Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan will depart for London tonight for a three-day visit to learn more about genomic medicine in the United Kingdom.

Leading a delegation, Prof Chan will also meet healthcare professionals in the country.

She will meet the senior management of Genomics England, which is a company wholly owned by the UK Department of Health & Social Care to deliver the 100,000 Genomes Project.

The delegation will visit Guy’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital to understand their genetic and genomic services and their roles in the project.

They will meet representatives from Genetic Alliance UK, which is a patient organisation involved in the project, and Cancer Research UK, a charity supporting research in cancer.

They will also visit the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton to meet professionals who are involved in various stages of the genomes project.

“Genomic medicine is an important sphere in contemporary medicine and scientific research, with huge potential in screening, diagnosis and clinical application, as well as precision medicine,” Prof Chan said.

The Chief Executive has accepted a steering committee’s recommendation to conduct a large-scale genome sequencing project, the Hong Kong Genomic Project, to enhance the clinical application of genomic medicine.

“We will take the opportunity to learn from genomic experts in the UK in planning forward the Hong Kong Genomic Project,” Prof Chan added.

In her absence, Under Secretary Dr Chui Tak-yi will be Acting Secretary for Food & Health.