• Smart Healthy Aging and Longevity
• Drug repurposing and discovery
• Non-communicable Disease Etiology and Prevention
• Life Course Epidemiology
• Digital Health Interventions (incl. mHealth)

PhD (HKU), MPhil (CUHK)

Dr Maggie Kwok is Associate Professor of School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Public Health from the University of Hong Kong. She was a Takemi Fellow in International Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and received the HMRF fellowship training at the Stanford University. 

As an epidemiologist, Dr Kwok is focusing on developing new interventions to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and promote global healthy aging and longevity. Currently, she has been explicating the links between exposures and experiences across various life stages and difference in patterns of major NCDs including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and dementia (Alzheimer’s disease), between China and the West using state-of-the-art methods for causal inference. 

Dr Kwok has been applying drug-target Mendelian randomization for fostering opportunities of drug repurposing (e.g., cardiovascular medications) in men and women across Western and East Asian populations, thereby reducing NCDs risk and promoting healthspan and lifespan for all. She is also working on digital health interventions (mHealth) to devise tailor-made dietary, lifestyle, mental wellbeing, and clinical management strategies for advancing personalized care. 

Dr Kwok is also broadly interested in life-course and lifestyle epidemiology and social epidemiology. She has unravelled the links between intergenerational and early life exposures and adult health, informed by insights from evolutionary biology theory. She has rich experience in harnessing Hong Kong Chinese cohorts (the “Children of 1997” birth cohort, the FAMILY cohort and the Elderly Health Service cohort).

Dr Kwok has published more than 80 local and international peer-reviewed journal articles. In the capacity of Principal Investigator (PI), Dr Kwok has received funding of over HKD 11 million from Faculty Development Scheme (FDS) of Research Grant Council (RGC) (Hong Kong) and Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) of Health Bureau (Hong Kong), focusing on establishing Elderly Biobank, elucidating etiology of major NCDs e.g., diabetes, and evaluating drug targets for Alzheimer’s disease and longevity. She was also awarded the RGC Early Career Scheme (ECS), HMRF Research Fellowship, and the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards (Hong Kong) of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine.