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Somnath CHATTERJI Prof. Chatterji trained as a medical doctor and subsequently obtained a MD in Psychological Medicine. He has worked at WHO for over 20 years, most recently as the outgoing director of the department of Data and Analytics and senior adviser to the division of Data, Analytics and Delivery for Impact. During this time he has coordinated several large scale international projects, including the development of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the revision of the International Classification of Diseases and related Health Problems (ICD), the World Health Surveys, WHO’s Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE), the World Mental Health surveys and several other large international projects funded by the National Institute on Aging, the European Commission and other funding agencies. He has contributed to WHO flagship reports such as the World Report on Disability, the World Report on Ageing and Health and several editions of WHO’s World Health Statistics and Global Monitoring Reports on Universal Health Coverage. Prof. Chatterji worked on improving the measurement of health trends and their determinants and developed standards for generating data including designing multiple surveys across topics and special populations with a focus on older adults. He has coordinated several large scale international studies on older adults examining health outcomes and trends, subjective wellbeing and their determinants. Prof. Chatterji has a published track record of estimating the impact of health conditions and their burden globally including a book on the burden of mental disorders. He has been listed by the Web of Science as being among the world’s most cited researchers (0.1% of the research community; among the top 100 researchers globally in my fields of expertise; h-index 100) and have over 200 publications in prestigious peer reviewed journals. |
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Grace CHAN Man-yee Grace Chan has dedicated over 26 years of her career to social welfare and currently serves as the Business Director of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS). She is also a member of the Board of Directors and the International Vice President of the International Federation on Ageing, demonstrating her commitment to improving the lives of older adults. Ms Chan's extensive experience in the field of ageing has led to numerous appointments and accolades. In 2013, she was invited to join the Strategic Advisory Group for the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. She has also served as a member of the Elderly Commission and currently sits on several committees and boards in the statutory bodies of Hong Kong. Ms Chan's areas of expertise include long-term care, age-friendly cities and communities, elderly participation, and innovation and technology for ageing. Her contributions to the field were recognized in 2019 when she was awarded the Ageing Asia Global Ageing Influencer. This honour recognizes outstanding achievements by influential leaders impacting ageing in the Asia Pacific. In 2022, Ms Chan was honoured with the Most Successful Women Award by JESSICA, Hong Kong's leading women's media, to recognise her achievements and contributions to society. Ms Chan's leadership and dedication have made a significant impact in the field of ageing, and she continues to be a driving force for positive change. |
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Debby CHENG Debby is a seasoned non-profit project manager. As a journalist in her early career, Debby has been trained to be intellectually sensitive to social justice issues. She then changed her career path to work in the non-profit sector. Before joining Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation, Debby was an active social advocate for labour rights, food justice, mitigation and resilience to climate change. Debby is now leading Social Design projects to tackle Population aging issues. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology and Master's Degree in Global Political Economy from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
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Adam CHOW Adam Chow is the Founder and CEO of Venture Global Limited since 1998. The venture is an innovative original design manufacturer (ODM) and original brand manufacturer (OBM) with core competence in wireless electronics products. Adam transformed Venture focusing on research and development, manufacturing and marketing of elderly care products and solutions to provide caregivers and those in need for assistive daily living and exporting to North America and Western Europe since 2009. In 2018, Adam decided to establish the “GUARDMAN” brand, to bring those products and solutions developed for North American and Western European customers back to Hong Kong and Asia to promote the benefits of "ageing at home". Venture granted the Hong Kong Management Association Quality Award for SME in 2021 and GUARDMAN also received the 2021 Hong Kong Emerging Brand Award from Hong Kong Brand Development Council. The Venture is an innovative company at all times and granted a Two-Star SME award in the Hong Kong Corporate Innovation Index 2022 from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2023, the company was also granted the Global Innovation Award 2023 from The Hong Kong Management Association and the Innovative Brand Award from the Hong Kong Designer Association. Besides the elderly care industry, Adam also develops various systems and products that enhance environmental, social and governance in short “ESG”. Adam contributes greatly to society and serves as the Chairman of SSCT Charitable Foundation to focus on the welfare of the elderly, intergenerational inclusion, and child education of ethics minorities. In addition, He is also the executive committee member of the "Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Sustainability Society” and the Fellowship of “Social Enterprise Research Academy”. |
