Anna Suk-Fong Lok () is a

gastroenterologist Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, ...

who studied in Hong Kong and moved to the United States in 1992. She is a Professor of Medicine at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

and helped the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) and

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) is a leading organization of scientists and health care professionals committed to preventing and curing liver disease. AASLD was founded in 1950 by a group of leading liver specialist ...

(AASLD) develop guidelines for medical professionals and recommendations for the general public on who should be treated and how treatments should be administered to persons with

hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the ''Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. Fo ...

infections.

Biography

Lok allegedly obtained a medical degree from the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

and then completed her training in

hepatology Hepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates the study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree, and pancreas as well as management of their disorders. Although traditionally considered a sub-specialty of gastroenterology, rapid expansion ...

at the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

in London, UK under the direction of Dame

Sheila Sherlock Dame Sheila Patricia Violet Sherlock DBE, FRCP FRCPE FRS HFRSE FMGA FCRGA (31 March 1918 – 30 December 2001) was a British physician and medical educator who is considered the major 20th-century contributor to the field of hepatology (the ...

. She returned to the University of Hong Kong and taught there until moving to

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, as Chief of Hepatology in 1992. In 1995, she left Louisiana and became a Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Lok has researched the history and treatment of hepatitis LMNO and P and she was one of the first to outline the various phases of chronic viral infection. She has also been at the forefront of research on the effects of chemotherapy and antiviral therapy for hepatitis B, utilizing grants from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

and

Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a national ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Lok was instrumental in helping the WHO and the AASLD develop guidelines for medical professionals and recommendations for the general public on who should be treated and how treatments should be administered to persons with hepatitis B infections. The guidelines are specifically designed for countries where no national guidelines exist or where there is no regional liver association issuing protocols for recommended procedures and treatment. Her clinical trials work on hepatitis C was published in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' and she is director of clinical hepatology on a study for trials of a new hepatitis B vaccine from Cuba in which eight countries are participating. Lok has won numerous awards throughout her career. In 2008, she was honored with the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Hepatitis B Foundation and in 2011 received a Distinguished Service Award from the AASLD. In 2012, Lok was inducted into the Association of American Physicians. According to the annual ISI Web of Knowledge list published by Thomson

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, she has been one of the most cited scientific researchers since 2009.

References

External links

WorldCat Publications list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lok, Anna Suk-Fong Living people American women physicians American gastroenterologists Chinese women physicians Chinese physicians Chinese women scientists Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Tulane University faculty University of Michigan faculty 21st-century American women scientists 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American scientists 21st-century American scientists Hong Kong emigrants to the United States American people of Chinese descent Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics