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Spotlight 22 Population health concerns the total well-being of whole communities, countries and the world, in contrast to the individualised focus on patients in the other branches of clinical medicine. This applied field of study is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on the sciences of epidemiology, biostatistics and mathematics as well as the social sciences of economics, politics and leadership. Professor Gabriel Leung is the fortieth Dean of Medicine, and Chair of Public Health Medicine at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Professor Leung currently holds the Helen and Francis Zimmern Professorship in Population Health. He is a clinician and the last Head of Community Medicine at HKU as well as Hong Kong's first Under Secretary for Food and Health and fifth Director of the Chief Executive's Office. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine and was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong government for distinguished service in protecting and promoting population health. A specialist in public health medicine, Professor Leung's work revolves around topics that have major population health impact locally, where Hong Kong is a reliable and unique epidemiologic sentinel for China, or where the SAR is best placed to address the fundamental science at hand globally. Professor Leung established and has directed the University's Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group since the 2003 SARS epidemic and led the government's efforts against the pandemic H1N1 in 2009. He continues to co-head HKU's World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control. Current priorities are investigating influenza, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, human papilloma virus and other infections of public health significance. His team is recognised as one of the world's leading epidemiologic laboratories in influenza research. In parallel, Professor Leung leads several large-scale longitudinal cohorts, tracking tens of thousands of lives to study the fundamental causes of non-communicable conditions and to explain the health impacts of contemporary social phenomena. A final strand of his work concerns the economics and policy issues of health systems. His team is the government's health accountant and projects health Endowed Professor Helen and Francis Zimmern Professorship in Population Health 施玉榮伉儷基金教授席 (民眾健康) Professor Gabriel MLeung (梁卓偉) This Professorship in Population Health is named in honour of my parents. My mother, Helen, is a woman of natural beauty, intelligence, charm and wit. She has an enormous personality and has been much admired throughout her life. My father, Francis, was a stockbroker and was known for his integrity and courage. By his significant contributions to the internationalising of stockbroking in Hong Kong, he helped pave the way for the territory to become a great financial centre. He lived life to the full. Ms Jill Gallie