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Raymond HO Lei-ming Dr HO Lei Ming Raymond joined the Government as a Medical and Health Officer in December 1998. He was promoted to Principal Medical and Health Officer in September 2010, to Assistant Director of Health in October 2020. Dr HO obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom in 1990. After graduation, he completed his vocation training in General Practice and worked as a General Practice partner in London before joining the Department of Health in December 1998. He obtained his Masters of Medicine (Public Health Medicine) from the National University of Singapore in 2002. He is a Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine and Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine since 2009. He is currently the Assistant Director (Elderly Health) in the Department of Health, Hong Kong SAR, China. He has previously worked in other public health areas including Health Promotion, Port Health, Food Safety, Tobacco Control and HIV Prevention. He was formerly the founding Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Smoking Cessation and Treatment of Tobacco Dependence (2012) and the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Council of Smoking and Health (2003-05). |
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Mikiko KANDA Dr Mikiko Kanda is a Technical Lead for the Healthy Ageing Unit, Division of Healthy Environments and Populations, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WHO WPRO) appointed in March 2023. Working with internal and external stakeholders, she is leading technical support and advocacy to promote health and social system transformation to Member States in the WHO Western Pacific Region in addressing the needs of an ageing population. Prior to WHO WPRO, she was working for Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Country Office for Myanmar and WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia in various technical capacities related to Strategic Information, Health Systems, Human Resources for Health (Nursing and Midwifery) and Healthy Ageing. She is a Registered Nurse in Japan and the US and holds PhD and MHS in Health Science (Global Health Policy) from the University of Tokyo. |
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April Siwon LEE April Siwon Lee is a Technical Officer at the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office. She has over 7 years of experience working in public health. At WHO WPRO she has been providing technical support to WHO member states to achieve the vision of healthy ageing. She is also the innovation focal point for the Division of Healthy Environments and Populations, WHO WPRO. She has a Master of Public Health degree (Social and Behavioural Health Sciences specialist) from the University of Toronto and have public health research experience in China, Malawi, Kenya, Philippines. |
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Elsa LEE Dr Elsa LEE Sau-ha is a social worker; Executive Director of the Wong Tai Sin District Health Centre which is operated by the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council. She is leading a multi-disciplinary team to formulate and implement services on promotion of primary healthcare with a strong network of local partners. She also has rich experience on different social and healthcare services for seniors. She has edited and published more than ten practical manuals and books, including: Handbook on Holistic Care from the Heart for People with Dementia; Rehabilitation Treatment Series - Active Exercises; Architectural Design for Senior, etc. |
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Angela LEUNG Yee Man Angela Y. M. Leung is Professor and Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services in School of Nursing of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She was the recipient of The Excellent Health Promotion Project Award given by the Food and Health Bureau, Hong Kong Government (2021), awardee in the Hartford Geriatric Scholars Program in Johns Hopkins University (2014) and Distinguished Gerontological Nursing Educator by National Hartford Centre for Gerontological Nursing Excellence, USA (2018). She is an active researcher in health literacy and dementia caregiving, with a wide range of publications in international journals (e.g. doi: 10.2196/10662; doi: 10.2196/16772). She has a strong belief that technology can help people to understand their current health status and make the informed health decision. She is also dedicated to community-based health promotion initiatives. She serves as Executive Board Member of International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), Member of World Health Organization (WHO) Global Network on Long-term Care (GNLTC) and WHO Clinical Consortium on Healthy Ageing (CCHA). She advocates the implementation of WHO ICOPE model and dementia literacy in Western Pacific Region and conduct training in many countries like Fiji, Cambodia, the Philippines, and China. Professor Leung is also active in a number of public and community services – her appointments as the Consultant of the Department of Health and Labour and Welfare Bureau of the HKSAR Government, and the Chairlady of the Task force of Certification of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly, The Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS) under Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC), and member of Hong Kong Housing Society. With her nursing expertise and extensive experiences in aging, she supports the development of age-related innovations in different aspects in the society. |
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Kar-kan LING, SBS Prof. Ling Kar-kan is a professional town planner. He was the Director of Planning of the HKSAR Government (2012-2016), President of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners (2007-2009) and Director of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (2017-2023). He was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star in 2017 and InnoStars Award 2021. He is now the Director of Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). He serves the community as the Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Housing Society and Chairman of the Country and Marine Parks Board. He is also the Adjunct Professor of the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Professor of Practice (Planning) of PolyU. |
