IFCC Distinguished Award for Laboratory Medicine and Patient Care
Sponsor: Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Inc
Presented to: Prof. Christopher W K Lam, PhD
The
International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory
Medicine (IFCC) is pleased and honoured to announce that Professor
Christopher Lam, PhD has been selected to receive the IFCC/Ortho
Distinguished Award for Laboratory Medicine and Patient Care. This
is a new award that recognizes an individual who has made unique
contributions in laboratory medicine that have improved patient
care and had a world-wide impact in clinical medicine. Professor
Lam has had a distinguished career as a clinician, scientist, and
educator.
Professor Lam is Chairman and Chief of Service of the Department
of Chemical Pathology, Director of the Clinical Immunology Unit,
and Assistant Dean of Medicine (Research) at the Prince of Wales
Hospital, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. At the
Prince of Wales Hospital, Professor Lam, has research, service, and
teaching responsibilities.
Professor Lam's research accomplishments are extensive and he has
published over 380 peer-reviewed papers in allergy and clinical
immunology, lipidology, nephrology, endocrinology, and other
aspects of chemical pathology including the laboratory medicine of
infectious diseases. During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) epidemic in Hong Kong in 2003 Professor Lam's department
developed a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
(RT-PCR) assay for early diagnosis of SARS corona virus infection.
They also discovered that elevated serum LD1 activity and decreased
blood lymphocyte subsets were the best biochemical prognostic
indicators for death and ICU admission and characterized the
hyperimmune cytokine and chemokine profiles which were useful
markers of disease severity.
Subsequent to his SARS study, Professor Lam developed a postulate
that many acute infections and chronic illnesses are in fact
communication diseases caused by cytokine and chemokine aberrations
resulting in deranged intercellular communication and intracellular
signal transduction. This new concept in laboratory medicine has
enhanced the understanding of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology
of acute and chronic diseases, with clinical applications in
patient care via using cytokines and chemokines for monitoring and
their corresponding antibodies (e.g. anti-tumour necrosis factor
(TNF) antibody) for treatment.
Professor Lam continues to teach chemical pathology to medical
students in Hong Kong and China. This includes coordinating and
serving as chief examiner of a Masters in Science course in
Clinical Biochemistry conducted by his department. He has
supervised and graduated 8 MSc, 10 MPhil and 15 PhD students.
In addition to his research and teaching responsibilities,
Professor Lam also is very active in academic and professional
activities in laboratory medicine and patient services to Hong
Kong, the Asian Pacific region, and international community. For
example, he has served as President and Accreditation Board
Chairman cum Chief Examiner of the Hong Kong Society of Clinical
Chemistry, and is currently Member of Cluster Management Committee
and Chairman of Pathology Service Liaison Committee for his
regional hospitals. Internationally, he has served as APFCB
President (2001-2004), IFCC Executive Board Member (1999-2005),
Roman Traveling Lecturer (2002) of the Australasian Pacific
Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB), and APFCB Traveling
Lecturer (2005-2006). The above dedicated work has resulted in his
receiving the APFCB Distinguished Service Award in 2007. He serves
in three visiting professorships in clinical biochemistry and
laboratory medicine, is currently on the Editorial Board of the
European journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, and is
an advisor of the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI),
USA.