• Mechanisms and therapeutics of common age-related cognitive disorders, e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Mixed Dementia
• Artificial intelligence aided technology based on MRI and retinal imaging for diagnosis, prognostication, and monitoring of brain diseases
• Parkinson’s disease – premotor stage, genetics, neuroimaging, and Deep Brain Stimulation

Vincent Mok’s research focuses on Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, cerebral small vessel disease, and Parkinson’s disease. With rapidly aging populations worldwide, developing innovative technologies to tackle aging-associated disorders has become an urgent global priority. Given the complexity of the cellular and physiological changes involved in aging, and the lack of easily targetable driving pathways, it remains a formidable challenge to develop therapeutic approaches that can slow, or even reverse, the age-related functional decline in any body organ system. His team aims to address this gap by developing novel diagnostic and prognostic methods, alongside innovative treatment strategies for common age-related brain diseases in the local population.

Vincent Mok is an academic neurologist who specializes in age-related brain diseases, namely small vessel disease (SVD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and Parkinson’s disease(PD). He is the highest-ranked “Neuroscience Scientist” among neurologists in China (2025/26, research.com), as well as world’s top 1% scientist in “Neurology and Neurosurgery” and world’s top 2% Scientist (2025, Stanford University).
His primary research aims to understand mechanisms of age-related dementia and to investigate strategies that can prevent it. He is the first to report the association between SVD and dementia and the high prevalence of SVD in Asia. Such findings have significantly increased the awareness that optimizing vascular risk factors (e.g., hypertension, hypercholesterolemia) can prevent dementia in this region, where burden of dementia is particularly huge. Vincent is the first to utilize in-vivo amyloid PET in showing the importance of AD pathology in causing cognitive decline in stroke patients. Findings of this study emphasize the importance of mixed Alzheimer’s and cerebrovascular disease in causing cognitive impairment and that effective preventive strategies may need to target both Alzheimer’s and cerebrovascular disease among older people.
Vincent, along with Dr. Adrian Wong (Clinical Psychologist) validated the Hong Kong-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HK-MoCA) and HK-MoCA 5-min, which are currently the most common brief cognitive tests used for the assessment of cognitive function and the detection of mild cognitive impairment in HK. He is the first in the region in developing and deploying AI-derived MRI, retinal imaging, and digital voice measures in the assessment of risk of AD and cognitive impairment. The above assessment tools allow easier and earlier detection of people who are at-risk of AD or SVD. Moreover, he was one of the pioneers of developing Deep Brain Stimulation programme in Asia for the treatment of PD.
Vincent had received the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (Science & Technology) in Natural Sciences (1st Class) from the Ministry of Education, People’s Republic of China in 2011 for his research in SVD and the Outstanding Fellow Award from the Faculty of Medicine (CUHK) in 2016 for his leadership in research and education. He had received the Excellent Research Award from the Food and Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 2017 for his research achievements in dementia. In the same year, he was endowed as Mok Hing Yiu Professor of Medicine. In 2021, he had received the prestigious 10th Health and Medical Research Fund Anniversary Award in the category of “Public Health” from the Food and Health Bureau(HKSAR) for his outstanding research achievements in the areas of dementia prevention. He was conferred the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service by the Government of the HKSAR in 2022 for his contribution in combating COVID-19 pandemic.
He had received 7 times Teacher of the Year Award (2005-2012) and the Master Teacher Award (2012) from the Faculty of Medicine. He was also one of the founders in developing the Global Physician Leadership Stream (GPS) programme, which is the flagship undergraduate programme of the Faculty in providing medical leadership and research training for medical students. The Faculty and University thus awarded him the prestigious Faculty Education Award (Collaborative Team) and University Education Award (Collaborative Team) in 2023, respectively. In recognition of his extraordinary achievements in Education and Health Science, he had received the Advance Global Australian Award in the Category of Education, Science, and Research in 2024.
Together with Professor Carol Cheung and Professor Owen Ko, the team had received the HK Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Awards on the “Best Use of AI Award” and “Smart People (Smart Aging)” Silver Award in 2025, as well as the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva – Gold Medal Award in 2026 for the team’s development of the world’s first AI-derived retinal imaging analysis for the assessment of the risk of AD and brain health status.
Vincent authored more than 450 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, including Lancet, JAMA, Lancet Neurology, Nature Reviews Neurology, Cell Metabolism, Lancet Digital Health, Progress of Retinal and Eye Research, Alzheimer’s & Dementia, JAMA Neurology, JAMA Psychiatry, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Annals of Neurology, Neurology, International Journal of Stroke, and Stroke.

