• Development of new diagnostic approaches based on circulating DNA analysis
• Cover applications in cancer detection
• Prenatal testing

Allen Chan’s specialised research area focuses on plasma nucleic acids research for noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and cancer diagnostics. His main research interest centres on developing innovative diagnostic approaches based on circulating DNA analysis. Key research focus areas include liquid biopsy, developing non-invasive diagnostic tests to detect cancer and monitor treatment efficacy; genomic analysis, utilising advanced DNA techniques to detect molecular changes in cancer; and innovative diagnostics, advancing clinical molecular diagnostics to enhance disease detection precision. Through these integrated approaches, Allen applies plasma nucleic acids analysis to NIPT for accurate fetal aneuploidy screening and to oncology for early cancer detection, real-time treatment monitoring, and minimal residual disease assessment, ultimately advancing personalised patient management across different fields.

Allen Chan is the Associate Vice-President (Knowledge Transfer) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Chairman and professor of the Department of Chemical Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine at CUHK. He also serves as the Chief of Service for Chemical Pathology at the Prince of Wales Hospital.

Allen completed his undergraduate medical training at the University of Hong Kong and embarked on his PhD journey in the Department of Chemical Pathology at CUHK in 2001, under the mentorship of Professor Dennis Lo. His main research interest focuses on the development of innovative diagnostic approaches based on circulating DNA analysis. The applications of his inventions cover noninvasive prenatal testing, cancer diagnostics, organ transplant and autoimmune diseases monitoring.

To date, he has published 192 peer-reviewed articles with a total citation of over 16,526 and an h-index of 65.

Allen is a co-inventor of over 120 inventions in the fields of noninvasive prenatal testing and cancer detection, with an impressive portfolio of over 1,500 patents granted globally. Among his most notable achievements is the development of the noninvasive prenatal test for Down syndrome, which has been adopted in over 100 countries and benefits more than 100 million pregnant women worldwide. Allen was named the “Top 20 Translational Researchers of 2020” by the world-renowned scientific journal Nature Biotechnology.

Beyond academia, Allen is a seasoned entrepreneur. He co-founded several biotechnology companies with Professors Dennis Lo and Rossa Chiu, including Cirina, which merged with Grail and was subsequently acquired by Illumina for over USD 8 billion. Allen’s work continues to bridge the gap between scientific innovation and real-world applications, making a profound impact on global healthcare.

In addition to research, Allen is also passionate about teaching and received a total of four Teacher of the Year awards from the Faculty of Medicine, CUHK.

1. The 4th BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize (STIP), Hong Kong Alliance of Technology and Innovation (2026)
2. Top 20 Translational Researchers, Nature Biotechnology (2021)
3. Ministry of Education Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (Science and Technology) – Second-class Award, Technological Innovation (2019)
4. Annual Achievement Award, Chinese Society for Clinical Oncology (2018)
5. Inaugural Arnold Chan Lecturer (in the memory of Arnold Chan, a member of Parliament, Canada) (2018)
6. Inaugural Lo Ying Shek Chi Wai Scholar (2018)
7. First and Corresponding Author for one of the ten most “Notable Articles”, New England Journal of Medicine (2017)
8. Young Scientist Award, Hong Kong Science Institute (2009)
9. Best Original Research Award, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (2007)
10. Best Presentation Award, Hong Kong College of Pathologists (2007)