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Carol MA Associate Professor Carol Ma is a well-known figure in academia and the community sector for her active and passionate involvement in Service-Learning (S-L) and Ageing in Asia. Currently serving as the Associate Professor and Head of Gerontology Programmes (Master & PhD) & Senior Fellow (Experiential Learning) at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. She leads the development of the curriculum, engages with the community, and conducts research in gerontology while promoting transdisciplinary education to address ageing issues. She has been involving in various ageing and service-learning research projects, including service-learning in Asia, elder-learning development project in Hong Kong, the development of the 1st geragogy guidelines in Singapore, reminiscences in dementia care during pandemics, digital inclusion for healthy ageing and older adults' functional capacity under the WHO ICOPE framework, Ageing business roundtable with Johnson and Johnson, etc. Her projects were funded by Ngee Ann Kongsi, Lingnan Foundation, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Worldwide University Network, Hong Kong Elderly Commission, etc. Carol is also serving on different government and international advisory boards, for example, she is the advisor for caregiver and eldercare services with the National Council of Social Services and the International Longevity Centre Singapore, a member of the Tote Board Community Health Fund (TBCHF) Evaluation Panel, and the academic advisor for the Universivate, a global network coordinated by the Latin American Center for Solidarity Service-Learning. To learn more about her latest research work, please visit her ResearchGate profile. |
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Jed MONTAYRE Jed is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Director of the Centre of Evidence-based Practice for Healthcare Policy. Jed has a strong clinical background in gerontology and medical-surgical nursing. He is an experienced nurse academic, who has worked in the Philippines, New Zealand and Australia. Jed’s research focuses on age-friendly communities, ageing and health, cardiovascular health of immigrant populations, nursing policy and workforce issues. Jed developed the curriculum for the Master of Ageing, Wellbeing and Sustainability course during his time in Australia. Jed’s reputation and expertise in nursing and gerontology research resulted to various professional organizations’ national committee appointments. Jed served as a member of the Nursing Council of New Zealand Registrant and Education Quality Committee. He was also the chairperson of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Nursing Research Section and was an executive committee member of the New Zealand Association of Gerontology. In Australia, Jed was an executive committee member of Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) - NSW Chapter and served as the Deputy Chair of the Healthy Ageing Faculty of the Australian College of Nursing (ACN). Jed was awarded a Policy Program Fellowship by ACN to undertake a policy project on the role of nurses in end-of-life care for older Australians in aged care settings. Jed led an international team for projects commissioned and funded by the World Health Organisation, one project aimed to review community-based age-friendly interventions and programs as part of the WHO and UN Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030 initiative. He has written and published several research papers on ageing issues, influence of culture to health, transitions, adjustments and acculturation experience of older immigrants into the mainstream societies. He is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Australasian Journal on Ageing. |
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Hiromasa OKAYASU Hiromasa (Hiro) Okayasu is the Director, Healthy Environments and Population at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Manila, Philippines, where he leads the Division to help Member States in the Western Pacific Region to create healthier environments and populations. Before joining the WHO, he worked at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and an MD from Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. |
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Yuka SUMI Yuka Sumi holds an MD from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, a PhD from Osaka University, Japan, and MPH from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She is a certified specialist of Acute and Critical Care Medicine. She has worked as an associate professor in the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine and in the Faculty of Gerontology in Juntendo University. In 2016, she joined the Healthcare New Frontier Promotion Headquarters Office in Kanagawa Prefectural Government in Japan as a Global Health Senior Project Leader. Since December 2016, she is responsible for WHO Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) approach and involved in the publication of ICOPE guidelines in 2017, and led the development of ICOPE package of tools such as ICOPE handbook and digital app: guidance for person-centred assessment and pathways in primary care in 2019. She is a secretariat of WHO Clinical Consortium on Healthy ageing (CCHA) to contribute to the development of standards and guidelines on the clinical aspects of Healthy Ageing. Under CCHA, she coordinates activities such as ICOPE implementation pilot programme and ICOPE training for health and care workers to support country implementation. She is responsible for clinical guideline development on chronic low back pain for adults. For COVID-19 response, she has been a focal person on care for older people, contributing to several COVID technical guidance. |
