Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D²4H)

Research Highlights

Featured Publications

Honours and Awards

Coming soon

The Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D²4H) sets to play pivotal role in gathering and curating massive, unique data resources and developing new, deep, frontier analytics for protecting global public health and improving individual healthcare through precision medicine.

The Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D²4H) sets to play pivotal role in gathering and curating massive, unique data resources and developing new, deep, frontier analytics for protecting global public health and improving individual healthcare through precision medicine.

Featured Publications

Programme 1

AI-Enhanced Global and Personal Health Protection

The allocation of COVID-19 vaccines and antivirals against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in East Asia and Pacific region: A modelling study
- The Lancet Regional Health, Western Pacific

02 Feb 2022
Impacts of School Nutrition Interventions on the Nutritional Status of School-Aged Children in Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- MDPI

28 Jan 2022
Surveillance of Rodent Pests for SARS-CoV-2 and Other Coronaviruses, Hong Kong (jointly published by Programme 1 & 2)
- Emerging Infectious Diseases

13 Jan 2022
Waning antibody levels after COVID-19 vaccination with mRNA Comirnaty and inactivated CoronaVac vaccines in blood donors, Hong Kong, April 2020 to October 2021
- Eurosurveillance

13 Jan 2022
Managing waning vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants
- The Lancet

20 Dec 2021
Estimating the transmission advantage of the D614G mutant strain of SARS-CoV-2, December 2019 to June 2020
- Eurosurveillance

09 Dec 2021
Delays in routine childhood vaccinations and their relationship with parental vaccine hesitancy: a cross-sectional study in Wuxi, China
- Expert Review of Vaccines

26 Nov 2021
A global assessment of the impact of school closure in reducing COVID-19 spread
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences

22 Nov 2021
Non-biomedical factors affecting antibiotic use in the community: a mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis
- Clinical Microbiology and Infection

10 Nov 2021
Cost-effectiveness of strategies for preventing paediatric lower respiratory infections associated with respiratory syncytial virus in eight Chinese cities
- Vaccine

26 Aug 2021
Public Attitudes and Factors of COVID-19 Testing Hesitancy in the United Kingdom and China: Comparative Infodemiology Study
- JMIR Infodemiology

22 Aug 2021
Effects of adjusting public health, travel, and social measures during the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination: a modelling study
- The Lancet Public Health

10 Aug 2021
Economic evaluation of varicella vaccination strategies in Jiangsu province, China: a decision-tree Markov model
- Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

06 Aug 2021
Factors related to perceived stress during the COVID-19 epidemic context among the general population in China: A cross-sectional nationwide study
- Journal of Affective Disorders

29 Jul 2021
Vaccination against COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of acceptability and its predictors
- Preventive Medicine

22 Jun 2021
Assessing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, Confidence, and Public Engagement: A Global Social Listening Study
- Journal of Medical Internet Research

11 Jun 2021
Using risk stratification to optimize mammography screening in Chinese women
- JNCI Cancer Spectrum

07 Jun 2021
Cost-effectiveness analysis of the nonavalent human papillomavirus vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer in Singapore
- Vaccine

18 Mar 2021
Nowcasting epidemics of novel pathogens: lessons from COVID-19 (jointly published by Programme 1 & 2)
- Nature Medicine

15 Mar 2021
Real-time tracking and prediction of COVID-19 infection using digital proxies of population mobility and mixing
- Nature Communications

08 Mar 2021
Quantifying the uncertainty of CovidSim
- Nature Computational Science

22 Feb 2021
Evaluation of a SARS-CoV-2 Surrogate Virus Neutralization Test for Detection of Antibody in Human, Canine, Cat, and Hamster Sera
- Journal of Clinical Microbiology

21 Jan 2021
Early transmissibility assessment of the N501Y mutant strains of SARS-CoV-2 in the United Kingdom, October to November 2020 (jointly published by Programme 1 & 2)
- Eurosurveillance

07 Jan 2021

Programme 2

AI-Metagenomic Platform to Identify Emerging Pathogens

Surveillance of Rodent Pests for SARS-CoV-2 and Other Coronaviruses, Hong Kong (jointly published by Programme 1 & 2)
- Emerging Infectious Diseases

13 Jan 2022
Nowcasting epidemics of novel pathogens: lessons from COVID-19 (jointly published by Programme 1 & 2)
- Nature Medicine

15 Mar 2021
Early transmissibility assessment of the N501Y mutant strains of SARS-CoV-2 in the United Kingdom, October to November 2020 (jointly published by Programme 1 & 2)
- Eurosurveillance

07 Jan 2021

Programme 3

AI-Enabled Causal Inference for Disease Control

Nowcasting towards sustainable SARS-CoV-2 endemicity
- The Lancet

27 Oct 2021
The differential importation risks of COVID-19 from inbound travellers and the feasibility of targeted travel controls: A case study in Hong Kong
- The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific

13 Aug 2021
COVID-19 transmission in Hong Kong despite universal masking
- Journal of Infection

31 Jul 2021
Assessing Community Vulnerability over 3 Waves of COVID-19 Pandemic, Hong Kong, China
- Emerging Infectious Diseases