1. Lam WKJ, Kang G, Chan CML, Lee VCT, Ma MJL, Zhou Q, Jiang P, Tse IOL, King AD, Wong KCW, Hui EP, Ma BBY, Chan ATC, Chan KCA, Lo YMD. Fragmentomics profiling and quantification of plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA enhance prediction of future nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer Cell. 2025;43(4):728-739.e5. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2025.02.002.
2. Chan KCA, Lam WKJ, King A, Lin VS, Lee PPH, Zee BCY, Chan SL, Tse IOL, Tsang AFC, Li MZJ, Jiang P, Yong Q, Ai H, Poon DMC, Au KH, Hui EP, Ma BBY, Hasselt AC Van, Chan ATC, Woo JKS, Lo YMD. Plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA and risk of future nasopharyngeal cancer. NEJM Evidence. 2023;2(7). doi:10.1056/evidoa2200309.
3. Chan KCA, Woo JKS, King A, Zee BCY, Lam WKJ, Chan SL, Chu SWI, Mak C, Tse IOL, Leung SYM, Chan G, Hui EP, Ma BBY, Chiu RWK, Leung S-F, van Hasselt AC, Chan ATC, Lo YMD. Analysis of plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA to screen for nasopharyngeal cancer. New England Journal of Medicine. 2017;377(6):513-522. doi:10.1056/nejmoa1701717.
4. Chan KCA, Jiang P, Sun K, Cheng YKY, Tong YK, Cheng SH, Wong AIC, Hudecova I, Leung TY, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Second generation noninvasive fetal genome analysis reveals de novo mutations, single-base parental inheritance, and preferred DNA ends. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2016;113(50):E8159-E8168. doi:10.1073/pnas.1615800113.
5. Sun K, Jiang P, Chan KCA, Wong J, Cheng YKY, Liang RHS, Chan WK, Ma ESK, Chan SL, Cheng SH, Chan RWY, Tong YK, Ng SSM, Wong RSM, Hui DSC, Leung TN, Leung TY, Lai PBS, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Plasma DNA tissue mapping by genome-wide methylation sequencing for noninvasive prenatal, cancer, and transplantation assessments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2015;112(40):E5503-E5512. doi:10.1073/pnas.1508736112.
6. Jiang P, Chan CWM, Chan KCA, Cheng SH, Wong J, Wong VWS, Wong GLH, Chan SL, Mok TSK, Chan HLY, Lai PBS, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Lengthening and shortening of plasma DNA in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2015;112(11):E1317-E1325. doi:10.1073/pnas.1500076112.
7. Chan RWY, Jiang P, Peng X, Tamc LS, Liao GJW, Li EKM, Wong PCH, Sun H, Chan KCA, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Plasma DNA aberrations in systemic lupus erythematosus revealed by genomic and methylomic sequencing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2014;111(49):E5302-E5311. doi:10.1073/pnas.1421126111.
8. Yu SCY, Chan KCA, Zheng YWL, Jiang P, Liao GJW, Sun H, Akolekar R, Leung TY, Go ATJI, Van Vugt JMG, Minekawa R, Oudejans CBM, Nicolaides KH, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Size-based molecular diagnostics using plasma DNA for noninvasive prenatal testing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2014;111(23):8583-8588. doi:10.1073/pnas.1406103111.
9. Le QT, Zhang Q, Cao H, Cheng AJ, Pinsky BA, Hong RL, Chang JT, Wang CW, Tsao KC, Lo YMD, Lee N, Ang KK, Chan ATC, Chan KCA. An international collaboration to harmonize the quantitative plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA assay for future biomarker-guided trials in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Clinical Cancer Research. 2013;19(8):2208-2215. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-12-3702.
10. Chan KCA, Jiang P, Chan CWM, Sun K, Wong J, Hui EP, Chan SL, Chan WC, Hui DSC, Ng SSM, Chan HLY, Wong CSC, Ma BBY, Chan ATC, Lai PBS, Sun H, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Noninvasive detection of cancer-associated genomewide hypomethylation and copy number aberrations by plasma DNA bisulfite sequencing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2013;110(47):18761-18768. doi:10.1073/pnas.1313995110.
11. Chan KCA, Jiang P, Zheng YWL, Liao GJW, Sun H, Wong J, Siu SSN, Chan WC, Chan SL, Chan ATC, Lai PBS, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Cancer genome scanning in plasma: Detection of tumor-associated copy number aberrations, single-nucleotide variants, and tumoral heterogeneity by massively parallel sequencing. Clinical Chemistry. 2013;59(1):211-224. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2012.196014.
12. Chan KCA, Hung ECW, Woo JKS, Chan PKS, Leung SF, Lai FPT, Cheng ASM, Yeung SW, Chan YW, Tsui TKC, Kwok JSS, King AD, Chan ATC, Van Hasselt AC, Lo YMD. Early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA analysis in a surveillance program. Cancer. 2013;119(10):1838-1844. doi:10.1002/cncr.28001.
13. Chiu RWK, Akolekar R, Zheng YWL, Leung TY, Sun H, Chan KCA, Lun FMF, Go ATJI, Lau ET, To WWK, Leung WC, Tang RYK, Au-Yeung SKC, Lam H, Kung YY, Zhang X, Van Vugt JMG, Minekawa R, Tang MHY, Wang J, Oudejans CBM, Lau TK, Nicolaides KH, Lo YMD. Non-invasive prenatal assessment of trisomy 21 by multiplexed maternal plasma DNA sequencing: Large scale validity study. BMJ. 2011;342(7790):217. doi:10.1136/bmj.c7401.
14. Tsui NBY, Kadir RA, Chan KCA, Chi C, Mellars G, Tuddenham EG, Leung TY, Lau TK, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of hemophilia by microfluidics digital PCR analysis of maternal plasma DNA. Blood. 2011;117(13):3684-3691. doi:10.1182/blood-2010-10-310789.
15. Lo YMD, Chan KCA, Sun H, Chen EZ, Jiang P, Lun FMF, Zheng YW, Leung TY, Lau TK, Cantor CR, Chiu RWK. Maternal plasma DNA sequencing reveals the genome-wide genetic and mutational profile of the fetus. Science Translational Medicine. 2010;2(61). doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3001720.
16. Yung TKF, Chan KCA, Mok TSK, Tong J, To KF, Lo YMD. Single-molecule detection of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in plasma by microfluidics digital PCR in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Clinical Cancer Research. 2009;15(6):2076-2084. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-08-2622.
17. Chiu RWK, Chan KCA, Gao Y, Lau VYM, Zheng W, Leung TY, Foo CHF, Xie B, Tsui NBY, Lun FMF, Zee BCY, Lau TK, Cantor CR, Lo YMD. Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidy by massively parallel genomic sequencing of DNA in maternal plasma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2008;105(51):20458-20463. doi:10.1073/pnas.0810641105.
18. Luna FMF, Tsui NBY, Chan KCA, Leung TY, Lau TK, Charoenkwan P, Chow KCK, Lo WYW, Wanapirak C, Sanguansermsri T, Cantor CR, Chiu RWK, Lo YMD. Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of monogenic diseases by digital size selection and relative mutation dosage on DNA in maternal plasma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2008;105(50):19920-19925. doi:10.1073/pnas.0810373105.
19. Lo YMD, Lun FMF, Chan KCA, Tsui NBY, Chong KC, Lau TK, Leung TY, Zee BCY, Cantor CR, Chiu RWK. Digital PCR for the molecular detection of fetal chromosomal aneuploidy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2007;104(32):13116-13121. doi:10.1073/pnas.0705765104.
20. Chan KCA, Zhang J, Hui ABY, Wong N, Lau TK, Leung TN, Lo KW, Huang DWS, Lo YMD. Size distributions of maternal and fetal DNA in maternal plasma. Clinical Chemistry. 2004;50(1):88-92. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2003.024893.