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Stefanos TYROVOLAS Stefano Tyrovolas (M) has a BSc in Dietetics and Nutrition, MSc in “Applied Dietetics” and PhD in Nutrition (Public health nutrition) from the Harokopio University of Athens. His PhD is also homologated at the University of Barcelona. During 2013 - 2020 he was working as postdoctoral and senior researcher at Saint John of God Health Park in Barcelona, in the topic of healthy ageing and mental health. As a researcher in Spain, he received two National competitive research scholarships of Sara Borell and Miguel Servet funded by the Spanish public health research institute of Carlos III. Since 2020, Dr Tyrovolas has joined the School of Nursing at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) serving as Research Assistant Professor and later as Assistant Professor. He is also the Deputy Director at the WHO Collaborating Center for Community Health Services at PolyU. Dr Tyrovolas has contributed in 146 articles published in peer reviewed international journals and has numerous presentations in national and international conferences. His research interests include nutrition, healthy ageing, frailty and sarcopenia risk and prevention strategies on the older adults. |
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Wenru WANG Dr Wenru Wang is the Professor from Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, National University of Singapore. Her major research interests include chronic illness and long-term care with a primary focus on cardiovascular health and rehabilitation, diabetes management and active aging. Prof. Wang’s studies mostly involve complex psychosocial interventions that adopt innovative technology in the design and delivery of health promotion and secondary prevention. Over the past years, she has been awarded a substantial amount of external competitive grants and has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in medical/nursing refereed journals. To recognize her significant contributions to the field of nursing research, A/Prof. Wang was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2020 and was selected as an inductee into Sigma’s International Nursing Researchers Hall of Fame 2023. Prof. Wang contributes to nursing research and education through her various appointments. She serves as the Chair of Chronic Illness and Long-term Care Research Programme at NUS Nursing. She is also an Ambassador of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses, and a member of Heart Wellness Centre Committee in Singapore. She currently holds the position of Visiting Professor at various universities in China. She has also been appointed as an associate editor of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, and as an editorial board member of Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Clinical Nursing, BMC Nursing, and Heart & Lung. |
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Karen WEE Karen Wee is a transformational change-maker, strategist, innovator and successful implementor with 36 years of volunteering experience (globally and locally) and 13 years of professional experience in non-profit sector. With experience in full spectrum of non-profit sector in APAC, working at government (NCSS), civil organisation (NVPC), international NPO (YMCA and Lions Clubs’ Lions Befrienders) and local NPO (Children Cancer Foundation) and volunteering experience both locally and USA, she is often entrusted to develop new departments, innovative programmes and revamp declining or mature areas. She is a Board Member of Non-profit organisations both locally and internationally in healthcare and public health and an advisory council member of a Regional Health System in Singapore, and other national level council, panel, and policy workgroup. As Executive Director of Lions Befrienders Service Association (Singapore), she has led Lions Befrienders to be leader in preventive eldercare especially in areas of digitalisation and fast turnaround of innovative programmes, to ensure holistic development of seniors to age in place. Over the years, she continued to execute strategies, revamped operations and strengthen partnerships with public, private and people. With an intentionally extensive and intensive career in the following areas, she has successes and deep strategic and operational experience in almost the full works of NPO from planning to development to execution: -
Certified Fund-Raising Executive (pursuant), Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Marketer (pursuant), a Fellow in Marketing and Certified Internal Auditor and member of the Singapore Institute of Directors. Enjoys mentoring the younger colleagues and youths, including her children as she firmly believes they are the future of any country and community. |
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Frances WONG Dr Frances Kam Yuet Wong is a Chair professor (Advanced Nursing Practice) and an Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She has extensive clinical experience in the Intensive Care Unit, renal care and general medicine. Her research work and publications are in the areas of advanced nursing practice, transitional care, aging in place, service models and nursing education. She has published 210 refereed articles, edited 5 books and 18 book chapters and her works have been cited over 6060 times in the literature. She has obtained over US$7.6 million for her research and consultancy work as a principal investigator or co-investigator. She is committed to translating theory to practice and reflecting theory to practice. Exemplary works of such efforts include developing transitional care models for different patient groups including those who have cardiac, renal, respiratory, stroke conditions and palliative needs. Dr Wong has also led a team to test and confirm the validity of the Omaha System used among the Chinese population and the system is now translated and available on the website. She is also a pioneer in establishing APN education and practice model in China. She is the editor-in-chief of the Chinese advanced nursing book which is the designated textbook for all masters in nursing programs in mainland China. Her scholarly accomplishment is recognized with appointments as visiting professor, external consultant, external examiner or invited keynote speakers in countries including China, United States, Canada, Korea, Singapore, Australia, and Norway. She is first president of PiIota Chapter STTI in Hong Kong, and immediate past president of the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing and an expert consultant to the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Hygiene and Health Cooperation; and currently, an advisor of the Guangdong Provincial Nursing Association Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Specialty Nursing Alliance. She serves on the editorial