27 Jul 2021
Comparative immunogenicity of mRNA and inactivated vaccines against COVID-19
- The Lancet Microbe

16 Jul 2021
Clinical improvement, outcomes, antiviral activity, and costs associated with early treatment with remdesivir for patients with COVID-19
- Clinical Infectious Diseases

15 Jul 2021
Fractionation of COVID-19 vaccine doses could extend limited supplies and reduce mortality
- Nature Medicine

05 Jul 2021
The incubation period distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Clinical Infectious Diseases

12 Jun 2021
Accounting for imported cases in estimating the time-varying reproductive number of COVID-19 in Hong Kong
- The Journal of Infectious Diseases

04 Jun 2021
Risk for International Importations of Variant SARS-CoV-2 Originating in the United Kingdom
- Emerging Infectious Diseases

27 May 2021
Transmission dynamics and control of two epidemic waves of SARS-CoV-2 in South Korea
- BMC Infectious Diseases

26 May 2021
Serial intervals and case isolation delays for COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Clinical Infectious Diseases

26 May 2021
Upper Respiratory Infections in Schools and Childcare Centers Reopening after COVID-19 Dismissals, Hong Kong
- Emerging Infectious Diseases

01 May 2021
Decreased Use of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Epidemic in South Korea
- The Journal of Infectious Diseases

15 Apr 2021
Assessing asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic and symptomatic transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2
- Clinical Infectious Diseases

27 Mar 2021
Clinical outcomes of different therapeutic options for COVID-19 in two Chinese case cohorts: A propensity-score analysis
- EClinicalMedicine

13 Feb 2021
Changing disparities in COVID-19 burden in the ethnically homogeneous population of Hong Kong through pandemic waves: an observational study
- Clinical Infectious Diseases

06 Jan 2021
Face masks and COVID-19: don't let perfect be the enemy of good
- Euro-surveillance

10 Dec 2020

Programme 4

AI and Pharmaceuticals in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)

Impact of a delayed second dose of mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2) and inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac) on risks of all-cause mortality, emergency department visit, and unscheduled hospitalization
- BMC Medicine

17 Mar 2022
Adverse Events of Special Interest Following the Use of BNT162b2 in Adolescents: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study
- Emerging Microbes & Infections

07 Mar 2022
Myocarditis Following COVID-19 BNT162b2 Vaccination Among Adolescents in Hong Kong
- JAMA Pediatrics

25 Feb 2022
Safety of inactivated and mRNA COVID-19 vaccination among patients treated for hypothyroidism: a population-based cohort study
- Thyroid

25 Feb 2022
Lack of inflammatory bowel disease flare-up following two-dose BNT162b2 vaccine: a population-based cohort study
- Gut

08 Feb 2022
Self-reported reactogenicity of CoronaVac (Sinovac) compared with Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech): A prospective cohort study with intensive monitoring
- Vaccine

07 Feb 2022
Herpes zoster related hospitalization after inactivated (CoronaVac) and mRNA (BNT162b2) SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: A self-controlled case series and nested case-control study
- The Lancet Regional Health, Western Pacific

01 Feb 2022
COVID-19 vaccines and risks of hematological abnormalities: nested case-control and self-controlled case series study
- American Journal of Hematology

26 Jan 2022
Carditis After COVID-19 Vaccination With a Messenger RNA Vaccine and an Inactivated Virus Vaccine
- Annals of Internal Medicine

25 Jan 2022
Multimorbidity and adverse events of special interest associated with Covid-19 vaccines in Hong Kong
- Nature Communications

20 Jan 2022
Post-Covid-19-vaccination adverse events and healthcare utilization among individuals with or without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection
- Journal of Internal Medicine

19 Jan 2022
Comparing self-reported reactogenicity between adolescents and adults following the use of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine: a prospective cohort study
- International Journal of Infectious Diseases

26 Dec 2021
Epidemiology of Acute Myocarditis/Pericarditis in Hong Kong Adolescents Following Comirnaty Vaccination
- Clinical Infectious Diseases

28 Nov 2021
Adverse event reporting and Bell's palsy risk after COVID-19 vaccination – Authors' reply
- The Lancet Infectious Disease

01 Nov 2021
Two-dose COVID-19 vaccination and possible arthritis flare among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Hong Kong
- The BMJ: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

22 Oct 2021
Bell’s palsy following vaccination with mRNA (BNT162b2) and inactivated (CoronaVac) SARS-CoV-2 vaccines: a case series and nested case-control study
- The Lancet Infectious Diseases

16 Aug 2021

Programme 5

AI-Assisted Scalable Data Analytics for Global Health Protection

Lineage tracing and single-cell analysis reveal proliferative Prom1+ tumour-propagating cells and their dynamic cellular transition during liver cancer progression
- Gut

29 Sep 2021
Generalized and scalable trajectory inference in single-cell omics data with VIA
- Nature Communications

20 Sep 2021
Genetic screening reveals phospholipid metabolism as a key regulator of the biosynthesis of the redox-active lipid coenzyme Q
- Redox Biology

08 Sep 2021
Deep Learning for Clinical Image Analyses in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
- JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery

19 Aug 2021
FlowGrid enables fast clustering of very large single-cell RNA-seq data
- Bioinformatics

21 Jul 2021
The method to quantify cell elasticity based on the precise measurement of pressure inducing cell deformation in microfluidic channels
- MethodsX

23 Jan 2021