Kenneth Cheung

Kenneth M.C. Cheung is the Jessie Ho Professor in Spine Surgery and the Head of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, The University of Hong Kong. In 1987, he obtained his undergraduate medical degree at the Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, The University of London, UK. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1991, and a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in 1995. After returning to Hong Kong from the UK in 1992, he pursued both a clinical career in Spinal Surgery, as well as a research career culminating in the award of an MD from The University of Hong Kong in 2007.

His research interests are in the genetics of intervertebral disc degeneration and scoliosis, stem cell regeneration of the disc, and the development of novel surgical technologies for the treatment of spinal deformities. He has been invited as visiting professor and speaker on multiple occasions to international meetings. He has published 12 book chapters and 229 publications in top scientific and spine journals, including Lancet, American Journal of Human Genetics, Arthritis and Rheumatism, Biomaterials, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and Spine.

Professor Cheung holds 15 patents and has 19 personal and 40 team awards for research excellence. Notable in 2008, he received the Henry Farfan Award from the North American Spine Society for his outstanding contributions in spine related basic science research; in 2010, he received the prestigious ISSLS prize from the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine; and in 2012 received a prestigious endowed professorship in Spine Surgery from the University of Hong Kong. He has secured multiple research grants from local, regional and international granting bodies totaling over US$5 million.

Professor Cheung is the past President of the Scoliosis Research Society, as well as the Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is also the past President of the Hong Kong College of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Previously he was the Chairman of the AOSpine Research Commission, coordinating research on a global level for AOSpine, and was the Organizing Chairman of the World Forum for Spine Research in Kyoto (2008), Montreal (2010), Helsinki (2012), and Xian (2014).