Dr Ryan Au Yeung joined the School of Public Health, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) after his Master of Public Health training (with distinction) in 2008 and PhD training in 2012 at the University of Hong Kong. He has received overseas training in public health research in Columbia University (USA) and University of Bristol (UK) during his times as postdoctoral fellow and Research Assistant Professor at HKU.

Dr Au Yeung’s primary research interests include the determinants and consequences of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, health effects of medications, and health effects of alcohol using longitudinal cohort studies and Mendelian randomization. His more recent work relates to the design of Mendelian randomization studies using UK Biobank and summary statistics from genome wide association studies to explore the pleiotropic effects of medications for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes (e.g. metformin), as well as factors contributing to increased susceptibility to COVID-19. He currently leads a 5-year Health and Medical Research Fund commissioned study on “Children of 1997” birth cohort focusing on data enrichment (e.g. generating GWAS and microbiome data).

Dr Au Yeung has published more than 100 peer reviewed articles, with an H-index of 19 (November, 2022). He has received funding from Health and Medical Research Fund of Health Bureau (Hong Kong), and General Research Fund of Research Grant Council (Hong Kong) focusing on determinants of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes using genetics. He was awarded the Health and Medical Research Fund Research Fellowship (2014), the American Journal of Epidemiology (AJE) Article of the Year (2015), the Research Output Prize, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU (2020), and the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards (Hong Kong), National Academy of Medicine, USA (2021). He is currently an editorial board member of BMC Medicine, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Scientific Reports.

(*Denotes corresponding author)

1. Au Yeung SL,* Borges MC, Wong THT, Lawlor DA, Schooling CM. Evaluating the role of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes: A Mendelian randomization study in Europeans and East Asians. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2022 [epub head of print] [IF (2021): 9.7 [Public, Environmental & Occupational Health: Ranked 16/210]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36367831/]
2. Luo S, Liang W, Wong THT, Schooling CM, Au Yeung SL*. Identifying factors contributing to increased susceptibility to COVID-19 risk: A systematic review of Mendelian randomization studies. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2022. 51: 1088-1105 [IF (2021): 9.7 [Public, Environmental & Occupational Health: Ranked 16/210]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35445260/]
3. Au Yeung SL*, Li AM, He B, Kwok KO, Schooling CM. Association of smoking, lung function, and COPD in COVID-19 risk: A 2 step Mendelian randomization study. Addiction. 2022. 117: 2027-2036 [IF (2021): 7.3 [Substance Abuse: Ranked 3/37]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35220625/]
4. Luo S, Au Yeung SL*, Schooling CM. Assessing the linear and non-linear association of glycated hemoglobin with cardiovascular disease: A Mendelian randomization study. Diabetologia. 2021. 64: 2502-2510 [IF (2020): 10.1 [Endocrinology and Metabolism: Ranked 9/145]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34345974/]
5. Au Yeung SL*, Borges MC, Lawlor DA, Schooling CM. The impact of lung function on cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular risk factors: a two sample bi-directional Mendelian randomization study. Thorax. 2022. 77: 164-171 [IF (2021): 9.1 [Respiratory system: Ranked 9/65]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34155093/]
6. Luo S, Schooling CM, Wong ICK, Au Yeung SL*. Evaluating the impact of AMPK activation, a target of metformin, on risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer in the UK Biobank: A Mendelian randomization study. Diabetologia. 2020. 63: 2349-2358 [IF (2019): 7.5 [Endocrinology and Metabolism: Ranked 10/143]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32748028/]
7. Au Yeung SL*, Luo S, Schooling CM. The impact of GDF-15, a biomarker for metformin, on the risk of coronary artery disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and type 2 diabetes and metabolic traits: a Mendelian randomisation study. Diabetologia. 2019. 62: 1638-1646 [IF (2018): 7.1 [Endocrinology and Metabolism: Ranked 12/140]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31161347/]
8. Luo S, Au Yeung SL, Zhao JV, Burgess S, Schooling CM. The association of genetically predicted testosterone with thromboembolism, heart failure and myocardial infarction: a Mendelian randomization study using UK Biobank. British Medical Journal. 2019. 364: l476 [IF (2018): 27.6 [Medicine, General, and Internal: Ranked 5/160]] (Selected as Research Output Prize, The University of Hong Kong) [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30842065/]
9. Au Yeung SL*, Luo S, Schooling CM. The impact of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) on cardiovascular disease risk: A Mendelian randomization study using UK Biobank. Diabetes Care. 2018. 41: 1991-1997 [IF (2017): 13.4 [Endocrinology and Metabolism: Ranked 5/142]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29950300/]
10. Au Yeung SL, Jiang C, Long M, Cheng KK, Liu B, Zhang W, Lam TH, Leung, GM, Schooling CM. Evaluation of moderate alcohol use with QT interval and heart rate using Mendelian randomization analysis among older Southern Chinese men in the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2015 182: 320-327 (Selected as the 2015 Articles of the Year) [IF (2014): 5.2 [Public, Environmental and Occupational Health: Ranked 9/165]] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26153479/]