1. Gold Medal Award, 2026 International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva – “i-Cog Brain Health”, International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (2026)
2. Hong Kong ICT Awards: Smart People (Smart Ageing) Silver Award – “i-Cog Brain Health”, Digital Policy Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2025)
3. Hong Kong ICT Awards: Best Use of AI Award – “i-Cog Brain Health”, Digital Policy Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2025)
4. Advance Global Australian Award (Education, Science, and Research Category), Advance Global Australians (2024)
5. Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award – “An Evaluation of Stroke Survivors’ Self-efficacy In Self-management Using A Stroke Telehealth Service”, American Heart Association (2023)
6. University Education Award (Collaborative Teams), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2022/23)
7. Faculty Education Award (Collaborative Teams), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2022/23)
8. Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service 2022, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, The People’s Republic of China (2022)
9. The 10th HMRF Anniversary Award, Food and Health Bureau, Government Secretariat, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2021)
10. Excellent Research Award, Food and Health Bureau, Government Secretariat, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2017)

1. Cai Y, Mok VCT, Markus HS. Vascular dementia: World Stroke Organization fact sheet 2026. International Journal of Stroke. Published online February 1, 2026. doi:10.1177/17474930251404243. (Review)
2. Huang J, Kwok AJ, Li JCY, Chiu CLH, Ip BY, Tung LY, Chan RCH, Chan DCW, Wang Z, Zheng X, Chow HT, Lo MPS, Li Z, Lin N, Wang M, Yan LYC, Wu WKK, Chow KHM, Lin WJ, Tang Y, Zhang Y, Song W, Ng BWL, Wong SH, Leung TW, Mok VCT, Ko H. Body-wide multi-omic counteraction of aging with GLP-1R agonism. Cell Metabolism. 2025;37(12):2362-2380.e8. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2025.10.014.
3. Ip BYM, Ko H, Lam BYK, Au LWC, Lau AYL, Huang J, Kwok AJ, Leng X, Cai Y, Leung TWH, Mok VCT. Current and future treatments of vascular cognitive impairment. 2024;55(4):822-839. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.123.044174. (Review)
4. Mok VCT, Cai Y, Markus HS. Vascular cognitive impairment and dementia: Mechanisms, treatment, and future directions. International Journal of Stroke. 2024;19(8):838-856. doi:10.1177/17474930241279888.
5. Lam BYK, Cai Y, Akinyemi R, Biessels GJ, van den Brink H, Chen C, Cheung CW, Chow KN, Chung HKH, Duering M, Fu ST, Gustafson D, Hilal S, Hui VMH, Kalaria R, Kim SY, Lam MLM, de Leeuw FE, Li ASM, Markus HS, Marseglia A, Zheng H, O’Brien J, Pantoni L, Sachdev PS, Smith EE, Wardlaw J, Mok VCT. The global burden of cerebral small vessel disease in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Stroke. 2023;18(1):15-27. doi:10.1177/17474930221137019. (Review)
6. Cheung CY, Ran AR, Wang S, Chan VTT, Sham K, Hilal S, Venketasubramanian N, Cheng CY, Sabanayagam C, Tham YC, Schmetterer L, McKay GJ, Williams MA, Wong A, Au LWC, Lu Z, Yam JC, Tham CC, Chen JJ, Dumitrascu OM, Heng PA, Kwok TCY, Mok VCT, Milea D, Chen CLH, Wong TY. A deep learning model for detection of Alzheimer’s disease based on retinal photographs: A retrospective, multicentre case-control study. The Lancet Digital Health. 2022;4(11):e806-e815. doi:10.1016/s2589-7500(22)00169-8.
7. Mok VCT, Pendlebury S, Wong A, Alladi S, Au L, Bath PM, Biessels GJ, Chen C, Cordonnier C, Dichgans M, Dominguez J, Gorelick PB, Kim SY, Kwok T, Greenberg SM, Jia J, Kalaria R, Kivipelto M, Naegandran K, Lam LCW, Lam BYK, Lee ATC, Markus HS, O’Brien J, Pai MC, Pantoni L, Sachdev P, Senanarong V, Skoog I, Smith EE, Srikanth V, Suh GH, Wardlaw J, Ko H, Black SE, Scheltens P. Erratum to: tackling challenges in care of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias amid the COVID-19 pandemic, now and in the future (Alzheimer’s & Dementia, (2020), 16, 11, (1571-1581), 10.1002/alz.12143). Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2021;17(5):906-907. doi:10.1002/alz.12307. (Correction)
8. Fan FSY, Yip TCF, Yiu B, Lam B, Au L, Lau AYL, Ip B, Soo Y, Leung TW, Li T, Lui G, Wong GLH, Mok V. Neurological diseases and risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19 and SARS: A territory-wide study in Hong Kong. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2021;92(12):1356-1358. doi:10.1136/jnnp-2021-326286. (Letter)
9. Li Z, Chen X, Vong JSL, Zhao L, Huang J, Yan LYC, Ip B, Wing YK, Lai HM, Mok VCT, Ko H. Systemic GLP-1R agonist treatment reverses mouse glial and neurovascular cell transcriptomic aging signatures in a genome-wide manner. Communications Biology. 2021;4(1):656-. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02208-9.
10. Zhao L, Li Z, Vong JSL, Chen X, Lai HM, Yan LYC, Huang J, Sy SKH, Tian X, Huang Y, Chan HYE, So HC, Ng WL, Tang Y, Lin WJ, Mok VCT, Ko H. Pharmacologically reversible zonation-dependent endothelial cell transcriptomic changes with neurodegenerative disease associations in the aged brain. Nature Communications. 2020;11(1):4413-. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18249-3.
11. Kwok JYY, Kwan JCY, Auyeung M, Mok VCT, Lau CKY, Choi KC, Chan HYL. Effects of mindfulness yoga vs stretching and resistance training exercises on anxiety and depression for people with Parkinson disease: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurology. 2019;76(7):755-763. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.0534.
12. Yu JT, Li JQ, Suckling J, Feng L, Pan A, Wang YJ, Song B, Zhu SL, Li DH, Wang HF, Tan CC, Dong Q, Tan L, Mok V, Aisen PS, Weiner MM. Frequency and longitudinal clinical outcomes of Alzheimer’s AT(N) biomarker profiles: A longitudinal study. Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2019;15(9):1208-1217. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2019.05.006.
13. Au LWC, Chan AYY, Mok VCT. Teaching neuroimages: X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy: Spinocerebellar variant. 2019;93(7):E731-E732. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000007958. (Editorial)
14. Shi L, Lou W, Wong A, Zhang F, Abrigo J, Chu WC, Kwok TC, Wong KK, Abbott D, Wang D, Mok VC. Neural evidence for long-term marriage shaping the functional brain network organization between couples. 2019;199:87-92. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.058.
15. Zhao L, Luo Y, Lew D, Liu W, Au L, Mok V, Shi L. Risk estimation before progression to mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: An AD resemblance atrophy index. 2019;11(16):6217-6236. doi:10.18632/aging.102184.
16. Shi L, Zhao L, Yeung FK, Wong SY, Chan RKT, Tse MF, Chan SC, Kwong YC, Li KC, Liu K, Abrigo JM, Lau AYL, Wong A, Lam BYK, Leung TWH, Fu J, Chu WCW, Mok VCT. Mapping the contribution and strategic distribution patterns of neuroimaging features of small vessel disease in poststroke cognitive impairment. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2018;89(9):918-926. doi:10.1136/jnnp-2017-317817.
17. Mok VCT, Lam BYK, Wong A, Ko H, Markus HS, Wong LKS. Early-onset and delayed-onset poststroke dementia – revisiting the mechanisms. Nature Reviews Neurology. 2017;13(3):148-159. doi:10.1038/nrneurol.2017.16. (Review)
18. Mok VCT, Lam BYK, Wang Z, Liu W, Au L, Leung EYL, Chen S, Yang J, Chu WCW, Lau AYL, Chan AYY, Shi L, Fan F, Ma SH, Ip V, Soo YOY, Leung TWH, Kwok TCY, Ho CL, Wong LKS, Wong A. Delayed-onset dementia after stroke or transient ischemic attack. Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2016;12(11):1167-1176. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2016.05.007.
19. Yang J, Wong A, Wang Z, Liu W, Au L, Xiong Y, Chu WWC, Leung EYL, Chen S, Lau C, Chan AYY, Lau AYL, Fan F, Ip V, Soo Y, Leung T, Ho CL, Wong LKS, Mok VCT. Risk factors for incident dementia after stroke and transient ischemic attack. Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2015;11(1):16-23. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2014.01.003.