers in Microbiology. In addition, he has been serving as an expert reviewer for local and international funding schemes and now serves as a member of various international committees such as the Quadripartite (WHO/OIE/FAO/UNEP) and the scientific steering committee of Pasteur Network (COS-PN).
Speaker
Dr. Mary Ní Lochlainn
King's College London
Dr Mary NÃ Lochlainn is a Clinical Lecturer in King's College London, and a doctor specialising in Geriatric Medicine in Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. She has been awarded the British Geriatric Society Rising Star in Research Award. Her interests lie in preventing and reducing morbidity with ageing, in particular via modulation of the gut microbiome.
Speaker
Prof. Lulu Xu
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Zhilu Xu, Lulu, is a project leader at Microbiota I-Center. Her research focuses on the gut microbiome in relation to obesity and metabolic diseases. She investigates multi-omics changes in these conditions, seeking to identify specific microbes and metabolites that promote metabolic health and understand their roles and underlying mechanisms through in vitro, in vivo, and human clinical trials. Furthermore, she examines the effects of gut microbiome manipulation techniques such as prebiotics, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation on the composition and function of the human gut microbiome. She received her PhD in medical sciences from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2019. Her work has led to over 20 scientific publications and several licensed patents. Her inventions have led to royalty income and an award-winning synbiotic formulation, demonstrating her ability to translate research into innovative products and technologies.
25 SEP 2025 20:00 HKT
Strategy of Personalize Microbiome Medicine: Based on the Diet-host-microbiome Interaction
Moderator
Prof. Lin Zhang
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Lin Zhang is a non-clinical Assistant Professor in Department of Anaethesia and Intensive Care, Lead Scientist of Microbiota I-Center (MagIC) and a Principal Investigator of LKS Institute of Health Sciences. She obtained her Ph.D. from School of Biomedical Sciences, CUHK in 2013 and received post-doctoral training in the Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, CUHK and later School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh. She joined her current department in 2017 and MagIC in 2020 as CUHK faculty member. Her research interests focus on basic and translational work in early life microbiome. She has published > 120 journal articles, including 85 original papers, including Cell Host & Microbe, EClinicalMedicine, Gut, Annals of Oncology. She is one of Editorial Board Members of iMeta and served as a reviewer for grant agencies (e.g. NSFC, ANZCA, Shenzhen, Science and Technology Innovation Commission, and AGA Abstract Review Committee (Pre-clinical Treatment of Intestinal Inflammation) and > 16 international journals (e.g., Annals of Internal Medicine, Gut, Gastroenterology). She has been conferred KASID Best Oral Presentation Award (2022), Young Investigator Award at The 15th International Gastrointestinal Consensus Symposium (2022) and Fellowship of Hong Kong-Scotland Partners in Post-Doctoral Research for 2015/2016. As Principal Investigator, she has obtained 10 external competitive grants and 7 internal grants with a total amount over 11 million Hong Kong dollars.
Speaker
Prof. Jotham Suez
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Jotham is a Feinstone Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. His graduate work at the Weizmann Institute of Science, mentored by Prof. Eran Elinav, focused on microbiome-based rational design of therapeutics and diets. He aims to understand how microbes shape human health, promote diversity and equity in academia, and spend more time in nature with his dog Bono.
Speaker
Dr. Wing Lau
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Dr. LIU Yingzhi is proficient in epidemiology and bioinformatics, focused on the studies related to microbiome in pregnancy and early life. She completed her PhD in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2023. Her research interest is the impact of food additives on maternal and postnatal health in mothers with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or general populations (normal pregnancy). As a member of the early-life team at MagIC Centre, she utilised multi-omics datasets with comprehensive clinical records to describe the relationship between food additives and early-life gut microbes. She has over 20 scientific publications and was awarded by the Research Grand Council (RGC) for the Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme 24/25.