board and review panel for a number of international journals, including the Journal of Nursing Research, Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Nursing Research, and the Journal of Advanced Nursing. She is a visiting professor at McMaster University, Sichuan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sun Yat-sen University, Tianjin Medical University, Nanjing Tianjin Medical University, Suzhou University and Hangzhou Normal University. She has conducted many pivotal paid consultancies. Examples of her work include an evaluation of the senior nurse specialist pilot scheme, an examination of best practices of nurse clinics for the Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, and preparation of clinical nurse specialists for the Health Commission of Guangdong Province and Nanfong Medical University, China. She is the advisor for the development of community services of the China Nursing Centre, Beijing. She also served as an external examiner for the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore and The University of NewCastle, Australia; the Chairperson, Advisory Board Meeting, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports (FCSD) & Peking University Health Center-Macao Polytechnic University Nursing Academy (AE), Macao Polytechnic University. She is the Honorary Nurse Consultant/External Advisor at the Hospital Authority, the Honorary Member of Hospital Authority Clinical Ethics Committee and a Member of the Governance Board of The Hong Kong Children Hospital in Hong Kong, and an Alumni Subgroup Members of The International Council of Nurses (ICN) Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Nurse Network (NP/APNN). |
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Bei WU Dr Bei Wu is Vice Dean for Research and Dean’s Professor in Global Health at Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University (NYU). She is also Co-founder of the NYU Aging Incubator, a university-wide aging initiative. Dr Wu is an internationally known leader in Gerontology. As a Principal Investigator (PI), Dr Wu has led a significant number of studies supported by federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is currently leading several NIH funded projects including a clinical trial to improve oral health for persons with cognitive impairment. She co-leads the NIH/NIMHD-funded Rutgers-NYU Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity. Through this center, she leads a 5-year intervention study that focuses on supporting Chinese and Korean dementia caregivers who are at increased risk for high blood pressure and diabetes due to the physical and emotional demands of caregiving. Dr Wu is a PI on the NIA-funded Asian Resource Center for Minority Aging (RCMAR). Her extensive publications (including 330 peer reviewed manuscripts) cover a wide range of areas on aging and health, with particular focus on risk factors related to cognitive impairment, dementia caregiving, and geriatric oral health. Dr Wu is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and the New York Academy of Medicine. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and Honorary Member of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. She was honored as the 2017 Distinguished Scientist in Geriatric Oral Research by the International Association for Dental Research. She was the recipient of the 2022 Inspiration Award from the China Health Policy and Management Society. |
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Noriko YAMAMOTO-MITANI After working as a clinical nurse in acute/long-term care settings, Noriko completed her Ph.D. program at the University of California, San Francisco, on the Fulbright program. Since then, she has worked mainly as a nurse researcher/educator. In 2003, she completed the post-master nurse practitioner program at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a professor at the University of Tokyo since 2012. In 2020-2022, she served as the representative of board of directors at the Japan Association of Nursing Programs in Universities (JANPU). In June 2023, she was inducted as the vice president of the Japan Nursing Association (JNA). Her research interest is developing the system of continuous quality improvement in long-term care (residential and community) for older adults. In particular, she is interested in developing a system that enables both high care quality and caregiver (professional and non-professional) well-being. Another area of study is developing a new research method that enables sharing/delivery of tacit knowledge in nursing and caring practice based on the qualitative case study. |
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Aria Chien-hui YANG Aria is a practice-based design researcher with over 10 years of industry experience in hotel design, residential design, urban design, and social innovation. Formerly educated in the UK, Italy, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, her research interest is about designing physical environment that supports well-being in later life. She focuses on the connections between architectural and urban design factors and older adults’ social relationships and health. Her research approach mainly adopts mixed methods including data analytics and participatory design. Aria conducts interdisciplinary research projects with diverse stakeholders to drive innovation and social change in the community. Currently, she is working on several projects including the Sensor-Enabled Urban Green Care Farm, Intergenerational Housing Typologies in Greater Bay Area, and Well-being Design Guide for Public Housing in Hong Kong. |
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Ivy ZHAO Dr Ivy Yan Zhao is Research Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She is a Registered Nurse, a Certified Health Education Specialist in the United States and a Certified Dietitian in China. Her key research interest is promoting health, cognitive function and psychosocial well-being of older adults by using technologies. Now she is developing a web-based hearing-cognitive training system for older adults with hearing loss. She has been investigating the role of humanoid social robots in supporting older adults and family caregivers at home and has published several studies in international peer-reviewed journals. |
