CUHK Academic Captures 'the Oscars Of Science'

A Hong Kong scientist who won a top international award popularly known as the Oscars of science said he hopes his honour will persuade local students to take up a career that changes the world for the better.

Professor Dennis Lo, who teaches in the Department of Chemical Pathology at Chinese University, and three others are the co-winners of the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

Lo won HK$24 million for discovering the presence of foetal DNA in a mother's blood and the development of non-invasive prenatal tests for Downs Syndrome and a variety of genetic diseases.

The tests have been adopted in more than 90 countries and are used by more than seven million pregnant women every year.

Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong on Friday, Lo said he hopes his honour would help convince youngsters that they can do their part to build a better future for mankind, instead of focusing on money alone.

"Probably many students in Hong Kong or their parents, they are more pragmatic when they choose a career. They like something which will give them a stable income so that they can look after the family," he said.

"What I hope is that awards such as this will show the students that there is actually a career to be made in science.

"A conventional career will look after you and your family, but a scientific career, if you make a breakthrough, it could impact the world."

It's been pointed out that many previous winners of the award went on to capture the biggest prize of all: the Nobel award.

"I don't dare to dream about getting the Nobel Prize. I'll try my best to do my best work," Lo told RTHK's Wendy Wong.

Four other scientists from around the world were honoured for their work in the fields of mathematics and fundamental physics.

The Breakthrough Prize, the richest science award to date, is funded by some of the world's top internet entrepreneurs, such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sergey Brin. It began in 2013 and is given annually to researchers who have made discoveries that extend human life.