11 DEC 2025 20:00 HKT
The Gut as a Gateway: Exploring Microbiome-Based Diagnostics and Therapeutics in Human Diseases
Moderator
Prof. Hein Tun
Associate Director
Microbiota I-Center (MagIC)
Prof. Hein Tun is a public health veterinarian and microbiome scientist, currently an Associate Professor at the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Associate Director of the Microbiota I-Center (MagIC). Prof. Tun has been a key member of several microbiome innovations that have significant potential for clinical applications and commercialization. He has published more than 100 original research articles in high-impact journals such as Gut, Gastroenterology, Lancet Microbe, Nature Communication, JAMA Pediatrics, etc. Prof. Tun has received several international research awards and fellowships including the 2023 MolecularCloud Most Social Impact Teams Award, the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva 2021 and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship in 2016. Prof. Tun also serves as an editorial board member of Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences and Frontiers in Microbiology. In addition, he has been serving as an expert reviewer for local and international funding schemes and now serves as a member of various international committees such as the Quadripartite (WHO/OIE/FAO/UNEP) and the scientific steering committee of Pasteur Network (COS-PN).
Speaker
Prof. Christopher Smillie
Harvard, Division of
Medical Sciences
The Smillie lab studies how gut bacteria adapt to the inflamed environment that accompanies disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Imbalances in the gut microbiome are a hallmark of immune-related disorders, from IBD to diabetes, and many studies have focused on identifying the bacterial species associated with these conditions. But within these species, individual strains may evolve unique adaptations that allow them to control their human host, secreting molecules that either elicit or quell inflammation. Working with samples from thousands of people with IBD, I will develop cutting-edge computational methods to study these bacterial adaptations, illuminating the strains, genes, and metabolites that not only allow bacteria to acclimate to inflammation, but also to manipulate host systems for their own benefit. This unique approach, which can be applied to any inflammatory condition, could facilitate the discovery of microbiome therapeutics that govern the onset and progression of inflammation.
Speaker
Prof. Su Qi
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Prof. Su Qi is a specialist in bioinformatics and fecal microbiome-based artificial intelligence. With several years of experience across gut microbiome and human diseases, he brings a highly skilled approach to the analysis of large multi-omics datasets for clinical and research purposes. He has more than 50 scientific publications with interests in the use and advancement of big data and AI technologies in consumer products and public health. He has developed the world's first non-invasive stool test for long COVID and currently is committed to developing machine learning tools for autism screening and early detection based on the fecal microbiome. His invention has received a series of international recognitions including FDA breakthrough device design and a gold medal from the Geneva Inventions Exhibition 2023.
PAST WEBINAR
27 JUN 2024
Microbiome in Early Life
Prof. Jakob Stokholm & Prof Lin Zhang joined us for an insightful webinar, where they explored how the microbiome in pregnancy and early life was shaped and affected by environmental factors, and whether these factors could change the risk of childhood disease.
Keynote Speech by
Prof. Jakob Stokholm
University of Copenhagen
Topic
Early life environment, microbiome maturation and the risk of disease in childhood
Keynote Speech by
Prof. Lin Zhang
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Topic
Early life microbiome from the MOMMY Cohort: Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic
Jakob Stokholm, MD, is an associate professor at COPSAC and University of Copenhagen. Jakob Stokholm’s research area can be described as clinical translational research combining basic research methodologies and bioinformatics approaches mainly from the microbiology field with clinical data from birth cohort studies. The research has especially contributed to the understanding of how the microbiome in pregnancy and early life is shaped, and affected by factors such as antibiotics and delivery mode, and whether these factors as well as the microbiome and virome can change risk of asthma and allergy. He is leading the microbiome group at COPSAC.
Lin Zhang is Assistant Professor at the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (by courtesy) of the Faculty of Medicine and Project Leader in Microbiota I-Center (MagIC) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She began her research in gut microbiota and host interactions a decade ago, after obtaining her PhD from School of Biomedical Sciences of CUHK in 2013. Dr. Zhang joined the CUHK as faculty in 2017 and has published over 120 full scientific articles (28 of them as the first, co-first or corresponding author) and 3 book chapters, including papers in Annals of Oncology, Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, Cell Host & Microbes, Gut, EClinicalMedicine, Autophagy. Dr Zhang also has assisted in the InnoHK Health initiative for the MagIC Center for Microbiota Medicine and is the project leader in Early Life Microbiome. Additionally, she has been invited to deliver > 20 lectures, including Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2023, 2024, Microbiome Medicine Program at University of Chicago 2023, and UNSW Medicine & Health, St George/Sutherland, Research in Progress Meetings 2022.
