As a medical student, I recognise that my training is centered around clinical practice. However, through various opportunities at HKU which I’m very grateful for, I have developed an interest in scientific research. I learnt to appreciate that basic science and clinical research are critical pillars of medicine, and transformative advancements in medicine often arise from intertwining of these two disciplines.

My main motivation to join this forum is to learn from, and connect with, highly decorated leaders in the field of life sciences and medicine. After having done a research placement at a laboratory at HKU, I was fascinated by emerging gene sequencing technologies and to a further extent, molecular biology. These novel technologies and discoveries in the field of biology and life sciences will certainly help address unresolved clinical challenges in the future. I wish to gain firsthand insights from the perspectives of these esteemed scientists, about the role and impact of these discoveries on clinical medicine. I hope I can also contribute meaningfully to the discussion by finding out how I, as a future doctor, can play a role in basic science research, and offer my humble perspective as a student.