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Dr LI Philip Hei

Dr Philip Li

Chief of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
Director of MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar) Co-curriculum
Deputy Director of Student Affairs
Deputy Director of MBBS Admissions
Clinical Assistant Professor

  • MBBS (HK), MRes(Med) (HK), MD (HK), PDipID (HK), PDipMDPath (HK), MRCP (UK), FHKCP, FHKAM (Medicine), FRCP (Edin), FRCP (Glasg), FRCP (Lond)
email liphilip@hku.hk
email 2255-5995
email ORCID
Biography

Dr Philip Li is a Specialist in Immunology & Allergy and Clinical Assistant Professor of the University of Hong Kong. He currently serves as Chief of the Division of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology of the Department of Medicine. At HKU, he is the Director of MBBS (Distinguished MedScholar) Co-curriculum as well as the Deputy Director of Student Affairs and Deputy Director of MBBS Admissions. On the regional level, Dr Li is also the Vice President of the Hong Kong Institute of Allergy and a Board Director of the Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology. 

Dr Li established Hong Kong’s first specialist training centre in Immunology & Allergy and leads the territory-wide Hong Kong Drug Allergy Delabelling Initiative (HK-DADI). Dr Li also heads the Immunology & Allergy services of the Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster, which has been accredited as both an Urticaria and Angioedema Centre of Reference and Excellence (UCARE and ACARE). For his outstanding clinical contributions, he received the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Public Service and HKUMed Clinical Service Excellence Award in 2022. 

Dr Li has special interests in anaphylaxis, drug hypersensitivity and immunodeficiency. He has led and authored many of the region’s Immunology & Allergy guidelines, including consensus statements on anaphylaxis, penicillin allergy, urticaria, and vaccine allergy safety. He has published over 110 peer-reviewed articles in the fields of allergy, immunology and autoimmunity; and serves on the Editorial Boards of Frontiers in Immunology, Frontiers in Allergy, Immune System, Asia Pacific Allergy and Journal of Clinical Rheumatology and Immunology. 

 


Selected publications
  1. Chan SWC, Wang Y, Yap DYH, Chan TM, Lau YL, Lee PPW, Lai WM, Ying SKY, Tse NKC, Leung AMH, Mok CC, Lee KL, Li TWL, Tsang HHL, Yeung WWY, Ho CTK, Wong RWS, Yang W, Lau CS, Li PH. RIsk and Factors associated with disease manifestations in systemic Lupus Erythematosus – Lupus Nephritis (RIFLE-LN): a ten-year risk prediction strategy derived from a cohort of 1652 patients. Front Immunol. 2023 14:1200732. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1200732.
  2. Li PH, Pawankar R, Thong BYH, Mak HWF, Chan G, Chung W, Juan M, Kang H, Kim B, Lobo RCM, Lucas M, Pham DL, Ranasinghe T, Rengganis I, Rerkpattanapipat T, Sonomjamts M, Tsai Y, Wang JY, Yamaguchi M, Yun J. Disparities and inequalities of penicillin allergy in the Asia-Pacific region. Allergy. 2023 Mar 23. doi: 10.1111/all.15725. 
  3. Au EYL, Mak HWF, Yeung MHY, Chiang V, Lam K, Wong JCY, Yeung HHY, Chan EYT, Lau CS, Li PH. Ten-year outcomes of Perioperative Anaphylaxis Workup Study in Hong Kong (PAWS-HK): comparative performance between different diagnostic modalities and a female predominance for suxamethonium anaphylaxis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2023 Jun;130(6):752-759.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2023.02.017.
  4. Li PH, Pawankar R, Thong BYH, Fok JS, Chantaphakul H, Hide M, Jindal AK, Kang H, Latiff AHA, Lobo RC, Sonomjamts M, Nguyen VD, Shyur S, Zhi Y, Maurer M. Epidemiology, management and treatment access of hereditary angioedema in the Asia Pacific Region: outcomes from an international survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2023 doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.12.021.
  5. Kan AKC, Leung GMK, Chiang V, Au EYL, Lau CS, Li PH. Ten-year population trends of immunoglobulin use, burden of adult antibody deficiency and feasibility of subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) replacement in Hong Kong Chinese. Front Immunol. 2022 13:984110. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.984110.
  6. Chiang V, Kan AKC, Yim JSH, Lee E, Au EYL, Li PH. Disproportionate rate of female referrals for suspected COVID-19 vaccine allergies. Allergy 2022 Sep 20;10.1111/all.15522. doi: 10.1111/all.15522.
  7. Kan AKC, Hui HKS, Li TS, Chiang V, Wong JCY, Chan TS, Kwan IYK, Shum WZ, Yeung MSC, Au EYL, Ho CTK, Lau CS, Li PH. Comparative effectiveness, safety and real-world outcomes of a nurse-led, protocol-driven penicillin allergy evaluation from the Hong Kong Drug Allergy Delabelling Initiative (HK-DADI). J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2022 Sep 17 doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.08.052.
  8. Wong JCY, Chiang V, Lam K, Tung E, Au EYL, Lau CS, Li PH. Prospective study on the efficacy and impact of Cascade Screening and Evaluation of HAE (CaSE-HAE). J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2022 Aug 11 doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.07.035.
  9. Chiang V, Saha C, Yim SH, Au EYL, Hui KSH, Li TS, Lo WLW, Hong YD, Ye J, Ng CS, Ko WWK, Ho CTK, Lau CS, Quan J, Li PH. The Role of the Allergist in COVID-19 Vaccine Allergy Safety: A Pilot Study on a “Hub-and-Spoke” Model for Population-Wide Allergy Service. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2022.05.011.
  10. Li PH, Yeung HHF, Lau CS, Au EYL. Prevalence, Incidence, and Sensitization Profile of β-lactam Antibiotic Allergy in Hong Kong. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 May 1;3(5):e204199. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.4199.
 

Awards
  • Top Downloaded Article (Contact Dermatitis) 2023
  • Clinical Service Excellence Award (LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU) 2022
  • Chief Executive’s Commendation for Public Service (Government of Hong Kong SAR) 2022
  • Outstanding Team Award – Vaccine Allergy Safety Team (Hospital Authority) 2022
  • Award for Highest Score in Advanced Internal Medicine (Hong Kong College of Physicians) 2020
  • Best Abstract in Clinical Medicine (Oral) (Medical Research Conference, Hong Kong) 2020
  • Best Thesis Award (Hong Kong College of Physicians) 2019
  • Outstanding Team Award – Clinical Immunology and Allergy (Hospital Authority) 2019
 

Grants as Principal Investigator
  • HKSR Project Fund (Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology) - 2022
    Project: PULSE – Personalizing and Understanding Lupus with Subphenotype Exploration
    Amount: HK$200,000           
  • Health and Medical Research Fund (Food and Health Bureau) - 2021
    Project: HKU Optimizing Protection and Effectiveness (HOPE) of COVID19 Vaccines
    Amount: HK$12,511,372      
  • Knowledge Exchange Fund (Knowledge Exchange, HKU) – 2020
    Project: A Book to Empower Allergy Patients in Hong Kong – “Living with Allergies”
    Amount: HK$150,000           
  • Love Can Help Fund (LKS Foundation) - 2020
    Project: A study of feasibility and cost-effectiveness of subcutaneous immunoglobulin replacement for antibody deficiency patients in Hong Kong
    Amount: HK$700,000           
  • Young Investigator Research Grant (Hong Kong College of Physicians - 2019
    Project: Impact of penicillin allergy testing in Hong Kong
    Amount: HK$50,000 
  • HKIA Research Grant (Hong Kong Institute of Allergy) -  2019
    Project: Impact of NSAID Allergy Testing in Hong Kong
    Amount: HK$40,000 

Key Offices
  • Member of the Sri Lanka Expert Committee to Investigate Recent Incidence of Drug Allergies and their After Effects (since 2023)
  • Chairperson of the Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology Drug Allergy Committee (since 2023)
  • Vice President of the Hong Kong Institute of Allergy (since 2022)
  • Board of Directors, Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (since 2022)
  • Member of the Department of Health Expert Committee on Clinical Events Following COVID-19 Immunization (since 2021) 
  • Regional Medical Advisor of Hereditary Angioedema International (HAEi) (since 2020)
  • Convener of Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology Immunology Special Interest Group (since 2020)
  • Executive Committee Member and Advisor of Hong Kong Allergy Association (since 2019)